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Eight area students were among the 200 across the state awarded $30,000 scholarships to the Next Generation Hoosier Educators, according to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.

Scott County scholarship recipients were Blake Smith of Austin High School who will be attending Ball State University, and Scottsburg High School seniors Allison Schmidt who will be attending Ball State along with Johnathon Perkinson and Romelia Neace who will be attending IU-PU Indianapolis.

Jackson County scholarship winners were Brownstown Central students Grant Elliott who will attend Hanover College and Macey Stuckwisch who plans to attend IVY Tech along with Seymour High School students Alisha Busby who plans to attend IU Southeast and Will Rinehart who will attend Oakland City University.

Selected through a competitive process based on academic achievement and additional factors, recipients will receive $7,500 annually (up to $30,000 total) for committing to teach in Indiana for at least five years after graduating college.

A total of 627 students applied for the 2022-23 Next Generation Hoosier Educators Scholarship, a 43% increase in submitted applications compared to last year. Applications were received from learners representing 270 high schools in 86 of Indiana’s 92 counties. Additionally, 75 percent of applicants were Indiana high school seniors with the remainder comprised of current college students.

To qualify for the scholarship, students had to either graduate in the top 20 percent of their high school class, earn a score in the 20th percentile on the SAT or ACT, or have at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA.