May 2023 News
Academy Teacher Named Ball Brothers Foundation Excellence in Teaching Finalist
Friday, May 5, 2023
Heather Rogers, Associate Lecturer of Russian and German, was recently named a finalist for the Ball Brothers Foundation Excellence in Teaching award. This award honors a Delaware County teacher who excels in teaching. Although Heather was not selected as the winner, she was one of just three high school teachers in the county to be named a finalist and she received a grant to support her classes. Heather is the only member of the faculty who has been with the Academy since it opened in 1990. She is an incredible member of this community and an integral part of the school’s success!
English Teaching Position Available
Friday, April 28, 2023
The Indiana Academy currently has an opening for Assistant Lecturer of English. Details about the position can be found at the link below.
Senior Ethan Doerner Awarded Scholarships to Business/Law Program at Seton Hall
Monday, April 24, 2023
Academy Senior Ethan Doerner has accepted an offer from Seton Hall University for their 3+3 accelerated business/law school program. This program will allow Ethan to simultaneously earn a B.S. in Business and a Juris Doctorate degree from Seton Hall Law, one of the most renowned law schools in the nation.
Just as impressively, Ethan has been awarded scholarships from Seton Hall in the amount of $112,500 over his four years at Seton Hall. Ethan’s mother, Amy, says “we are very proud of him!” We are as well. Congratulations, Ethan!
Academic Super Bowl Teams Qualify for State Competition
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
Tuesday, April 18, 17 students from the Indiana Academy traveled to Greenfield-Central High School for the area competition of Academic Super Bowl. Coached by Jessica Edrington, and driven by Meg Wright and Kim Foltz, the students competed in English, Fine Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Math, under the theme of “The Age of Exploration: 1400 – 1650.”
While not all of our teams placed first in the area competition, all five subject teams qualified for the state competition on May 6th, and the total score of the subject rounds qualified the Interdisciplinary team for the state competition.
These students have worked very hard this semester preparing for competition, so please congratulate them:
English: Lila Beghtel (captain), Elise Adams, Anna Gu, Alesya Rathinasamy
Fine Arts: Jo Ciceu (captain), Elise Adams, Lila Beghtel, Sam Greathouse, Junhwa Kim
Math: Elijah Buck (captain), Sophia Griffin-Little, Anna Gu, Carson Gull, Arav Singh, Aidan Tomlin
Science: Jonathan Slater (captain), Sophia Griffin-Little, Carson Gull, Arav Singh, Daniel Yoo
Social Studies: Yifei Wang (captain), Alex Bell, Jo Ciceu, Jaehun Kim
Senior Lila Beghtel Awarded Multiple Scholarships
Monday, April 17, 2023
Academy Senior Lila Beghtel was recently accepted to be part of the Noblitt Scholars Program at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and received the Gibson Scholarship, worth $20,000 per year for all four years. Additionally, she received a State Farm Foundation Scholarship worth $5,000 per year for four years. These scholarships will allow Lila to study electrical engineering at Rose-Hulman.
Lila’s parents, Greg and Joy Beghtel, are certain that Rose-Hulman is “the right fit for her.” They also say, “Thanks so much for all you do for both our girls. We love the experience they are having at the Academy.”
Congratulations, Lila!
Senior Hattie Sparks Receives Stamps Scholarship
Monday, April 10, 2023
Congratulations to senior student Hattie Sparks on receiving the prestigious Stamps Scholarship and admission into the Honors College at Purdue University. In addition to covering full tuition for 8 semesters in the Purdue Honors College, the scholarship grants recipients $10,000 dollars per year to use for other educational opportunities such as study abroad, internships, internships abroad, research, among other experiential related activity. “I am so proud of Hattie,” Dr. Olufowote, Director of Academic Affairs at the Indiana Academy stated upon receiving word. “In my role I don’t often get to know students as much as I’d like, but I’ve had the opportunity to acquaint myself with Hattie pretty well over the last year and I can’t think of a more fitting person to fulfill the mission of the Stamps family through this stellar opportunity.” The Stamps organization was started by Roe Stamps and his wife, Penny, in 2006 at Georgia Tech and has grown to a sizeable philanthropic partnership with close to 40 participating schools. “I am so excited! Not just for the financial gain – which is remarkable, don’t get me wrong – but for the community,” Hattie remarked. “Their students are passionate leaders who want to help the world; it’s like they are cultivating a group of future philanthropists. I am so honored that they selected me to join their community and I am looking forward to meeting so many wonderful people!”
