Regional campuses honor students, faculty and staff with Groups Scholars awards

With the expansion to five Indiana University regional campuses this year and IU Indianapolis in summer 2025, the IU Groups Scholars Program is empowering more first-generation students to succeed. The program, which provides academic, financial and social support to students, began at IU East, IU Kokomo, IU Northwest, IU South Bend and IU Southeast in fall 2023.

Out of the 130 students admitted into the regional campus programs, six were recognized with the Groups Scholar of the Year Award for their leadership skills, involvement in campus activities and community service.

Faculty and staff who go above and beyond to support students in the Groups Scholars Program were also recognized with Groups Scholars Service Award.

The Groups Scholar of the Year Award recipients are:

Nathan Hogg, IU East

Nathan Hogg is majoring in communications and minoring in marketing through the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at IU East. He has played a major role in revitalizing the Multicultural Affairs Club and currently serves as the president. He is also a student worker in the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, a recipient of IU’s MLK Building Bridges Award and a 21st Century Scholar.

He is the founder of Hogg Helps, an organization created to connect young people with mentors and help them successfully navigate the job-search process. Hogg is extensively involved in the Richmond community. He is a certified Community Health Worker and a member of the NAACP, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Wayne County Cares and the Drug Free Wayne County Coalition. He has also served on several local boards including Future Achievers of Richmond, Indiana, and the Black Legacy Project of Wayne County.

Diana Valencia, IU Kokomo

Diana Valencia is a pre-nursing major who made the Chancellor’s List for fall 2023 and spring 2024 at IU Kokomo. She is a a first-generation college student and a member of the Honors Program and Multicultural Student Center. She participated in her school’s diversity club, volunteered to translate for Hispanic parents at parent-teacher conferences and hosted an event to help younger kids learn Spanish.

Through the Groups program, Valencia also volunteered with the Family Service Association of Howard County to wrap Christmas gifts for those in need in Kokomo. Her hard work paid off with acceptance to IU Kokomo’s highly competitive nursing program after her first year of college.

Mina Mahmood, IU Northwest

Mina Mahmood is a G23 Scholar at IU Northwest who is majoring in neuroscience through the College of Arts and Sciences. She was selected as the first student government representative of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs. In this role, she serves as the student liaison and advocate for the office and regularly provides updates to the Student Government Association on the office’s events and activities.

The leadership skills Mahmood demonstrated while helping facilitate discussions between the Office of Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs and the Muslim Student Association ultimately led to a campus discussion regarding the crisis in Palestine/Israel. She is also working with IU Northwest Archives to preserve the history of IU Northwest through the I am IUN: Oral History Project.

Georgina Coria, IU South Bend

Georgina Coria is a pre-nursing major and a dedicated honors student at IU South Bend. She has attended Groups Scholars events and immersed herself in other campus activities like Titans on the Go, the recently founded commuter club.

Coria also serves as a peer mentor for the 21st Century Scholars Program and will be an incoming 21st Century Fellow for the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County. She is also involved in volunteer work at her church and is inspired to give back to her community.

Shaiel Garcia, IU South Bend

Shaiel Garcia is double majoring in political science and criminal justice, and minoring in history at IU South Bend. She has been actively involved on campus, including helping at the International Food Festival.

She is also serving in a new role as a peer mentor for 21st Century Scholars and is working to become a volunteer for La Casa de Amistad, South Bend. She wants to give back to the community and is committed to supporting other scholars.

Xondrais Glenn, IU Southeast

Xondrais Glenn, who is double majoring in psychology and sociology at IU Southeast, made the Chancellor’s List for fall 2023 and is a member of the Honors Program and Multicultural Student Center. She is a 21st Century Scholar and Grenadier Gold Scholarship recipient.

Getting research experience early in her collegiate career, Glenn received the Chancellor’s Award for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for her book review poster presentation of “Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt” by Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco as well as a project overview of preliminary results of her profile on McDowell County, West Virginia. In addition to her research, she enjoys volunteering and connecting with people.

Recipients of the Groups Scholars Service Award are:

Michelle Holliday, IU East

Michelle Holliday is a success coach in the Office of Student Success at IU East. She spent many hours last summer creating the curriculum for a wellness course for Groups Scholars that she co-taught. She also pushed for all the Groups Scholars to be in one First-Year Seminar course together in fall 2023 to continue their sense of community and belonging.

Holliday created a holiday gift bag for students at the end of the semester and put together a stress relief day including things like face masks, deep breathing and guided meditation. The students’ feedback was positive, saying they enjoyed being together all fall semester and wished there were another course they could all take together in spring.

Meg Galasso, IU Kokomo

Meg Galasso is an associate librarian, information services librarian and archivist, and liaison to the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at IU Kokomo. She also served as the instructor for the Groups Scholars’ First-Year Seminar. Galasso’s office door was always open for Groups Scholars to drop in to say hi or get advice.

Galasso also played a big role in the success of the Chancellor’s Guild dinner, the largest fundraising event of the year. It was themed around the Groups Scholars program, and her leadership led several donors to express interest in supporting the program.

Tara Bass, IU Kokomo

Tara Bass, the administrative assistant for the IU Kokomo Office of Student Success, is the backbone of the campus’s Groups Scholars Program. She was critical in getting the first year of this program off the ground, managing student applications, ensuring students made it to enrollment events, planning field trips, coordinating catering, ordering laptops and more.

Candace Rayburn, IU Northwest

Candace Rayburn works in enrollment management at IU Northwest, serving in numerous capacities to increase college attendance and retention. She has been a champion of the Groups Scholars Program and supports the students through monthly check-ins, assisting with programming, chaperoning trips and more.

Rayburn has also established positive relationships with schools and high school counselors within IU Northwest’s region to share the opportunity the Groups Scholars Program offers.

Jordan Keeley, IU South Bend

Jordan Keeley is majoring in nursing at IU South Bend and is a dedicated peer mentor who consistently goes above and beyond to support the Groups Scholars year-round. Keeley embodies this award through her positive attitude, reliability and dependability. After two semesters, she continues to engage and help the Groups Scholars cohort.

Kathy Miller and Cush Cuthbertson, IU South Bend 

Kathy Miller and Cush Cuthbertson, student retention specialists at the Titan Success Center at IU South Bend, have been pivotal in designing and launching the Groups Scholars Program. They led the design and implementation of the full five-week summer engagement program, which included a variety of activities each day after class and a landmark bus tour. They also identified and coordinated speakers, mentored peer mentors and Groups Scholars, awarded scholarships and more.

Throughout this process, Miller and Cuthbertson have shown unconditional support and maintained a positive attitude, making a significant impact on the program’s and students’ success.

Leigh Ann Meyer, IU Southeast

Leigh Anne Meyer, director of the Writing Center and instructor for W131 for Groups Summer Experience Program, went above and beyond to give Groups Scholars fun and innovative opportunities. She empowers Groups Scholars to understand themselves and their course work and become better writers. One student described Meyer as “one of the hardest-working individuals I have ever met.”

“She has seemingly limitless patience and always goes the extra mile for her students,” the student said. “She has the biggest heart and the brightest mind. I can only hope to have even an ounce of the integrity, resilience and grace that Professor Meyer displays day in and day out. Working with her last summer taught me so much about how to be an amazing teacher but also a character-driven individual.”

Learn more about the Groups Scholars Program, eligibility requirements and application deadlines by visiting IU East, IU Kokomo, IU Northwest, IU South Bend and IU Southeast.