Last modified: Tuesday, August 8, 2006
Terre Haute's Goeller named Wells Scholar at IU
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 10, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Kate Goeller from Terre Haute, Ind., has been selected as a Wells Scholar at Indiana University, one of 19 entering freshmen so honored. She will this fall join more than 320 others who have been named Wells Scholars since 1990.
The 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. Since its inception, more than two dozen Wells Scholars have gone on to earn prestigious Rhodes, Truman, Marshall, Soros, Mitchell, Churchill, Fulbright and Goldwater scholarships for advanced study.
Goeller graduated as valedictorian from Terre Haute South Vigo High School and was honored as a Hoosier Scholar, an AP Scholar and a national Coca-Cola Scholar. She was selected as Indiana's Toyota Community Scholar and received a national Principal's Leadership Award and the Discover Card Tribute Award.
She placed first in the honors division of the National Mathematics Educontest and was First Place Girl in Nation and First Place Student in Indiana in the MATHCOUNTS competitions. Goeller won the Rose-Hulman Tri-State High School Math Contest for four years. She earned second place honors at the state level in the Indiana Math League contest and was a member of the math honor society Mu Alpha Theta.
Goeller was a member of her school's varsity track team and served as co-captain of its varsity cross country team. The recipient of a United States Marine Corps Distinguished Athletes Award and a Wendy's High School Heisman, she won the regional 1600-meter run and was named to the All-County first team. She served as commissioner for Link Crew Mentoring Program, a board member of the Wabash Valley Community Foundation, as secretary for Women's Junior Department Club and was junior prom queen. A member of National Honor Society and vice president of her class, she served as a peer tutor. She plans to major in biology.
Many previous Wells Scholars today contribute to Indiana as residents who are attorneys, doctors, school teachers and business people, and even an ordained minister. Others have gone on to clerk for Indiana and U.S. Supreme Court justices, are engaged in international relief and service efforts and are scholars at other renowned educational institutions such as Harvard Business School and Cornell Law School. There are Wells Scholars currently serving in the Armed Forces and other positions in government.
To honor Wells, IU created the Wells Scholars Program, which began with fund-raising efforts in 1988 and the appointment of Professor Breon Mitchell as its founding director. In 1990, IU welcomed its first class of Wells Scholars and on June 7, 1992, Wells' 90th birthday, he was officially presented with the Wells Scholars Program, as a gift from his many friends and admirers. After his death in the spring of 2000, this community of talented and dedicated young scholars remains as a permanent legacy of his educational vision.
Wells Scholars receive full tuition and course-related fees, as well as a living stipend for four years of undergraduate study on the Bloomington campus of IU. The program also offers special seminars, an optional year of study abroad, and support for a summer research project or internship. The Wells program emphasizes close interaction with faculty, academic and career advising, opportunities for community service, and contact with distinguished visitors.
Wells Scholars are selected for having demonstrated exceptional qualities of character and leadership and distinction both inside and outside of the classroom.
