News Announcement
For more information contact Lynne Briggs or Cheryl Kight at
614-469-1950

Columbus, November 2009 

TOLEDO RESIDENT, RECIPIENT OF ANDERSON FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP, PURSUING BUSINESS DEGREE AT LOURDES COLLEGE

Brandon Welever, from Toledo, Ohio is a senior at Lourdes College studying Business Administration.  He is the recipient of a scholarship from the Anderson Foundation through The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges’ (OFIC) Ohio Scholars Program. 

“It has just been my father and I most of my life”, Brandon says.  “He has been disabled since I was born, but he refused to let me work throughout my school years so I could concentrate on my studies and just be a kid.  When I applied to Lourdes, I knew I would have to start contributing financially.” 

Upon his high school graduation Brandon accepted the position of coach for the high school bowling team and also began his first job as a pin-setter mechanic at a bowling alley.  Currently, he works as a personal trainer at a large fitness facility and continues to run the bowling program at the high school. 

“Some people,” Brandon says, “don’t understand that the difficulties I may have faced in my life have made me the person that I am today.  I appreciate everything I have and everything I receive, because I recognize the hard work that has gone into it.  Words can’t begin to express how grateful I am for receiving the Anderson Foundation scholarship.” 

The Anderson Foundation has partnered with OFIC for 56 years to provide college access to Ohio’s students and has a cumulative giving total of more than half a million dollars.  The foundation is currently supporting 11 students from the Toledo area as they pursue their undergraduate degrees.

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 98,000 students and award one-third of all bachelor’s degrees in the state. For 60 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 University, Hiram College, John Carroll University, Kenyon College, Lake Erie College, Lourdes College, Malone University, Marietta College, Mount Union College, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Muskingum University, 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.