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Charlene Brown
Wells Scholars Program
chajbrow@indiana.edu
812-855-4024

George Vlahakis
IU Communications
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Last modified: Friday, August 10, 2012

20 students selected as Wells Scholars at Indiana University

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 10, 2012

EDITORS: Links to photographs of each Wells Scholar are available with their biographical information below. The following links will take you directly to the student in your city.

Deepti Bansal, of Belmont, Calif.
John Tyler Barnes, of Kokomo, Ind.
Andrew Braden, of Elkhart, Ind.
Christy Chang, of Granger, Ind.
Rebecca Ferber, of St. Louis, Mo.
Hannah Fidler, of Bloomington, Ind.
Halle Hill, of Elkhart, Ind.
Owen Hoepfner, of Mount Prospect, Ill.
Kristie Hsu, of Fishers, Ind.
Bridget Kelly, of Indianapolis
Adam Kruchten, of Columbus, Ind.
Kevin Kuo, of Terre Haute, Ind.
Lori Lovell, of Florence, Ky.
Lucy Morrell, of Memphis, Tenn.
Janit Pandya, of Greenwood, Ind.
Raymond Parrish II, of Peru, Ind.
Jane Reagan, of Indianapolis
Adriana Rivera, of East Chicago, Ind.
Kishan Sangani, of Avon, Ind.
Samyuth Subramanian, of Newburgh, Ind.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University has announced that 19 entering freshmen and one current IU junior will join the more than 480 others who have been named Wells Scholars since the first class enrolled in 1990.

Herman B Wells

The scholarship honors the late Herman B Wells, who served as IU's president and chancellor.

The incoming class includes several students who are the first from their high schools to receive this prestigious award.

The scholarship, created 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 have gone on to win more than 70 national and international scholarships, fellowships and grants, such as the Rhodes, Truman, Marshall, Soros, Mitchell, Churchill, Gates Cambridge, Fulbright and Goldwater.

This past year, Wells Scholars won several national and international awards, including Truman, Marshall, Gates Cambridge and Beinecke scholarships, a Hertz Fellowship and two Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst scholarships.

Today, many Wells Scholars alumni are studying or working in Indiana, throughout the country and overseas in medicine, business, education, law, the arts and other fields. There are Wells Scholars who hold senior positions in major corporations or who have started their own businesses. Some serve in government or as clergy. Others are engaged in relief and service efforts in the United States and abroad or are scholars and teachers at renowned educational institutions such as Yale, MIT, the University of Michigan, the University of Pennsylvania and IU itself.

On his 90th birthday, Chancellor Wells was officially presented with the prestigious scholarship program as a gift from his many friends and admirers. Since his death in the spring of 2000, this community of talented and dedicated young scholars has remained a permanent legacy of his educational vision.

Incoming freshman 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. Scholars may choose to spend up to one of those years studying abroad. Newly named recipients who are already students at IU receive tuition, fees and a stipend for their remaining undergraduate years. Wells Scholars hold named scholarships within the program that honor donors or those donors designate. All Wells Scholars, however, receive the same level of support.

The Wells program also offers special seminars; support for a summer research or service project, creative activity or internship; and a wide range of extracurricular events and activities. The Wells program emphasizes close interaction with faculty, academic and career advising, opportunities for public service and contact with distinguished visitors.

Freshman Wells Scholars are nominated by their high schools or the IU Office of Admissions and selected for having demonstrated exceptional qualities of character, leadership and distinction both inside and outside the classroom. Internal Wells Scholars are nominated by IU Bloomington faculty and selected for similar qualities.

The 20 new Wells Scholars, their hometowns and their high schools are:

Deepti Bansal of Belmont, Calif., an AP Scholar with Distinction and the first Wells Scholar from Carlmont High School, where she was honored with the Sequoia Union High School District Superintendent's Award for her academic and extracurricular achievements.

As the CEO of a mock company in the Hewlett-Packard Junior Achievement Social Innovation Relay, Bansal led her team to first-place finishes at the regional and national levels with their business plan to develop a product to promote literacy. The team went on to represent the United States in international competition. Her team at the HP JA Social Innovation Camp won third place.

