What's Happening in Cougar Country

A white envelope sitting on the kitchen counter. 

When you’ve had a bad day, and you’re tired after a long day of school and work, you never know what might turn that day around – no matter how late in the day it is.

For Lake Catholic senior Tristan Sanders, it was that white envelope sitting on the kitchen counter. 

It wasn’t the envelope so much, but it was the letter inside it. The letter that notified her she was one of winners of the Excellence Scholarship through Ohio State University’s Morrill Scholarship Program, which equals full in-state tuition for eight semesters (four years). 

The Morrill Scholarship Program (MSP) is Ohio State's premiere diversity/merit scholarship program, rewarding academically talented students who are actively engaged in diversity-based leadership, service and social justice activities, according to the program’s website.

“I was having a bad day, and when I got home from work, my mom handed me the envelope and told me I should I open it,” Sanders said. “I didn’t really feel like it, but I took it to my room and laid on my bed. I opened it and started reading it and saw the “Congratulations” and I just started freaking out.”

Every year, Ohio State will have roughly 75,000 total applications to the Columbus campus. Of those, approximately 8,000 students will be enrolled. Out of those 8,000, anywhere between 5,000-7,000 apply for the Morrill Scholarship Program. The program only admits 350-400 students (each earning one of three scholarships), and only 50-60 of those are from Northeast Ohio. 

So, the fact that Sanders freaked out is justifiable.

“Full tuition for four years. I still can’t believe it,” she said. “It makes things so much easier for my mom.”

The process for applying for the program was fairly simple. Click the button on the undergraduate application that you want to apply, and then answer the essay question. Answering the question, on the other hand, was the difficult part, as there was a 350-500 word count limit and trying to get her message across while being brief was challenging.

But when it came to answering the prompt – “How have your life experiences and/or endeavors prepared you to be a Morrill Scholar? Please answer fully, and when possible, provide specific examples.” – Sanders said she had more than enough to write about.

“I wrote about my experiences of diversity and inclusion from being bi-racial and not fitting in, the isolation, and racist things I’ve experienced,” she said. “Everything I’ve experienced has motivated me to work hard and be successful – turning tragedies into triumphs.”

The Morrill Scholarship is awarded on a competitive basis to students admitted to the Columbus campus for the autumn semester following high school graduation. The program seeks academically exceptional high school seniors who will serve as student ambassadors and champions of scholarship and diversity, according to the program’s website. 

As one of the top seniors, academically, in Lake Catholic’s Class of 2023, Sanders said whether she was getting the scholarship or not, she planned on being heavily involved once she arrived on campus in Columbus in the fall. 

“I’m planning on majoring in Health Science, because I want to be a dentist,” she said. “So, the program is pretty rigorous, and being involved around campus is important to me too. I was going to be able to meet the requirements for the scholarship once I’m there whether I got it or not, so I’m not worried about that.”

And now, because of the news in the white envelope that was sitting on her counter, she has even less to worry about.