Merit Scholars Are Taking Advantage of Every Opportunity Students attending Culver as merit scholars confirm that their encounter with Culver Military Academy and the Culver Girls Academy has changed and enriched their lives in ways they would not have anticipated a few years earlier.
not have been exposed to elsewhere, citing the example of a session on agriculture she attended at Purdue University. “The emphasis here is on body, mind, and spirit, not just on academics, as at many of the schools,” Lori said. She has been active in the Model United Nations program and is president of that group this year. Active in Dancevision, Lori also has participated in the Leadership Committee for Africa mission trip to South Africa. While honing her leadership skills, she has also learned from South Africans “about humility and readiness for hard work.”
Andrew Kilbourne ’13 (Wooster, Ohio/ Duchossois Scholar) “would have been the fourth generation in my family at Choate if I had gone there.” He liked the idea of boarding school and expected to go to school somewhere on the East Coast, having attended a public school in the Washington, D.C., area. But Andrew is happy at Culver; “It’s like home here.”
Haberland photo.
The Trooper’s outlook on life has changed, too, since he came to Culver. “Before, I mainly wanted a life with money. Now I understand there are other things that are important, and I am enjoying my journey” and considering a military career.
Senior Alexandra Ding, a Batten Scholar from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, took the Midwest Talent Test in seventh grade and subsequently received letters from many private schools. Initially, she was attracted to private schools in the East and not enthusiastic about Culver. “I was living in Hong Kong at the time, and my mother forced me to apply,” she said with a smile. “But the money was available here, and the opportunity was here. “More importantly, Culver emphasizes the whole person,” she said, adding that she is appreciative of the character of the school.
During a campus visit, Jane Batten meets with some of the students funded by the Batten Scholars Program. More than 100 students nationwide have benefited from the merit scholarship created by Jane and her late husband Frank, Class of 1945, in 1999.
Eden Prairie, Minnesota, senior Hannah Schoolmeester also has refocused since becoming a Duchossois Scholar. Her Culver experience has “opened my eyes” to many new things and “has changed my life incredibly and provided a feeling of confidence” she lacked before. The broadening of her horizons has also led Hannah to consider a career in the military. Lori Bin, a senior from Canton, Michigan, and a Duchossois Scholar, said she has learned from things she would
Alex was most pleased that she was able recently to meet Jane Batten and feels grateful for the family’s “faith in me,” reflected in the scholarship, and feels a “purpose and urgency” in her education. Duchossois Scholar Cole Payne ’15 learned about Culver from an alumnus in his hometown of Bucyrus, Ohio. Then a student at a private Catholic school, Cole said it was very unusual for a student in the farm-based town where he grew up to attend boarding school. But he added that some of the students he knew in Bucyrus have applied to Culver as a result of hearing about it from him. A member of Battery C, his closest friends now are his Culver friends, which Cole says has boosted his self-confidence as well and provided an atmosphere that is more challenging academically.
Katrina Willis, a sophomore Duchossois Scholar from Rolling Prairie, Indiana, believes she has grown considerably since coming to Culver, which “has exceeded my expectations.” In addition, Katrina has been challenged to “focus on goals, learning what I need to do, and making a difference, thereby affecting communities and other students.” A Roberts Scholar from Tucson, Arizona, sophomore Erin Lopez Vine knew about Culver long before she applied; her mother attended Culver, and Erin had gone to Woodcraft Camp. She and her mother thought that the Roberts Scholar Program would be a good match since it was aimed at students from the West. As soon as she arrived, Erin said she became “captivated by the school, the environment, the teachers and the students. Culver allows you to outline your expectations. I underrated myself in the past, but have found at Culver a feeding ground for growth.” Inspired by what she saw in a visit to Washington, D.C., her long-term goal is to go into politics. She has found it important, she said, to “pay attention and to appreciate what I am getting access to.” What is important, according to junior Rowan Farrell, a Batten Scholar from Indianapolis, is “what we take back.” She appreciates the opportunity to learn to be a leader. Rowan is active in nine clubs and an officer in three. “Many of the students I knew in private school before coming to Culver could have done much more to use their ability and develop their skills, but wasted the opportunity,” Rowan said. A self-described “nerd,” who doesn’t fit the description, she is making the effort to seize every opportunity available at Culver. Whether it is the opportunity to give of themselves or to receive from others, seizing every opportunity is the common denominator for Culver’s merit scholars. —Frederick Karst