Eye on the Storm: The Official Undergraduate Admissions Blog of the National Leader in Experiential, Hands-on Learning

A talented student and athlete, Megan McGowan had plenty of choices coming out of Batavia High School.

In addition to Keuka, she looked at Gannon, Scranton, D’Youville, Misercordia, St. Francis University, and Ithaca College. Three factors led her to choose Keuka: the Board of Trustees Scholarship, the occupational therapy program, and the chance to make an immediate impact on the tennis team.

“I was impressed by Keuka’s OT program and the overall atmosphere at the College,” said McGowan. “I also believed I had a good chance to play on the tennis team as a freshman.”

Not only did McGowan play her first year, she earned All-North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) first team honors in doubles and was a second team selection in singles.

She followed that up the following season by being named conference Player of the Year, earning All-NEAC first team honors in singles and doubles, and leading the Storm to its first NCAA Division III Tournament appearance.

In addition to establishing herself as the top women’s tennis player at Keuka and in the NEAC, Gowan has served as a tutor and student ambassador. And let’s not forgot her freshman year Field Period in China.

All in all, it’s been a full—and successful— two years at Keuka College for McGowan, who will graduate from Keuka with two degrees in OT: a bachelor’s in 2011 and a master’s the following year. And after that?

“I still have the travel bug and I’m thinking about going into the Peace Corps,” she explained.

McGowan’s ultimate career goal is “to work in a rehabilitation setting.” Her sophomore year Field Periods helped her decide what kind of clients she would like to serve.

“In OT, we are required to conduct two, sophomore year Field Periods,” she explained. “I thought I wanted to work with kids, so I worked at an elementary school for two weeks. The other two weeks I spent at a nursing home and I discovered that I liked working with adults more.”

McGowan recalls the satisfaction she received from “helping comfort a woman who was very upset.

“That was one of the things I read about in a textbook but had the opportunity to actually do at my Field Period [site].”

Growing up on a farm and being homeschooled provided Andrew Anderson with unique perspectives.

“I gained good common sense and self-motivation,” said Anderson, who helped his father to produce a hearty tomato crop this year despite it being a rainy season that contributed to diseased tomatoes for many other farmers.

His good sense is what led him to Keuka College.

“I looked at a few other colleges further away, but when I visited Keuka, I realized how knowledgeable the professors were and I liked what was being taught so close to home,” said the Rushville resident who commutes back and forth to campus.

Furthermore, the management major holds to the notion that “you don’t need to go into debt for things. Often times with interest, you end up paying twice or more what something is worth.”

So, the Transfer Scholarship recipient—who holds an associate degree in business administration from Finger Lakes Community College—saw Keuka as a good value, too.

“Attending Keuka was something I could do on my own, without asking for help from people,” said Anderson, who aspires to become a pilot in the Air Force after earning a bachelor’s degree.

Don’t misunderstand King Swank.

The freshman organizational communication major was honored to receive a George H. Ball Achievement Award to attend Keuka College.

But the fact is he had his sights set on spending the next four years of his life by the shore of Keuka Lake before the good news about the Ball Award reached his home in Rochester.

“Keuka was my No. 1 choice,” said Swank, an organizational communication major who also considered Buffalo State, Brockport State and St. John’s University. “I liked Keuka’s focus on experiential learning, [in particular] the Field Period program. It fit who I was.”

The same could be said for the Ball Achievement Award, which is offered to “high school seniors with solid academic records and involvement in co-curricular activities/programs who have demonstrated the importance of social responsibility.”

Part of his impressive, pre-Keuka record of social responsibility includes serving as an assistant basketball and softball coach at the South Avenue Recreation Center.

In addition, the 2009 graduate of John Marshall High School:

• was a member of Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy’s Youth Advisory Council;
• donated his time and talents to Youth Voice One Vision, a council that encourages youth interest in civic planning, developing partnerships with adults, building skills to interact with public officials, and creating activities to educate one another on the importance of civic involvement; and
• was active in Youth as Resources, “a community-based youth philanthropy and voice program.”

