The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges
250 E. Broad St., Suite 1700
Columbus, Ohio 43215-3722
For more information contact Lynne Briggs or Cheryl Kight at
614-469-1950 or briggs@ofic.org, kight@ofic.org
CINCINNATI RESIDENT, RECIPIENT OF SCHOLARSHIP FROM DUKE ENERGY OF OHIO AND KENTUCKY, MAJORING IN BIOLOGY AT KENYON COLLEGE
Pratima Shanbhag, from Cincinnati, is a junior at Kenyon College majoring in Biology. She is the recipient of a scholarship from Duke Energy of Ohio and Kentucky through The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges’ Ohio Scholars Program. Pratima expresses great appreciation for the financial support that is enabling her to continue her education. The assistance, she says, relieves the stress of financing her education and allows her to focus her time and energy on her studies.
In her thank-you letter to her scholarship donor, Pratima speaks in glowing terms about Kenyon College and refers to it as a college “that is shaping me into the kind of person I want to be”. It offers, she says, much more than excellent academics and a picturesque campus. Pratima feels that the Kenyon community has taught her that there is true joy and much to be learned from helping others. In that spirit of service, she has participated in several extracurricular and community service activities while at Kenyon. In addition to serving as a Kenyon tour guide and leading groups of prospective students and their parents through Kenyon’s campus, she has served as a teaching assistant for an introductory Biology lab class, assisting the professor in class as well as holding independent help sessions for the students. She is a member of the Archon Society, a Greek organization that promotes service to unite Kenyon College students with the residents of Knox County, serves as vice president of the South Asian Multicultural Organization for Student Awareness helping to plan and run a spring event, “Curry in a Hurry”, to raise money for needy children in India, and she tutors second grade students at a Gambier elementary school weekly.
Pratima says that the scholarship aid she receives encourages her to work harder toward her goal of becoming a pediatrician and traveling with Doctors Without Borders. “I hope to one day pay this gift forward,” she says, “and help others achieve their dreams as I have been helped”.
OFIC is the primary corporate and foundation solicitation organization for 34 independent Ohio colleges and universities and operates one of the largest, most comprehensive and diverse scholarship management services in the state. OFIC member colleges collectively enroll nearly 97,000 students and award one-third of all bachelor’s degrees in the state. For 58 years OFIC has worked to highlight the leadership, value and excellence of independent higher education and has provided unrestricted operating funds and scholarship commitments through funds raised in annual solicitations of businesses and foundations, thereby assuring continuation of excellence in private higher education. OFIC is governed by a Board of Trustees comprised of Ohio’s corporate leaders, as well as presidents of the 34 member colleges.
The member colleges are: Ashland University, Baldwin-Wallace College, Bluffton University, Capital University, Cedarville University, University of Dayton, Defiance College, Denison University, The University of Findlay, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Franklin University, Heidelberg College, Hiram College, John Carroll University, Kenyon College, Lake Erie College, Lourdes College, Malone University, Marietta College, Mount Union College, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Muskingum College, Notre Dame College, Oberlin College, Ohio Dominican University, Ohio Northern University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Otterbein College, Urbana University, Ursuline College, Walsh University, Wilmington College, Wittenberg University and The College of Wooster.