WKU News

Tristan Houchens (left photo) and Evan Hughes (right photo) were awarded $1,000 scholarships to WKU at a reception to honor 2017-2018 Scholar of the Week recipients. Dr. Craig T. Cobane, Executive Director of the Mahurin Honors College at WKU, made the presentations.

The Mahurin Honors College at WKU and WBKO-TV hosted a reception on Dec. 5 to honor the 2017-2018 Scholar of the Week recipients.

The Scholar of the Week program recognizes young scholars in southcentral Kentucky and the WBKO viewing area for their academic and extracurricular activities. The Mahurin Honors College at WKU has been partnering with WBKO since 2010 on the Scholar of the Week Program.

Out of more than 250 applicants, 72 students were chosen as Scholars of the Week for the 2017-2018 academic school year and have their name, high school and accomplishments air on segments on WBKO’s “10 PM News” on Tuesdays and “AM Kentucky” on Wednesdays. Each student is invited to a reception to celebrate their achievements, recognize them individually, and reward two Scholar of the Week students with a $1,000 scholarship for WKU.

This year’s two scholarship winners are Tristan Houchens, a senior at Barren County High School, and Evan Hughes, a senior at Logan County High School.

Houchens has a 4.0 GPA, serves as the Vice President of HOSA – Future Health Professionals, was a Kentucky Governor’s Scholar, and participates in numerous extracurricular activities. Houchens has a passion for helping others and plans to pursue a career in the healthcare field. “It’s great to know WKU gives great opportunities to students,” he said after receiving the scholarship.   

Hughes intends to major in Mechanical Engineering. He was a Kentucky Governor’s Scholar and serves as the Chaplain of his school’s Future Farmers of America chapter. He maintains a 4.0 GPA and is involved in numerous clubs and organizations. Upon receiving the scholarship, he said, “It is nice to know WKU appreciates academic excellence.”   

Dr. Craig T. Cobane, Executive Director of the Mahurin Honors College at WKU, believes the Scholar of the Week program provides a wonderful showcase of the quality of our local school systems and it reaffirms the mission of WKU and the Mahurin Honors College to propel our scholars to even greater academic and professional heights.

The following students were recognized as Scholars of the Week for the 2017-2018 academic year:

• Apollo High School: Camron Blandford
• Barren County High School: Mackenzie Burd, Trey Carver, Natalie Gray, Tristan Houchens, Hannah Huffaker, Jansenne Mitchell
• Bowling Green High School: Halle Freeman, Kate Lawless, Riley Marshall, Zayleah Robinson
• Breckinridge County High School: Andrew Hinton, Kassidy Riviello, Autumn Siler
• Central Hardin High School: Alecia Hatfield
• Clinton County High School: Isabelle Moons
• Cumberland County High School: Ryleabeth Guffey, Haley Wright
• Daviess County High School: Johnathon Howe, Rebekah O’Bryan, Nicolas Warder
• Edmonson County High School: Keylee Saling
• Franklin Simpson High School: Addy McDermott
• Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science: Benjamin Kash, Emily Nguyen, Meigan Niu, Meghan Perez, Sydney Wheeler
• Glasgow High School: Brooklyn Brown, Ryan Witt
• Grayson County High School: Sarah Bratcher
• Greenwood High School: Chandler Flynt, Spencer Ford, Izzy Hunt, Joseph McNabb, Manzar Rzayeva, Anna Scott, Leon Trinh
• Hart County High School: Robin Wilson
• Homeschool: Sarah Alsobrook, Zena Pare
• John Hardin High School: Paul Kotarski
• Logan County High School: Shelby Hardison, John Hendricks, Evan Hughes, Meredith Johnson, Samuel Noe
• Madisonville North Hopkins High School: Kyle Bratcher
• McLean County High School: Adam Clark, James Cross
• Meade County High School: Caitlyn Calarco
• Owensboro High School: Keyon Hayden, Jacob Ladd, Blakely McCalister, Breeanna Sommerville
• Russell County High School: Kassidy Johnson
• Russellville High School: Ashley Pitts
• South Warren High School: Eve Baughman, Lily Burris, Kylee Eilers, Hunter Hendrix, Chase Jasper, Dev Patel, Deja Richardson, Emma Willey
• Todd County Central High School: Alexandra Brooks, Megan Haley
• Warren Central High School: Mardan Khashimov, Kyle Torrence
• Warren East High School: Trey Cohron, Jacob England, Sarah Hudson

About the Mahurin Honors College at WKU: WKU is home to the first independent Honors College in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Created in 2007, the Mahurin Honors College at WKU provides an intimate, highly selective learning environment where gifted and high-achieving students can develop the skills to prepare them for success in the nation’s top academic and career opportunities.

Contact: Allison Campbell, (270) 745-2081