December 2025 News
Indiana Academy Students Lead Effort to End Alzheimer’s
Tuesday, December 9, 2025
Alzheimer’s disease affects more than 6 million Americans, touching families, friends, and communities across the country. Each Fall, the Alzheimer’s Association’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s brings people together to remember, honor, and raise money to support research for a cure. This year, the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities’ National Honor Society (NHS) chapter joined the cause in a powerful way.
More than 60 students, and numerous faculty and staff, volunteered at the Muncie event in September. Together, they raised more than $4,200 for the Alzheimer’s Association—surpassing their goal for a third consecutive year.
“It didn’t feel like an obligation,” said NHS President Neela Cormier-Marri, a senior at the Academy. “Everyone wanted to be there. We started early, setting up tables and balloons, cheering on the walkers, and helping with the cleanup afterward. The whole morning was about community.”
Indiana Academy’s chapter of NHS began supporting the walk four years ago, and the partnership has grown stronger each year. Adviser Chris Buczek, associate lecturer of chemistry, who founded the chapter five years ago, said the service aligns with the group’s mission.
“I hold these students to very high standards in terms of service, leadership, and character—and they’ve come through with shining colors year after year,” Ms. Buczek said. “Projects like this show how much they care about making a difference, not just here on campus but in the broader Muncie community.”
The NHS leadership team also includes Savannah Scott, who helps coordinate member participation and oversees the group’s Study Buddies peer mentoring program. There are 47 Indiana Academy students—nearly 25 percent of the school’s student body—who are members of the Academy’s NHS chapter.
John Eenigenburg, the Academy’s chapter treasurer, recalled the excitement when the group surpassed its fundraising goal.
“Last year we raised about $3,400, and this year we hit $4,300,” he said. “Our goal this year was $4,000. Seeing everyone’s reaction when we crossed that mark was amazing. I even donated the last $15 myself just to make sure we did it—and then we even topped that.”
For many students, the day was personal. The Academy’s NHS chapter secretary, Andrew Maple, said the Promise Garden ceremony—a moment when participants raise colored flowers representing their personal connection to Alzheimer’s—left a lasting impression.
“Everyone has been impacted by Alzheimer’s in some way,” Mr. Maple said. “Standing there, seeing those flowers and the people holding them—it really hits you. It’s emotional and inspiring.”
The Alzheimer’s walk is one of many projects NHS members lead each year. Students also volunteer at local food banks, clean public spaces, and mentor their peers through Study Buddies, a tutoring and accountability program they created to help classmates navigate rigorous coursework. Each member strives to complete at least 50 service hours annually, though many exceed that goal.
“What makes our NHS special is that every project has a personal touch,” Ms. Cormier-Marri said. “It’s not just about earning hours—it’s about passion and giving back in ways that matter to us and others.”
Ms. Buczek said the students’ energy and leadership continue to inspire her.
“They’re proof that when bright, motivated students are trusted with real responsibility, they rise to the occasion—and make a lasting impact.”
Maria Lopez-Owens, senior director of the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, said the Academy students’ involvement strengthens the entire event, which had 522 participants and raised more than $73,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association this year.
“Our organization cannot do what we do without the support of students like those from the Indiana Academy National Honor Society,” she said. “They are the organizers, the volunteers, and the cheering squad who bring wonderful excitement to the day. We hope to build on this momentum for years to come.”
Global Scholar Program Receives Community Grant
Friday, November 21, 2025
The Indiana Academy’s Global Scholar Certificate Program received the Indiana Language Roadmap Community Grant this year from the U.S. Department of Defense’s National Security Education Program to continue to promote international education at the Academy.
The Indiana Language Roadmap provides world language instruction and training in global skills for Indiana residents and is housed in the Center for the Study for Global Change at Indiana University in Bloomington.
The grant was used in the International Fest project where Global Scholar Certificate participants are paired with an international student to showcase their country and culture. The project’s objective was to provide a hands-on learning experience for students who are interested in learning about the world and to allow Global Scholar Certificate participants to execute their country projects more effectively. The grant also funded t-shirts to help our international program promote international cultures and the Global Scholar Certificate Program.
