Over the past three years, the graduation rate for EMU honors students was 100 percent, with a third completing double or triple majors. These students, representing diverse cultural, racial and religious backgrounds, participate in special academic and co-curricular opportunities to learn from and be mentored by faculty.
Each year, a new group of highly motivated and gifted scholars is invited to join the EMU Honors Program. From this group, two prospective students are selected to receive the annual full-tuition Yoder Scholarship.
Nicole Litwiller of Sarasota, Florida, and Maria Yoder of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, will begin their education in the fall of 2015 as contributors to EMU’s legacy of academic excellence.
During Honors Weekend in February, Litwiller and Yoder came to campus with 42 other candidates for the final interview process. The group averaged 1,269 on the SAT critical reading and math sections, 29 on the ACT and a high-school grade point average (GPA) of 4.11.
Full Tuition Yoder Scholarships
The Yoder Scholarships, established in 1993, are named for Paul and Carol Yoder of Harrisonburg, Virginia, both 1963 graduates of EMU. The rigorous selection process for the two scholarships includes a comprehensive academic and service resume, letters of recommendation, creative essays and interviews with Honors Program professors. Candidates who do not win the full-tuition scholarships receive academic scholarships covering approximately half of tuition, as well as membership in the Honors Program.
“We are looking for creative students with wide-ranging interests and strong leadership abilities,” said Owen Byer, a mathematics professor and faculty member in the Honors Program.
Benefits Include 1:1 Mentoring and Critical Thinking Boosts
Over the past three years, the graduation rate for EMU honors students was 100 percent, with a third completing double or triple majors. These students, representing diverse cultural, racial and religious backgrounds, participate in special academic and co-curricular opportunities to learn from and be mentored by faculty.
A majority of honors graduates responding to a 2009 alumni survey “strongly agreed” that the program increased their overall learning and deepened critical thinking skills. Forty-two percent of the survey respondents indicated an educational track beyond their undergraduate degree.
Maria Yoder: The Animal Lover
Maria Yoder loves cats and dogs, and as she took biology classes in the past year, she thought about becoming a veterinarian someday. Lately she’s been volunteering at an animal hospital. At EMU, she plans to enroll in the pre-professional health sciences program.
At Hempfield High School, Yoder is involved in sports, music, tutoring and academic clubs. She was captain of her school’s volleyball team, which won consecutive state championships in 2013 and 2014. She is also captain of the track and field team. A cellist in the school orchestra, she was selected this spring for the state orchestra.
At EMU, Yoder will run track, her favorite sport, and join the cross country team. She will play cello in the orchestra.
“I like to keep a busy schedule,” she says, “but I have to be organized and make sure to leave some time for relaxing so I don’t feel overwhelmed.”
Her parents, Randy and Marianne Kurtz Yoder, graduated from EMU in 1982 and 1983, respectively. Her mother earned a master’s in education from EMU Lancaster in 2013. Although EMU was high on Yoder’s list, she also considered Haverford College near Philadelphia and the University of Mary Washington in Virginia.
Nicole Litwiller: Looking Forward to Cross-Cultural
Nicole Litwiller says that “EMU has been on my radar since I was young.” Her parents are both graduates – Larry ’80 and Nelda Rempel Litwiller ‘85. “I am excited to expand my faith and be challenged by professors,” she says. “Also, I love how EMU puts a huge focus on becoming more knowledgeable about other cultures worldwide.”
During the middle of her sophomore year, Litwiller went through an emotional experience when her family moved from Kansas to Florida the day after Christmas. She did not know anyone at Sarasota Christian School, but she looks back on that transition as full of “many new and fun things.”
Today she is president of her senior class, and she is trying to make the year an unforgettable one for her classmates. During her sophomore and junior years, she was on her school’s Odyssey of the Mind team that advanced to world competition both times.
A member of her high school soccer team and one of its three captains, Litwiller will probably play for EMU this fall.
Her major, at this point, is undecided. “I hope that through my classes, the cross-cultural trip and other experiences at EMU that my path will become clearer,” she says. “I am looking forward to many opportunities to experience the world.”