Founder and president of the Carlmont Model United Nations club, she won five best delegate awards at conferences around the country. Her sophomore year, Bansal received the Asian American Alliance Leadership Scholarship and at Carlmont founded and served the Indian Desi club as president. She also founded and served the DECA business club as vice president. Active in Key Club throughout high school, she served as treasurer and a leader of many fundraising and service activities.

Bansal attended the Young Women's Institute at IU's Kelley School of Business and plans to major in business and computer science. She will hold the Thomas Charles Hutton Scholarship within the Wells Scholars Program. Photo: newsinfo.iu.edu/asset/page/normal/14389.html

John Tyler Barnes of Kokomo, Ind., a National Merit Scholar and the first Wells Scholar from Northwestern High School, where he was the salutatorian. Indiana's 2012 Mr. Science, Barnes also was named the Top Young Scientist at the 2012 Hoosier Science and Engineering Fair. He was twice named Outstanding Junior Scientist by the Indiana Junior Academy of Science and was selected as a semifinalist in the national Intel Science Talent Search.

His many other science awards include second and fourth places at Intel International Science and Engineering fairs and second place at the National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium. An American Junior Academy of Science Fellow, he presented his research at the 2012 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has published three articles on his work on acid mine drainage remediation.

He served as treasurer of his class, the National Honor Society and the Northwestern Rotary Interact Club and co-founded the Service Club. He captained the swimming and cross country teams and was a member of the varsity swimming and golf teams for four years and a member of the leadership team of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for two years.

Barnes plans to major in biochemistry and economics and to participate in the Integrated Freshman Learning Experience and the Science, Technology and Research Scholars mentored-research programs. He will hold the Edward L. Hutton Scholarship within the Wells Scholars Program. Photo: newsinfo.iu.edu/asset/page/normal/14390.html

Andrew Braden of Elkhart, Ind., an AP Scholar and salutatorian of Elkhart Central High School. He was president of the National Honor Society and of his class, vice president of student council and the class commencement speaker. He served on the Superintendent's Student Advisory Council as vice president and then president and received the SSAC Outstanding Senior Award.

Braden was honored with the Al Bias Outstanding Citizenship Award for his contributions to school and community, the Commemorative Scholarship Award for academic achievement, leadership, character and involvement, and the Rotary Youth Leadership Award. Captain of the speech and debate team, he won the Indiana High School Forensic Association's Hawker Mental Attitude Award and multiple awards in state and national competitions, including the 2012 IHSFA state championship in original oratory, second in the nation in original oratory at the 2012 National Forensic League competition and fifth in original oratory at the 2011 National Catholic Forensic League tournament.

His junior year, Braden was editor-in-chief of the school news magazine, the Blazer Pennant, and earned the South Bend Tribune's most valuable school journalist award. A member of the varsity basketball team, he also played first-chair bassoon in symphonic band and orchestra, sang in the concert choir and performed lead roles in theater productions.

Braden plans to study legal studies, political science and psychology. He will hold the Bernardo Mendel Scholarship within the Wells Scholars Program. Photo: newsinfo.iu.edu/asset/page/normal/14391.html

Christy Chang of Granger, Ind., an AP Scholar with Distinction, a National Merit Finalist and valedictorian at Penn High School in Mishawaka. She was honored with the Penn Academic Competitions Scholarship Award for outstanding participation and leadership, the Dan Kish Award for team spirit and good attitude, and the Spirit of Women Young Person Role Model Award for her contributions to her peers and community.

A four-year member of the Penn Academic Spell Bowl Team, which won three state championships, Chang served as co-captain her junior and senior years and holds the state record for most words spelled correctly in competition. She was president of the National Honor Society, secretary of the Model United Nations club, a four-year member of Student Council and freshman class president, as well as a member of the philosophy club and a freshman mentor. She performed as concert mistress for three years with the Penn orchestra, which twice finished second in state competition. She was a four-year member of the varsity lacrosse team and was a homecoming princess.

