Education

By Stacey Shannon— MUNCIE, Ind.—Editor’s note: The Future Leaders of America series profiles high school seniors who display leadership qualities in their school and the community. The series is brought to you by Pridemark Construction. Life is certainly busy for Burris Laboratory School senior, Alexis Dotson, but she’s figured out how to best juggle her school, extracurricular and work responsibilities: to-do lists. The lifelong Muncie resident has been working since she turned 14 in various jobs, including as a barista, cashier, grocery clerk and pizza waitress. She’s also spent hours in rehearsals for theater productions both at school and at…

By Kallie Sulanke— MUNCIE, Ind.—The Exchange Club of Muncie honored 30 Muncie tenth-graders from Muncie Central High School and Burris Laboratory School during the Club’s annual Sophomore Honors Day luncheon on Thursday, May 5. As one way to support youth in our community, Exchange Club has hosted this event for more than 85 years. The purpose is to recognize students early in their high school careers and encourage and inspire them to continue to work toward continued high achievement as they complete high school. Student honorees enjoyed lunch with club members. Holly Stachler, educational consultant and owner of Upgrade ED,…

By Sheryl Swingley— MUNCIE, Ind.—The Muncie branch of the American Association of University Women has awarded three $1,500 scholarships – two to Ivy Tech Community College students and one to a Ball State University student. The two Ivy Tech students earning the AAUW scholarship are Kami Fulkerson and Carrie Hopper. Fulkerson is working toward an undergraduate degree in special education. Hopper is working toward an associate degree in cyber security. The Ball State student earning the AAUW scholarship is Dawnya Mercado. She is working toward a master’s degree in social work. To be eligible for the scholarship, an applicant must…

By Willow Howard— MUNCIE, Ind.—Former Muncie Central High School student and 2021 Delaware County Fair Queen 1st Runner-Up Taegan Carpenter was recently awarded the highly competitive Boren Scholarship. The Boren Scholarship is an initiative of the Defense Language and National Security Education Office of the US Department of Defense. This year, it was awarded to 208 college students across the nation and provides each of them with up to $25,000 for study abroad in areas critical to national security. Carpenter will be studying for one year in Taiwan to improve her Mandarin language skills. Carpenter is a 19-year-old college student…

By Ball State Marketing and Communications— MUNCIE, Indiana – Ball State University Libraries, along with a few area partners, are hosting a community scan day—an opportunity for community members to have their family photographs and documents digitized, at no charge, in an effort to preserve local history. The event, “Preserving Local History: Community Scan Day,” will be held 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on May 14 in the cantina at Minnetrista Museum & Gardens, 1200 North Minnetrista Parkway, in Muncie. In addition to having photographs and documents digitized and added to local digital archives, community members will be given a digital copy…

By Tara Edmondson— MUNCIE, Ind.—Students from St. Michael Catholic School, a part of the Muncie Catholic Pastorate, recently participated in their first annual Archangel’s in Action Day. Students, teachers, and helpers volunteered across Muncie, serving our brothers and sisters in Christ in the community. All grades, preschool through 8th, were involved in the day. Our students in Kindergarten through 2nd grade stayed onthe St. Michael campus, making 250 sack lunches for the Soup Kitchen of Muncie and 172 hygiene kits for Muncie Mission, while our preschoolers painted river rocks and artwork for Bethel Pointe Nursing Home, a cause championed by…

By Ball State Marketing and Communications— MUNCIE, Indiana – For the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ball State University on Saturday returned to its traditional setting for its Spring Commencement ceremony. At the main ceremony held Saturday morning on the Old Quad, Ball State conferred more than 3,400 doctoral, specialist, master’s, and baccalaureate degrees for its Class of 2022. University President Geoffrey S. Mearns, speaking from the stage on the Fine Arts Terrace, encouraged the graduates to take a moment to appreciate the opportunity to play a vital role in a University tradition more than 100…

By Ball State Marketing & Communications— MUNCIE, Indiana – In its final meeting of the 2021-22 academic year, the Ball State Board of Trustees heard an update on the University’s groundbreaking partnership with Muncie Community Schools (MCS), and four members of MCS’ Board were reappointed. In July 2018, Ball State and MCS embarked on a historic partnership to provide excellent public education to every student in Muncie. Ball State received oversight authorization of MCS from the Indiana General Assembly in May 2018. The University appoints a seven-member governing board for MCS—five members appointed by the Ball State Board of Trustees,…