Urban League Helping Over 1,500 Students Through Annual Scholarship Fair

On the morning of Tuesday, September 24, Urban League of Northwest Indiana (Gary, IN) hosted the 18th installment of its Annual Scholarship Fair. The fair was once again held in Indiana University Northwest’s Savannah Fitness Center. Over 1500 students from across Lake, Porter, and La Porte counties attended the event. They came from a wide array of schools, including Michigan City’s Marquette Catholic High School, Gary’s Thea Bowman Leadership Academy, and institutions from South Bend, Merrillville, and Valparaiso. 

According to Dr. Vanessa Allen-McCloud, President and CEO of Urban League, the Annual Scholarship Fair is highly beneficial for local students.

“Urban League’s annual scholarship fair is very unique,” Allen-McCloud said. “It differs from the typical college fair in that it brings in recruiters from colleges throughout the country to issue partial or full scholarship awards and acceptance letters to eligible students. The recruiters will also conduct onsite interviews with the students who are here today.”

Over 60 colleges and universities from across the country sent representatives to discuss scholarships and enrollment with the assembled students. These included Valparaiso University, Purdue University Northwest, Grand Canyon University in Arizona, Langston University in Oklahoma, Tuskegee University in Alabama, and Simmons College of Kentucky.

Dr. Deborah Black, college and career readiness coordinator at Urban League, feels that the atmosphere of the Annual Scholarship Fair promotes a higher rate of scholarship applications among the students present.

“This event gives the students both energy and information,” Black said. “They get motivated to apply for scholarships when they hear that others are receiving them. Many years ago, when I graduated, we did not have opportunities like this. I know what it’s like to scrape your money together and even then it wasn’t enough. There are so many dollars available now, but these kids need information about those dollars. Our Annual Scholarship Fair is a conduit for providing that information, and I'm very proud to be part of it.”

This past July, Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana gifted Urban League $250,000 to fund the Do Well by Doing Good Scholarship, a collaboration between Urban League and IU Northwest that will offer financial aid to students who graduate from Gary-area schools. At this year’s scholarship fair, IU Northwest offered students four-year scholarships and accepted students on the spot. Students wanting to learn more about IU Northwest could take guided tours led by IU Northwest students. Vicki Román-Lagunas, interim chancellor at IU Northwest, is pleased that the Annual Scholarship Fair is being held at IU Northwest for the third consecutive year.

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