Bernice Carver Scholarship of Hope awarded to Kissinger Monday night
(Talk of the Town photo by Jennifer Zartman Romano) Above, from left, Columbia City High School principal Gregg Goewert, Bernice Carver Scholarship of Hope recipient Derek Kissinger and Columbia City High School Alumni Association founder Ted Gruver pause for a photograph following the annual Columbia City High School Honor Convocation Monday night.
By Jennifer Zartman Romano
On Monday, May 24, the Bernice Carver Scholarship of Hope was awarded to Derek Kissinger. Kissinger, the son of Jon and Deanna Kissinger, plans to attend Indiana-Purdue University at Fort Wayne to study electrical engineering technology. The award was presented on behalf of Barbara Carver Frey, niece of Bernice Carver, by fellow Columbia City High School Class of 1957 classmate Ted Gruver of Maryland.
The Bernice Carver Scholarship of Hope was established in 2000 as a tribute to much-beloved educator in Whitley County, teaching at Columbia City High School.
Carver was selected as the 1979 Citizen of the Year, served as Whitley County Historian or more than 30 years and was responsible for naming Indian Springs Middle School. The school's cafetorium is named in her honor, The Carver Center.
"As one of Columbia City’s most dedicated and beloved educators, our family wanted to honor her memory in the form of a scholarship that would assist a young student to further his or her education," writes Frey. "We wanted applicants who are good citizens with a quest for knowledge, an ambition to seek higher learning and a desire to share their newfound knowledge with others. These traits would best reflect Bernice’s admirable character and zest for life."