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IU selects first recipient of scholarship honoring Won-Joon Yoon
April 17, 2000
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University has selected the first recipient of the Won-Joon Yoon Memorial Scholarship and will honor him and two other students at a reception on Wednesday (April 19).
The new scholarship was established last year by IU President Myles Brand to honor the memory of Won-Joon Yoon, an IU graduate student from Korea who was shot and killed in Bloomington during a two-state shooting spree by a white supremacist last July. The recipient receives a $2,500 scholarship.
Dietrich Willke, a senior from Brazil majoring in marketing, is the first recipient of the Won-Joon Yoon Memorial Scholarship. Honorable mention certificates will be awarded to Kimberly Mealy, a doctoral candidate in political science from Mattituck, N.Y., and Aline Mendelsohn, a junior from Carmel, Ind., majoring in journalism.
The presentations will be made at IU President Myles Brand's reception for international students and scholars in the lobby of the Musical Arts Center, beginning at 3:30 p.m. The presentations will be made at about 4:30 p.m. The Yoon family will travel from Korea for Wednesday's event. Lt. Gov. Joseph Kernan also is expected to attend.
The Yoon Scholarship recognizes IU students who have exemplified tolerance and understanding across racial and religious lines through service, personal commitment, academic achievement and future potential.
Willke has maintained a high grade point average while pursuing a variety of extra-curricular and service activities. He serves as co-president of the Student Coalition, co-president of the IU Diversity Task Force, president of the Eigenmann Residents Association, and chair for diversity of the Golden Key National Honor Society. In addition, he was named 1999 IU Homecoming King.
In his letter of support, Bruce A. Jacobs, associate vice chancellor for administrative affairs, said, "Dietrich has been a tireless worker for issues surrounding the quality of life for his fellow students. Specifically, he has worked very diligently to ensure that students from all across the spectrum of IU have had a voice in the decision-making process."
"In my 13 years at Indiana, I have never encountered a more inquisitive, organized, persistent student who will doggedly pursue excellence in anything he undertakes," added Timothy T. Baldwin, professor of business administration and the Geyer Cain Faculty Fellow in the Kelley School of Business. "In my view, Dietrich is the very model of the multilingual, internationally-oriented business student who will one day lead the global industries of tomorrow."
Mealy's doctoral dissertation research focuses on the American political system, particularly the alliances between faith-based organizations and local city government. Prior to enrolling at IU, Mealy was awarded a bachelor of arts degree in history from Swarthmore College and a master of arts degree in American politics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Judith Lynn Failer, assistant professor of political science, said of Mealy that "she brings together and leads diverse groups of students -- both racially and religiously -- and plays an important role in building a tolerant community here at Indiana University."
"Ms. Mealy's commitment to a multiracial America was heralded by a university-wide committee, when she was selected as the first place winner of the Martin Luther King Jr. Graduate Essay Contest," added Yvette Alex-Assensoh, assistant professor of political science.
Mendelsohn has served as a minority beat reporter at the Indiana Daily Student and was responsible for the paper's series, "One Hundred Days of Healing," a special section published in October 1999, which paid tribute to Yoon and discussed the need for continued understanding and healing.
David L. Adams, adjunct professor of journalism and publisher of the IDS, Indiana Digital Student and Arbutus yearbook, commented that "throughout her undergraduate career thus far, Aline Mendelsohn has been a champion of the causes of bringing greater awareness on a variety of diversity issues, mostly through her outstanding research and writing on the Indiana Daily Student."
(JT. Forbes, 812-855-7201, forbesjt@indiana.edu)