Chang received an Award of Excellence for her studies in Spain with the IU Honors Program in Foreign Languages and plans to major in international business and finance. She will hold the Sherrill S. and Helen A. Deputy Scholarship within the Wells Scholars Program. Photo: newsinfo.iu.edu/asset/page/normal/14392.html

Rebecca Ferber of St. Louis, Mo., an AP Scholar with Distinction and the first Wells Scholar from Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School. She was honored with the St. Louis County Outstanding Student Award and a Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony University of Rochester Book Award for academic excellence, leadership, dedication to community action and commitment to addressing difficult social issues.

President of the MICDS Peer Tutoring organization, Ferber also was co-president of its community service committee and of BJC Wings, an outreach organization through which teens visit with patients on hospice and supportive care. She served on the World Food Day Junior Board and worked with school staff, faculty and fellow students to create a composting program for the lunch room and to set up an anti-bullying workshop for middle school students.

Ferber co-founded the Outdoors Club and served as its president her senior year. She was a staff writer and news editor for the student newspaper, The Voice, and participated in Model United Nations. A member of the varsity cross country and track and field teams for three years, she captained both teams her senior year and was a member of the Warriors Indoor Track Club. She also served as a camp counselor and director of the high ropes course.

Ferber received school awards for English and history and plans to major in English. She will hold the Lynda Glick Schwartz Scholarship within the Wells Scholars Program. Photo: newsinfo.iu.edu/asset/page/normal/14393.html

Hannah Fidler of Bloomington, Ind., a National Merit Scholar, an AP Scholar with Distinction and salutatorian at Bloomington High School North. A member of the Bloomington Herald-Times Scholastic Star Gold Team, she was vice president of student council, class president her freshman and sophomore years and a member of the National Honor Society.

Twice named to the Indiana All-State Big Band and honored with the 2012 Louis Armstrong Jazz Award as her school's outstanding senior jazz musician, Fidler received the Outstanding Musician and Outstanding Solo and Combo awards at jazz festivals around the country. She also performs on the harpsichord and the Baroque recorder and served as president of the Tri-M Music Honor Society.

Her freshman year, she won second in state as a member of North's varsity Science Olympiad team and has interned at the Centre on Global Health Security at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London. A member of Bloomington's Fair Trade Board and a volunteer at Global Gifts fair trade store and IU's Hilltop Garden and Research Center, she received the 2012 Be More Energized Award from the Bloomington Volunteer Network and Community Foundation for her work for fair trade and social justice. In 2010 she received the Lion's Club Personal Achievement Award for overcoming adversity.

Fidler plans to major in jazz bass and biochemistry. She will hold a LaVelle Fortenberry Scholarship within the Wells Scholars Program. Photo: newsinfo.iu.edu/asset/page/normal/14394.html

Halle Hill of Elkhart, Ind., a National Achievement Scholar, an AP Scholar and valedictorian from Elkhart Central High School, where she received the VanDerKarr Scholarship for academic excellence, leadership and character. A four-year member of student council and chair of its service project committee, Hill also served on the Superintendent's Student Advisory Council, was a member of the National Honor Society, and was named the Elkhart County Distinguished Young Woman first runner-up and Scholastics Award recipient.

As co-editor-in-chief of the school's Blazer Pennant news magazine, Hill was named the 2012 Most Valuable Staffer by the South Bend Tribune. She has studied voice and piano and was a Premier Arts Theatre Thespian, having performed in more than 15 musical productions and volunteered at summer theater camps. She attended the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership and the Jr. National Young Leaders conferences and founded the Elkhart chapter of the Young Entrepreneurs Academy, which enables high school students to create and operate their own for-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations. She also founded her school's chapter of a prostate cancer awareness campaign.