His commitment to service didn’t wane after he enrolled at Keuka. He became involved with two student organizations early in his first semester: Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) and Up ’till Dawn, which raises funds for, and awareness of, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

He will conduct his first Field Period with the City of Rochester Department of Parks and Recreation.
Said Swank: “I like to be hands-on.”

Alexandria Allen is the first member of her family to attend college but if she has her way, she won’t be the last.

“I see myself as a role model for my younger brothers,” said Allen, a recipient of the Leading the Way First Generation Scholarship.

Allen has two brothers—ages 8 and 14— and while being a role model for them suits her fine, she isn’t hesitant about backing that up with some sisterly words of wisdom now and then. She has been particularly emphatic about the importance of getting good grades with the oldest, a ninth-grader.

“He recently told me he wasn’t doing too well in school,” recalled Allen. “I told him that he needed to work on that.”

And sometimes, she is a bit more subtle.

“I was talking to him on the phone and he wasn’t thrilled that I had to hang up, but I made it a point to tell him why,” recalled Allen.

And that was?

“I had to do my homework.”

Allen has the full support of her father to employ any method that will encourage her brothers to follow her on the path to college.

“My father was unable to go to college but he always wanted the best for me. He is proud that I took [my education] a step further.”

A sophomore unified childhood/special education major from Mayfield, N.Y., Allen balances a full course load with plenty of extracurricular activities. She is president of B.A.K.U. (Bearers of Ancient Kultures United), a club that promotes culturally diverse programs and activities on campus and in surrounding communities. She serves on the Intramural Advisory Board and is a member of the dance team and Rotaract, a Rotary-sponsored service club.

Allen’s career goal is to teach in a fluent-Spanish classroom, but you can expect her to keep one eye on her brothers as they follow her lead toward a college degree.

Keuka College offers many freshman and transfer scholarship and grant opportunities. These students represent five recipients of our most common awards: the Board of Trustees Scholarship, the George H. Ball Achievement Award, the Leading the Way First Generation Scholarship, the Experiential Learning of the Month Fellowship Program, and the Transfer Achievement Award.

Read on to meet these students and find out how their scholarships have made a difference in their lives.

Meet Our Scholarship Winners

About Jen

What you see isn’t always what you get, but in the case of Jen Bush it is.

Bush, a sophomore education major from Endwell, was an outstanding student in high school, boasting a 93 average. She was a member of National Honor Society and received scholar-athlete awards in lacrosse and field hockey. She served as an English and social studies tutor and donated her time and talents to the After Prom Chem-Free Committee and Homecoming Float Committee.

She was also active in her community, serving her church as a Eucharistic minister, lector, altar server, and member of the choir. She was a volunteer for the Town of Union’s Haunted Hayride, took part in the annual river bank clean-up, and volunteered at a food pantry.

That resume helped her win the Experiential Learner of the Year Award for 2007, which carries a full fellowship. That was important to Bush and her family from a financial standpoint because her twin sister, Jessica, is also a sophomore in college.

The Experiential Learner of the Year Award does come with certain expectations, including a minimum of 25 hours of community service per semester. That hasn’t been a problem for Bush, who has donated her time and talents to the Angel Tree Project (which provides holiday gifts for needy children), Make a Difference Day, Celebrate Service… Celebrate Yates (community service day in Yates County), and many others.

Oh, and about those two other things she excelled at in high school—academics and athletics? Bush hasn’t skipped a beat. She made the Dean’s List with a 3.8 GPA and is a member of the lacrosse team. In fact, Coach Alena Krug was so impressed with Bush’s work ethic and leadership skills that she asked her to run the team’s off-season conditioning program.

The admissions folks and Experiential Learner of the Year committee figured Bush would be an asset to Keuka College and they were right. On the flip side, Bush figured Keuka was the perfect college for her and nothing has changed that opinion.

“The moment I stepped on campus it felt right to me,” said Bush. “My family is my priority and Keuka is a family-oriented college.”

About John

Johnathan Dixon is cognizant of the responsibility that goes with being a recipient of the Leading the Way First Generation Scholarship.

He understands he is leading the way for others, in particular his older brother.

“That’s motivation in itself [to succeed],” said the Rochester resident and freshman biochemistry major.