The Global Scholar Certificate Program is a non-academic program that is offered to students to engage beyond the classroom. Forty-five students currently participate in the Global Scholar Certificate Program at the Academy. Students presented a country and culture of their choice at the International Festival on November 18 as a part of International Education Week.
The International Fest was designed to celebrate different global cultures and is hosted by Academy students.
Academic Spell Bowl Champions
Tuesday, November 4, 2025
On Monday, November 3, six Academy students traveled to Hamilton Southeastern High School to compete at the regional Academic Spell Bowl competition. The Indiana Academy was the only school in Class 4 participating, so despite being four students short of a full team, they earned first place with 36 points! (Each round is worth 9 points.)
The Class 1 and 2 schools competing included Yorktown, Delta, Noblesville, Fishers, New Castle, Carmel, Pendleton Heights, and Hamilton Southeastern.
Led by sponsor Jessica Edrington, the Academy team consisted of Brooklyn Grey, Avi Kambham, Savannah Scott, Danyal Syed, and co-captains Sarah Glunt and Malachi Smith. Co-captains Sarah and Malachi both had perfect rounds, and will be invited to participate in an individual state competition online later this month. There were only 3 or 4 perfect rounds the entire competition.
Congratulations to the Spell Bowl team!
Academic Super Bowl State Competition
Monday, May 12, 2025
Saturday, May 10th, the Indiana Academy’s Academic Super Bowl team competed at Purdue University for the state championship in Math, Science, and Interdisciplinary.
Our Math team successfully defended their state championship, bringing home a plaque and banner, now hanging in the student lounge in Wagoner Hall. Science and Interdisciplinary made respectable showings, especially in a competition where questions were thrown out and challenges were made on stage “for the first time in my experience,” according to sponsor Jessica Edrington.
It was an interesting day, capped off by a hurried return so students could attend prom, which was held Saturday evening. The team also expresses gratitude to Chris Buczek for driving the second van.
Congratulations to the Academic Super Bowl team!
Indiana Academy Shines at Model UN-University of Chicago
Wednesday, February 12, 2025
A fifteen student Model UN delegation from the Indiana Academy recently competed in the 2025 Model UN-University of Chicago (MUNUC) conference from February 6th through February 9th. MUNUC’s annual conference in downtown Chicago ranks as one of the best in the world, attracting over 3,000 students from across the United States and around the world. Students from the Academy participated across several committees with about half earning recognition for exemplar performances. Congratulations go to Alex Christman, Alex Overmars, Kenne Rasnick, Rori Hailey, Henry Godfrey, Kenny Gihozo, Keagan Brogdon, Christopher Holmquist, John Eenigenburg, Jeevisha Dhanda, A.J. Carter, Ella Robertson, Jackson Bales, Brody Chestnut, and Agastya Anand for a job well done! “Being recognized at a Model UN conference this large is usually reserved for the top 3-5% of schools and delegates that participate. Considering the global talent and staunch preparation we competed against, returning with seven of our students earning recognition is beyond impressive and almost unimaginable,” remarks Dr. Olufowote, Director of Academic Affairs and Academy Model UN sponsor. Award winners can be found below:
War of the Roses: YORK
Honorable mention – Ella Robertson
Planes, Trains, and automobiles: TRANSIT
Honorable mention – Jackson Bales
The Russian Constitutional convention: RUSSIA
Honorable mention – Brody Chestnut
The court of the Nizams: HYDERABAD
Verbal commendation – Agastya Anand
NATO: Belgium
Verbal commendation – Alex Overmars
EU: Belgium
Verbal commendation- Christopher Holmquist & John Eenigenburg
Quiz Bowl Team Qualifies for State, National Tournaments
Thursday, January 30, 2025
On Saturday, January 25, the Indiana Academy’s Quiz Bowl team competed in the regional Quiz Bowl tournament sponsored by the Indiana Association of School Principals (IASP). The team consisting of Brody Chestnut, Lena Beghtel, Hunter Dunnuck, Isaac Fischer, and Sarah Glunt took second place and qualified for both the state championship sponsored by the IASP and the Small School National Championship Tournament (SSNCT) sponsored by National Academic Quiz Tournaments, LLC (NAQT), the suppliers of the questions used in the tournament.