Hill received an Award of Excellence for her studies in France with the IU Honors Program in Foreign Languages and plans to study Romance and Near Eastern languages at IU. She will hold the Virgil T. DeVault Scholarship within the Wells Scholars Program. Photo: newsinfo.iu.edu/asset/page/normal/14395.html

Owen Hoepfner of Mount Prospect, Ill., a National AP Scholar, a National Merit Scholar and the first Wells Scholar from Prospect High School, where he was president of the National Honor Society and a member of La Société Honoraire de Français. Captain of the Congressional Debate team, Hoepfner won awards in state competition in 2011 and 2012 and was named to the 2012 All-State Team as one of the top 10 debaters in Illinois. A member of the Scholastic Bowl and math teams, he twice qualified for state competition in math.

Hoepfner participated in his school's student-led character education and community development program and was a literacy tutor, freshman mentor and volunteer at the local food depository. He received honorable mention for the 2012 Chicago Daily Herald Northwest Suburban Academic Team and contributed to an award-winning student-run public affairs cable talk show.

He was trumpet section leader and featured soloist for the Marching Knights band, which won regional and state competitions and reached the finals of the Illinois Marching Band Championship and the Bands of America multi-state regional competitions; he also performed in the symphonic band and a jazz ensemble. Captain of the varsity tennis team, he was also founder and captain of the Diamond Cutters, an Ultimate Frisbee club.

Hoepfner plans to study business and public policy. He will hold a William Lowe Bryan Scholarship within the Wells Scholars Program. Photo: newsinfo.iu.edu/asset/page/normal/14396.html

Kristie Hsu of Fishers, Ind., a National Merit Scholar, an AP Scholar with Distinction and valedictorian of Hamilton Southeastern High School. An Indianapolis Star Academic All-Star, Hsu also was honored with the school's Set a Good Example Award and served on the Fishers Youth Town Council. She co-founded the Hamilton Southeastern Model United Nations club, serving as its president for two years.

Vice president of the math team, she received the Susan Wong Senior Math Award, and the team took first place at the Huntington College Math Competition. Hsu was a member of the National Honor and Spanish Honorary societies and earned a Silver Medal on the National Spanish Exam. She also won top honors in state music competition.

A two-year representative on the Student Athletic Council, she played varsity tennis for four years, captained the team her junior and senior years and was named the Scholar Athlete of the Year her senior year. She won the No. 1 singles conference championship three times and was honored for her sportsmanship and named to the Indiana High School Tennis Coaches Association 2012 Girls' All-State Singles Team. Active in her church, she taught elementary school children in rural areas of Taiwan on a summer mission trip.

An intern at the Richard G. Lugar Center for Renewable Energy, Hsu plans to study neuroscience and Spanish. She will hold the Jerry Yeagley Scholarship within the Wells Scholars Program. Photo: newsinfo.iu.edu/asset/page/normal/14397.html

Bridget Kelly of Indianapolis, an AP Scholar with Honor, a National Merit Finalist and a graduate of Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School. At Brebeuf, she received the McCashland Scholarship for her excellence in history and social sciences and the O'Brien Memorial Scholarship for community involvement. She was an executive board member of the National Honor Society, a Brebeuf campus ministry advisory board member, a Kairos retreat leader, an admissions ambassador and a peer tutor.

Kelly edited the Brebeuf literary magazine, Manitou, and received the National American Voices Award for poetry in the National Scholastic Arts and Writing Award Competition and a Sewanee Book Award for excellence in writing. With Simply Science, she taught area school children, worked on an independent research project under the direction of a cultural anthropologist and served as an intern on an ethnographic study of the old Southside Indianapolis neighborhood. She has studied Irish dance for seven years, served for three years as president of the Irish Club and contributed to Brebeuf theater as stage manager, costume head and a run-crew member.

Kelly received an Award of Excellence for her studies in Spain with the IU Honors Program in Foreign Languages. She plans to study cultural anthropology and to participate in the Science, Technology and Research Scholars mentored-research program. She will hold the Heim-Hutton Scholarship within the Wells Scholars Program. Photo: newsinfo.iu.edu/asset/page/normal/14398.html

Adam Kruchten of Columbus, Ind., a National AP Scholar, an Indianapolis Star Academic All-Star and a graduate of Columbus East High School. He was president of the National Honor Society and the National Art Honor Society and won the Newkirk Award for excellence in math. Kruchten served as captain of the Academic Super Bowl math team for three years and the science team for two and was a three-year member of the interdisciplinary team, which won the state title his freshman year. The science team finished second in the state his junior year.

