Scholars Day Attracts Best and Brightest High School Students

COLUMBIA, Ky. -- Before Saturday, Lauren Marshall had already visited Lindsey Wilson College four times. But she was nervous on her fifth trip to the college.

Marshall was one of 139 high school seniors from Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio who attended Scholars Day Saturday. The students competed for one of three John B. Begley Scholarships. The students -- who were among the best and brightest high school seniors in the region -- interviewed with panels composed of LWC professors, students and Begley Scholar alumni.

"I was shaking like a leaf at the end of fall," said Marshall of Berea, Ky.

The Begley Scholars program is among the more unique four-year scholarships offered in Kentucky higher education. In addition to paying for a student's tuition, room and board, the Begley Scholarship exposes students to various cultural and intellectual programs.

"The thing that makes this scholarship so distinctive is the experiences that go along with the full ride," LWC President William T. Luckey Jr.

Marshall already plans to enroll at Lindsey Wilson in the fall and major in biology and cheer, but she said it would be "nice to get a full ride to the place I already plan to attend."

"I just really liked Lindsey Wilson, and I really like the atmosphere," she said. "It's just everything I was looking for in a college."

Greg Childs of Hamilton, Ohio, who attended Scholars Day, also plans to attend LWC in the fall and major in business administration while playing on the football team.

"I had a good experience in the interview, and I talked to the committee how I would be a good leader at the college," he said.

During Scholars Day lunch, current Begley Scholar Justin Givens of Greensburg, Ky., told guests that "in my time as a Begley Scholar, I've been given many opportunities."

"It's what you find on the inside that makes all the difference," said Givens, who will leave LWC a year early to attend medical school at the University of Louisville. "What sets Lindsey Wilson apart … is the family."

And Luckey told the students that now is a great time to join the Lindsey Wilson family.

"The transformation that has taken place here is dramatic," he said, citing the college's recent $40 million expansion and record enrollment. "This place has been on a remarkable roll. … We've had our collective foot squarely attached to the accelerator. … Your degree will mean more from Lindsey Wilson College 20 years from now than it does even today."

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