Last modified: Thursday, July 29, 2004
Elmhurst's Pacold named Wells Scholar at IU
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Joseph Pacold of Elmhurst, Ill., has been selected as a Wells Scholar at Indiana University, one of 20 incoming freshmen so honored. Pacold plans to major in mathematics and foreign languages at IU.
The Wells Scholarship, named in honor of the late IU Chancellor Herman B Wells, ranks among the most competitive and prestigious awards offered by any American university. Wells Scholars receive full tuition, fees and a living stipend for four years of undergraduate study on the IU Bloomington campus.
A National Merit Scholar, Pacold graduated as valedictorian from St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago. A four-year member of his school's Math and Scholastic Bowl teams, he earned individual first-place honors in the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics Contest in 2001, 2003 and 2004, and with a teammate earned first-place honors in two-person team competition for the past three years.
Pacold placed first in mathematics and second in chemistry at the 2004 World Youth in Science and Engineering Contest and won a Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science Award his junior year. He has been a qualifier for the USA Math Olympiad for three years, as well as a first-place winner in the Mathematics Teachers' Association of Chicago Contest.
A member of the Latin and Classics Club at St. Ignatius, he earned summa cum laude distinction in the National Latin Exam for four years and received first-place awards in the National Spanish Exam twice.
Pacold has served as a junior counselor and a counselor at Ohio State University's Ross Young Scholars Summer Program on number theory. He played violin in his school's orchestra his senior year, and throughout high school he fenced and provided peer tutoring. He also served as a parish lector.
The Wells Scholars program offers special seminars, an optional year of study abroad and support for a summer research project or internship. It also emphasizes close interaction with faculty, academic and career advising, opportunities for community service and contact with distinguished visitors. Wells Scholars are members of the Honors College at IU, where they have the opportunity to apply for grants in support of research, teaching internships, professional experience, creative activity, conference travel and honors thesis work. They are selected for having demonstrated character, leadership and distinction, both inside and outside of the classroom.
Hometown information:
Joseph Pacold is the son of Ivan and Swat Pacold, 590 Cedar Ave., Elmhurst, Ill.