This is the 6th year in a row that the Indiana Academy has qualified for this national championship, and the team hopes to improve on last year’s 5-5 performance, the best in school history. The SSNCT will be held April 25-27 in Rosemont, Illinois.
Congratulations to the Indiana Academy Quiz Bowl team for their excellent performance!
BETA Club Success
Sunday, November 17, 2024
BETA Club “is the largest, independent, educational youth organization in America, emphasizing the four pillars of academic achievement, character, leadership, and service.” The weekend of November 15-16, the Indiana Academy chapter competed at the Indiana State competition and achieved resounding success! Four teams and eleven individual Academy competitors (a total of 15 students) advanced to the National competition in Orlando, Florida, this summer. Those advancing are:
Individual
1st Place – Hand Drawn Anime Division II – Lily Ellis
1st Place – Black & White Photography Division II – Sophia Vijverberg
2nd Place – Digital Enhanced Photography Division II – Kinlee Taylor
2nd Place – Digital Art Division I – Jeevisha Dhanda
2nd Place – Biomedical Health Science – Jeevisha Dhanda
2nd Place – BETA Scholarship – Brody Chestnut
3rd Place – US History (12th Grade) – Brody Chestnut
3rd Place – Poetry Division II – Kayla Cavanaugh
3rd Place – Mathematics (11th Grade) – Yedaam Cho
3rd Place – Spelling (12th Grade) – MaKaela Gist
3rd Place – Psychology (11th Grade)- Doris Li
3rd Place – US History (11th Grade) – Kennedy Rasnick
3rd Place – Creative Writing Division I – Presli Ginder
Group
1st Place – Musicology Senior – Keagan Brogdon, Brody Chestnut, Grace Koester, & Eva Vessels
2nd Place – Engineering Senior – Sylvester Acherekoh, Yedaam Cho, Kennedy Rasnick, & Sophia Vijverberg
3rd Place – Book Battle Senior – Keagan Brogdon, Lily Ellis, Izzy Orpurt, & Calley Thomas
3rd Place – Quiz Bow Senior – Keagan Brogdon, Brody Chestnut, Lily Ellis, & Grace Koester
Congratulations to all of our Indiana Academy student competitors!
Academic Spell Bowl Results
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
On Monday, November 4th, ten of our students traveled to Hamilton Southeastern High School to compete in the area Academic Spell Bowl competition. Our team had a strong performance, with one perfect round (Sarah Glunt) and one near-perfect round (Jillian George). However, our score of 52 as a team was one point shy of the state qualifying cutoff this year. Sarah will have the opportunity to compete in an individual match against other students who had perfect rounds at area.
Your Spell Bowl team is: Alesya Rathinasamy (captain), Miriam Boersma, Jillian George, Sarah Glunt, Brooklyn Grey, Jordan Heaviland, Lily Partridge, Savannah Scott, Malachi Smith, Calley Thomas, and Delaney Blankenbuehler-Lee (alternate).
A big thank you to Dr. Sean Scott for driving the second van for the competition and giving us his Monday evening!
Connecting Students to Careers
Thursday, May 23, 2024
IU Health Ball and the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities have been within walking distance of each other since 1988. In 2023, the organizations came together in a partnership to connect students with careers in the healthcare field.
Read More…
Courtesy of IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital
2024 Academic Super Bowl Results
Monday, May 6, 2024
On Saturday, May 4, twelve Academy students competed at the state level for Academic Super Bowl in Science, Fine Arts, Mathematics, and Interdisciplinary. Fine Arts placed third, and Math placed first, with Science and Interdisciplinary giving respectable performances as state qualifiers.
The new State Champion banner is hanging in Burkhardt lounge. If you see any of these students, please congratulate them!
The team includes Alexander Bell (interdisciplinary), Theo Davis (fine arts), Hunter Dunnuck (science captain), Garrett Elliott (math, science), Sam Greathouse (fine arts captain, interdisciplinary captain), Anna Gu (math, interdisciplinary), Carson Gull (math captain, science, interdisciplinary), Christopher Holmquist (science), Sung Hoo Hong (math), Justin Lin (math), Alesya Rathinasamy (science), and Marissa Silken (fine arts)