Dixon hopes that his pursuit of a college degree will inspire his older brother to follow suit. So far, he seems to be succeeding.

“He got his GED and now he’s thinking about going to Monroe Community College,” said Dixon.

The Leading the Way First Generation Scholarship was the brainchild of former admissions counselor and two-time Keuka graduate Gerald Thompson. Dixon was exactly the kind of student Thompson believed Keuka should reach out to, and not simply because he would be the first person in his family to attend college.

Social responsibility is something Keuka tries to instill in all of its students. Dixon had it long before he filled out a Keuka application.

While a student at Wilson High School, Dixon served his community as a member of Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy’s Youth Advisory Council. The Council held a Voice of the Youth Forum in the middle of 2008 and compiled the observations offered by the 200 youth who attended. The Council shared those observations with the mayor and his commissioners.

Dixon was also involved in the Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection, mentoring students in grades 7-9 with an eye toward helping them build strong relationships with school personnel and family members.

“I love working with kids,” said Dixon, who plans to attend medical school and become a pediatrician.

He has prepped for that career by working at Park Ridge Hospital. Dixon delivers surgical supplies, something he started doing in high school and continued to do while attending Keuka.

He hopes to expand his hands-on, real world experience at Keuka through Field Period, a required internship program. It’s one of the reasons he chose Keuka.

“I like having the opportunity to experience my major before going into it.”

About Courtney

Opportunity knocked and Courtney Lincoln answered.

The Waterloo native was impressed by Keuka College’s Field Period program and small class sizes. The George H. Ball Scholarship was icing on the cake.

“I am honored to have received the scholarship,” said Lincoln. “This award has encouraged me to carry out my leadership skills and given me the opportunity to be a role model, and meet other leaders as well.”

A sophomore business major (with a concentration in marketing), Lincoln wasted little time assuming a leadership role as a rookie on the women’s basketball team. After two games coming off the bench, Coach Dave Sweet inserted her as the starting point guard in the third game and she stayed there all season.

And if her rookie season was any indication, she’ll be running Keuka’s point for the next three years.

Lincoln led the Storm in assists with 74 and her 42 percent shooting from 3-point land was also tops on the team. She was second in steals, third in scoring and No. 5 in rebounds. She also canned 70 percent of her free throws as Keuka posted a 14-10 record, including 13-3 in the North Eastern Athletic Conference.

In addition to playing hoops, Lincoln is a lifeguard, student athletic trainer and works part- time for a restaurant in her hometown.

She plans to participate in SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) in the spring, when basketball isn’t in season.

In high school, she played basketball, volleyball and softball and was a member of the Varsity Club and Spanish Club.

About Matt

At first glance, Matt Crabb looks out of place on the Keuka College campus.

At 6-feet-7, 235 pounds, he looks more like a linebacker—which would be OK if Keuka had a football team—than the president of Kappa Delta Pi, the education honor society.

But in reality, Keuka is the perfect place for the senior education major from Livonia whose transition from high school to college wasn’t difficult because “I grew up in a small town and went to a small high school.”

The small-town values he developed in Livonia have long been a part of the Keuka College fabric.

“We (students) all have a core group of friends,” he explained, “but everyone knows everyone and we all care about each other.”

He was also impressed with the education faculty and “had the opportunity to play basketball,” said the three-sport (football, basketball, track) standout at Livonia Central School.”

However, Crabb admits that he wouldn’t have come to Keuka without the aid of the Board of Trustees Scholarship.

“The ability to graduate on time without having a lot of debt was important to me,” he explained.

Crabb arrived in Keuka Park with a clear career goal in mind; his parents are teachers, so the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree. However, Keuka’s Field Period, a required internship program, not only provided him hands-on teaching experience but “pinpointed what I wanted to do.

“I did a Field Period in a second grade classroom and while it was fun, I realized it wasn’t for me,” explained Crabb, who plans to teach fourth, fifth and sixth graders.

To further prepare for that challenge, he is working to set up “ Kid’s Night” programs in the nearby Penn Yan Central School District.

“It’s important to keep kids off the streets,” said Crabb, “but it’s also vital that students see school as a fun experience.”