Education

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,…

Panthers program quickly gaining a reputation. By Andy Klotz, APR— MUNCIE, Ind. – Imagine starting a Division I college basketball program from scratch. Now imagine making the NCAA tournament in that first year. And then again in the second. That’s essentially what Brian DeRome has done as the Robotics coach at Southside Middle School. The second-year Industrial Technology teacher with a background in robotics started the school’s program last year, and now his teams are two-for-two in qualifying for the VEX Robotics World Championships. This year’s squad is headed to Dallas this weekend to compete. “It is very rare to…

By Ball State Marketing and Communications— MUNCIE, Indiana – The Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities and Burris Laboratory School are once again receiving national recognition. U.S. News & World Report recently ranked the Indiana Academy (No. 2) and Burris (No. 7) among the top high schools in Indiana in its “2022 Best U.S. High Schools” listing. Both schools are operated by Ball State University’s Teachers College. “These excellent rankings are a testament to the hard work being done by our students, faculty, and staff at both institutions on a daily basis,” said Dr. Anand R. Marri, Teachers College…

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. For Burris Laboratory School senior Hannah Smith, helping other people and making a difference in the world are her priorities. While she’s participated in various school sports like cross country, soccer, swimming and track, Smith embraces activities that can help others. During high school, for instance, she’s been a mentor to middle school students. In 2020, she also participated in a group to encourage young…