A member of Key Club, he was honored with the Bartholomew County Youth Leadership Award and the Discus Award for Well-Rounded Students. He traveled to Japan as a Friendship Ambassador and to China on a U.S. Department of State National Security Language Initiative for Youth Study Abroad. He was a hurdler and pole vaulter on the Columbus East track and field team and was named to the Indiana Academic All-State Team his junior year. A volunteer tutor in math and science, he has been involved in molecular biology research on transducin, a protein in the retinas of vertebrates.

Kruchten plans to major in biochemistry and to participate in the Integrated Freshman Learning Experience mentored-research program. He will hold the Alice Glick Meshbane Scholarship within the Wells Scholars Program. Photo: newsinfo.iu.edu/asset/page/normal/14399.html

Kevin Kuo of Terre Haute, Ind., an AP Scholar with Honor and a graduate of Terre Haute North Vigo High School. He was co-chair of the Latin Club and captain of the Academic Super Bowl and Junior Engineering Technical Society teams. He was also a member of the National Honor Society and of the Indiana Math League, Knowledge Masters Open, Rube Goldberg and Spell Bowl teams.

He was a national finalist in the 2012 U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad competition and the winner of the 2011 Carnegie Mellon University Innovation Video Challenge. He received a Gold Medal in the 2011 National Classical Etymology Exam and twice earned summa cum laude recognition on the National Latin Exam. Kuo also twice won the Terre Haute Noon Optimist Club Essay Contest.

A classical and jazz musician on piano and trombone, he received top honors in state solo and ensemble competitions and was named the outstanding soloist at several Indiana jazz festivals. Terre Haute North honored him with the 2012 Louis Armstrong Award as its outstanding jazz musician. Kuo represented his school at Hoosier Boys State and was co-chair of the student ambassador group. A member of the Asian/Pacific Islander Club, he was also an after-school tutor and a volunteer at the community youth center, a homeless shelter and the children's museum.

Already engaged in science research, Kuo plans to major in biochemistry. He will hold an Alice Adelle Freese Scholarship within the Wells Scholars Program. Photo: newsinfo.iu.edu/asset/page/normal/14400.html

Lori Lovell of Florence, Ky., a National Merit Scholar, a semifinalist in the national Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology and the first Wells Scholar from the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Bowling Green, Ky. She was a founding member of Global Relief and Sustainable Societies Club and served as president of environmental protection. She was also the main coordinator for Amnesty International Student Group, secretary of the community service organization Beta Club, the community service chair of Y Club, an academy community developer and a founding member and captain of the speech and debate team.

She placed second in impromptu speaking in the National Tournament of Champions, twice qualified for the Future Business Leaders of America national competition and received the Best Bill Award at the Kentucky Youth Assembly. She has researched water quality and stream drainage with faculty at Western Kentucky University, presented her work at university and national conferences, and published in the Journal of Experimental Secondary Science. She and a fellow Gatton student represented Kentucky in the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge.

Selected for an NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program this summer, Lovell interned at the University of Arizona's Biosphere 2 facility, studying global climate modeling. She plans to study environmental science at IU. She will hold an Alice Adelle Freese Scholarship within the Wells Scholars Program. Photo: newsinfo.iu.edu/asset/page/normal/14401.html

Lucy Morrell of Memphis, Tenn., a National Merit Finalist, an AP Scholar and a graduate of White Station High School. Morrell was second vice president of the Latin club and a member of the National Honor and National Latin Honor societies. She twice won first place in the female mythological costume division at the Tennessee Junior Classical League Convention for her well-researched and constructed replicas of ancient masks and clothing and won two seconds and a third on the convention's Classical Art Exam, a third on the Derivatives Exam and first in state on the TJCL Hellenics Exam. She served as an intern for the Center for Hellenic Studies, working for the Anthros Library in Nafplion, Greece.

Morrell had several first-place finishes and won both gold and bronze medals in the Wordsmith Writing Competition, which challenges participants, in a timed setting, to write responses in "dashes" as short as 40 or as long as 400 words. She was a leader in the Congo Collaborative English and creative writing tutoring workshop and won the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen Award at the local and regional levels and reached the state finals. A member of her school's varsity soccer team her freshman and sophomore years, she was a four-year member and president her junior and senior years of the Bicycling Society.

Morrell plans to study English, film studies and theater, with a particular interest in playwriting and screenwriting. She will hold the William and Martha Lea Armstrong Scholarship within the Wells Scholars Program. Photo: newsinfo.iu.edu/asset/page/normal/14402.html

Janit Pandya of Greenwood, Ind., an AP Scholar with Distinction, an Indianapolis Star Academic All-Star and valedictorian at Center Grove High School. He captained the math and science Academic Super Bowl teams and was a member of the varsity Academic Quiz Bowl, Brain Game, and speech and debate teams. He served as secretary of the National Honor Society and president of the Spanish National Honor Society and earned a silver medal in the National Spanish Exam his junior year. He was a member of Raising Student Voice and Participation and represented Center Grove at Hoosier Boys State.

Pandya volunteered his time to tutor fellow students in science, math and Spanish. A volunteer as well at St. Thomas Clinic and St. Francis Hospital, he has also been a research intern at St. Francis, working under the supervision of an IU School of Medicine clinical professor of neonatology on a study of the metabolite carnitine's relationship to prenatal and perinatal factors. The abstract was accepted for publication by the Pediatric Academic Society and for poster presentation at the IU School of Medicine research day. Pandya was also founder and president of the Center Grove Ping Pong Club and plays tabla Indian drums.

He plans to major in neuroscience. He will hold the J. Peter Grace Scholarship within the Wells Scholars Program. Photo: newsinfo.iu.edu/asset/page/normal/14403.html

Raymond Parrish II of Peru, Ind., an IU junior completing a major in biology and minors in chemistry and music. He has been studying the evolution of sexual reproduction and host-parasite coevolution as part of the research group in the laboratory of IU Distinguished Professor of Biology Curtis Lively. Parrish co-authored "Running With the Red Queen: Host-Parasite Coevolution Selects for Biparental Sex," published in the journal Science, and has presented his work at the Indianapolis Caenorhabditis elegans conference.

A member of the Biology Club and the Student Pre-Medical Association at IU, he has been an undergraduate teaching assistant in the IU Department of Biology and a volunteer with the Dukes Memorial Hospital Auxiliary in Peru, Ind. He co-founded and is president of the Folding@home Project at IU. A philanthropic organization, it seeks to recruit students to participate in a Stanford University project on protein folding, a process that occurs in all living organisms and has significant implications for understanding a variety of cancers and other diseases, including Alzheimer's and Huntington's.

Parrish is the first Wells Scholar from Maconaquah High School in Bunker Hill, Ind. He graduated as valedictorian of his class and was president of the National Honor Society, drum major of the marching band and drum captain of the Winter Percussion Ensemble. Parrish will hold the Marguerite E. Smith Scholarship within the Wells Scholars Program. Photo: newsinfo.iu.edu/asset/page/normal/14404.html

Jane Reagan of Indianapolis, a National Merit Scholar, an AP Scholar with Distinction and a graduate of North Central High School. She was vice president of the National Honor Society and a member of the French National Honor Society. She placed second on the National French Exam her senior year and in the top 10 the four previous years. She received a nationally awarded travel grant from the French society to participate in an exchange program in Alsace. She has studied piano, sung in choral groups and performed in student-directed plays.

A member of the varsity basketball and volleyball teams, she received the Volleyball Coach's Award her junior year for outstanding leadership and dedication. She represented her school at the 2010 Indiana High School Athletic Association Student Leadership Conference and served on the student athletic advisory committee. Captain of the volleyball team her senior year, she was named North Central's Top Scholar Athlete in 2012. She was active in Young Democrats and Habitat for Humanity and recruited the volleyball team to participate in a Habitat build. Her other service activities included working with peers with disabilities in Best Buddies and tutoring homeless children through School on Wheels and at the Coburn Women's Shelter.

