Obama Scholarship granted to student

Three students—one from GCSU—were awarded scholarships created with the money President Obama received for winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Junior education major Lily Keilhauer was one of 12 that received the scholarship and one of the six that was invited to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund summit in New York.

“(The Hispanic Scholarship Fund) saw that I had won scholarships before, and so they called me up as soon as they posted it and told me to really look into it,” Keilhauer said.

Keilhauer applied for the scholarship, along with approximately 70 other college students across the nation. In order to be eligible the student must have been Hispanic, have a 3.0 GPA or higher, be a recipient of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, and be pursuing a major in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) educational program with the plan to teach in the future. Applicants also had to complete an essay on why the STEM program is important to them.

Keilhauer says she has knowledge of the program because of her experience working with her sister.

“My twin sister is special needs and so I’ve always helped her out. Since she’s my twin, I relate to her a lot more. A lot of people don’t think she can do a lot of the stuff she can,” Keilhauer said. “She just has a different learning style.”

Keilhauer is from Marietta, Ga., but moved with her family from El Salvador at the age of 11. She says being from another country has also played a part in her different methods of teaching.

“I grew up in a different country so I didn’t get the choice to do a lot of stuff,” Keilhauer said.

As a recipient of the scholarship, Keilhauer receives $2,500 a year for two years.

She is planning on using her scholarship to fund her trip to Montepulciano, Italy this summer.

“One of my dreams has always been to study abroad,” Keilhauer said.

Keilhauer also has plans to enter the Peace Corps once she graduates, an idea she has had since a junior in high school.

“I’m going over there and I’m going to spend a year, maybe a year or two, getting to know the Peace Corps,” Keilhaur said. “After that I’m going to pursue the graduate program they have. So by the time I come back, I’ll have my master’s.”

Keilhauer also has plans to participate in the Teach for America program this summer.

Although Keilhauer does not know what she sees herself doing in the long run, she does see herself working with the Peace Corps for a while, hopefully aiding in Spanish-speaking countries.

“I want to reach out to as many people as possible,” Keilhauer said.

Posted by AubrieSofala on Nov 5 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.