Ivy Tech Community College - Northwest honored eight students on October 6 at the Radisson Hotel during the Fourth Annual Chancellor's Scholarship dinner. The theme of this year's dinner was "Linking Communities through Education". The students were honored for their outstanding academic achievement of maintaining a 3.5 GPA or higher while overcoming financial and personal obstacles.

The students who received the $1000 award are:

Carol Baisden, Hospitality Administration, East Chicago campus	Cynthia Boyd, Computer Information Systems, Gary campus	Julie Brown, Practical Nursing, Valparaiso campus
Iesha N. Lockett, Computer Information Systems	Michael Miller, Liberal Arts/Pre-Law, Michigan City campus	Scott Miller, Computer Information Systems, Valparaiso campus
Christine Rehbein, Business Administration/Accounting	Lisa Reick, Physical Therapist Assistant, Gary campus

Carol Baisden, a Hospitality Administration major at the East Chicago campus, entered college after raising three children. Baisden said continuing her education, along with a full-time job as a manager at Methodist Hospitals, was not easy. She also has the financial burden of sending all three of her children through college while she and her husband both attend Ivy Tech. However, she has been able to maintain a 4.0 GPA.

"Maintaining a high grade point average and being active on campus has helped me toward my ultimate goal of becoming a chef", she said.

At twenty-six, Michael Miller said he was not "ready" for college at eighteen. However the mistakes he made in his previous college experience have helped him to be a better student this time. Miller is majoring in Liberal Arts/Pre-Law. He currently works at the Indiana State Prison. His job has exposed him to the law and a new goal of becoming a lawyer. Miller has maintained a 4.0 while working part-time at the prison.

Dr. Juan Andrade (L) greets Chancellor J. Guadalupe Valtierra (R) before the scholarship dinner.

Guest speaker for the evening was Dr. Juan Andrade, president of the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute which has trained over 200,000 present and future leaders, registered over two million new voters and published 425 studies on Hispanic demographics since 1982. Dr. Andrade has been a leader in fighting for the principles of democracy in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Paraguay, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and Haiti. He has been recognized three times as one of the most influential Hispanics in America.