Honored with many academic awards at North Central, Reagan plans to study political science and French at IU. She will hold the Kathryn Jane Alexander Hutton Scholarship within the Wells Scholars Program. Photo: newsinfo.iu.edu/asset/page/normal/14405.html

Adriana Rivera of East Chicago, Ind., a National Hispanic Recognition Scholar and valedictorian of East Chicago Central High School. Rivera is the first Wells Scholar from East Chicago Central High School. She served as vice president of the National Honor Society and the Spanish Club, and she was a class officer all four years. Captain of the Science Olympiad team, she qualified for state competition four years and placed fourth in state in 2010 in dynamic planet and second in state in 2012 in water quality, two earth science events. She also was a member of the first class of East Chicago's National Technical Honor Society.

Editor of the yearbook, she was co-editor and a staff writer on the school newspaper, as well as a member of the dance and drama clubs. A four-year member of the varsity softball team, she was named Most Valuable Player her junior year and team captain her senior year. She also served for three years as president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which has included community and worldwide service as part of its mission. She received the Best Mental Attitude Award for both volleyball and softball. A youth leader and preacher at her local church, she has also been a four-year member, as well as secretary and vice president, of Youth of East Chicago, a community service and outreach organization.

Rivera plans to major in English education. She will hold the J. Bruce and Helen Merritt Scholarship within the Wells Scholars Program. Photo: newsinfo.iu.edu/asset/page/normal/14406.html

Kishan Sangani of Avon, Ind., a Coca-Cola National Scholar, a National AP Scholar, a National Merit Scholar and salutatorian at Avon High School. He also was named an Indianapolis Star Academic All-Star and was president of the National Honor Society, a member of the English and Spanish National Honor societies, a student government representative and a delegate to the Richard G. Lugar leadership symposium.

A four-year member of Avon's varsity Quiz Bowl team, Sangani also participated in Brain Game and co-captained the school's track and field team. He led many community service projects and served as vice president of Peer Pals, an organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with disabilities. Active in the Boy Scouts, he was a senior patrol leader and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. He was youth group leader at the BAPS Indianapolis Temple.

Through Project Seed, he interned at the IU School of Medicine Simulation Center, which enabled him to experience the practice of medicine in a virtual hospital environment. He volunteered at the IU Simon Cancer Center, where he observed the practice of medicine in a real-world setting. Sangani plans to study neuroscience, biology and Spanish, and to participate in the Integrated Freshman Learning Experience and the Science, Technology and Research Scholars mentored-research programs. He will hold a William Lowe Bryan Scholarship within the Wells Scholars Program. Photo: newsinfo.iu.edu/asset/page/normal/14407.html

Samyuth Subramanian of Newburgh, Ind., a National AP Scholar, a National Merit Scholar and valedictorian at Signature School in Evansville, where he also earned an International Baccalaureate Diploma. He served on student council, was president of the National Honor Society and the math club, and was a member of the math honorary society Mu Alpha Theta. Subramanian represented Signature at the Rose-Hulman Math Competition, where he placed 12th in state; the American Mathematics Competition; and the Indiana State Mathematics Competition, where he received math honors with distinction. He also received the University of Evansville and the Signature School Math Excellence awards.

A three-year member of the school's speech team and captain of the domestic extemporaneous team his senior year, he twice qualified for state competition. As part of Youth Resources of Southwest Indiana, he served on Teen Court, which sets the sentences for young people with law violations, and was a counselor at Teen Power, a camp that encourages a drug- and alcohol-free lifestyle. Among other community service activities, he played first-chair viola in the Signature orchestra at charity events and volunteered in the public library and at local hospitals.

Subramanian plans to major in biochemistry and to participate in the Integrated Freshman Learning Experience and the Science, Technology and Research Scholars mentored-research programs. He will hold the Larry Paul Kays Scholarship within the Wells Scholars Program. Photo: newsinfo.iu.edu/asset/page/normal/14408.html

For more information about the Wells Scholars Program, call 812-855-9491.