Read more about the Stamps Scholarship here: www.stampsscholars.org
Senior Karisten Poole Awarded National Merit Scholarship
Friday, April 7, 2023
We have been notified that Senior Karisten Poole has been chosen as the recipient of a National Merit Scholarship. In February, Karisten established herself as one of the top 1% of high school seniors in the state of Indiana with her PSAT scores as a National Merit finalist. Karisten is now one of just 7200 students in the country to receive a National Merit Scholarship. Congratulations, Karisten! We’re very proud of you!
One Ball State Day – Indiana Academy Recap
Thursday, April 6, 2023
April 6, 2023
Alumni, Faculty, Staff, Parents, Students, and Friends:
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Indiana Academy yesterday on One Ball State Day. The day was a great success thanks to your incredible support! Here are a few highlights:
- The Academy raised $58,175 from 244 unique donors.
- The Academy finished 1st among Teachers College departments in donors and dollars raised.
- The Academy finished 2nd overall on campus in total unique donors, earning $1000 in challenge money.
- The Academy finished 2nd overall on campus in most donors before 10 AM, earning $1500 in challenge money.
- The Academy finished 2nd overall on campus in most donors between 8-10 PM, earning $1000 in challenge money.
- The Academy finished 3rd overall on campus in most money raised between 10 AM–Noon, earning $1000 in challenge money.
- The Academy finished 3rd overall on campus in most gifts received, earning $1000 in challenge money.
- The Academy received donations from 32 states and 3 countries.
My favorite part of One Ball State Day was browsing social media and reading through the posts of alumni describing the tremendous impact the Indiana Academy had on their lives!
In a few weeks, we will receive a report detailing which funds received donations. This will guide us in planning how to use these gifts to best support Indiana Academy students. Funds from donations in 2022 were used to reduce room/board fees for students, provide additional financial aid to families, purchase technology/supplies for classrooms, and continue classroom renovations (one classroom is scheduled to be renovated this summer).
None of this is possible without your amazing support. Thank you!
Dain Kavars
Executive Director
Academy Gameathon Raises Over $900 for Charity
Tuesday, April 4, 2023
On Saturday, April 1, the Indiana Academy partnered with Extra Life in the 24-hour Gameathon, where Academy students earned community service hours and raised money while playing various video games. 62 Academy students participated in the event, as both gamers and volunteers, and raised a total of $936.24 for the Riley Hospital for Children.
Student Life Counselor Vincent Rivera says, “I wanted to use this opportunity to thank all who participated, as well as those who volunteered to help run the event and make having it at all possible in the first place. Among those students who participated, I wanted to recognize Addy Stefancik, Aaron Ruark, D. Martin, and Mahlon Ilyas, as each of them raised at least $100 for the Riley Hospital for Children during Gameathon. Addy raised the most, having brought in a whopping $200 for charity. Thanks to them, but also thanks to all who participated and helped raise money for a worthy cause.”
Thanks go also to Leiton Haack, Bridgett Nesbit, Chayleigh Swartz, Sydney Craig, Elijah Buck, and Mahlon Ilyas for volunteering to help run Gameathon. All of them made rounds throughout the day in order to monitor and record student participation. Special thanks to Mahlon Ilyas, who contributed his own games, consoles, and equipment toward the running of activities in the downstairs lounges throughout the day. According to Mr. Rivera, “Gameathon this year wouldn’t have been possible without him.”
Academy/Burris Future Problem Solving Team Wins State Tournament
Monday, April 3, 2023
On Saturday, April 1, the Indiana Academy and Burris Future Problem Solving (FPS) team won first place at the Indiana state tournament. As a result, the team will be advancing to the FPSPI international conference June 7-11 at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst. In addition to the team’s first place finish, Academy junior Anna Gu won first place in the Scenario Writing competition for her short story.
The combined Academy-Burris team consists of Academy students Sadie Berg, Anna Gu, and Jess Littleford; and Burris student Owen Ross, who plans to attend the Academy next year. Sadie Berg and Jess Littleford serve as coaches for the senior team, and also act as senior coaches for the Burris junior team.
Congratulations to our Future Problem Solvers!