The Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, the first school of philanthropy in the world, hosted its inaugural Pitch Your Passion competition this month. The top two winners were awarded a Thomasson Scholarship, which covers up to four years of tuition and fees, room and board, books, and a semester abroad. The remaining participants were awarded partial scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $7,500 annually.
Reese Gheen, an incoming transfer student from Ivy Tech, said he was elated to be a Thomasson Scholarship recipient.
“I feel so incredibly lucky and overwhelmed with gratitude; it’s truly life changing,” he said. “After high school, I enrolled in Ivy Tech due to its affordability. Now, getting the scholarship as a transfer is huge. I don’t have to worry about the financial side, which allows me to focus completely on my education, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”
The 12 entrants were high school and transfer students who were recently accepted to IU Indianapolis, as well as current freshmen who want to add a philanthropy major. They identified a current economic, social or cultural challenge and worked with other students to present a plan of action.
The other Thomasson Scholarship recipient is Kensdiana Fleurant, a senior at Avon High School. Now that she has the financial support to earn her bachelor’s degree in philanthropy, she’s one step closer to her dream of starting a nonprofit organization.
“My purpose is to serve others,” Fleurant said. “It is my dream to start my own nonprofit and challenge the stigma around mental health. It is OK to go through things. It does not define who you are as a person or have to stop you from achieving your goals.
“Through philanthropy, I can serve the people in my community and do something that’s bigger than myself.”
The Pitch Your Passion competition encourages prospective students to think about how to make their passion their profession and learn more about what it is like to be a part of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
“It’s a wonderful way for students to synthesize a lot of information and articulate their early thoughts about what difference they want to make in the world,” said Amir Pasic, dean of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. “This is a great opportunity to begin reflecting on what you know, what your ambitions are, and what you would like to discover in the future.”
Entrants were organized into four groups, presenting on mental health, food insecurity, social justice and housing insecurity. Their presentations had to include a description of the problem they are trying to solve, data to support why it needs to be addressed, why it matters to the broader community and their solution.