The Batesville Community Education Foundation (BCEF) has donated $3,000 to the Indiana University Honors Program in Foreign Language (IUHPFL) from its Andy Koors Legacy Fund to support 11 Batesville High School (BHS) students who are studying abroad this summer, announced executive director Anne Wilson. These students qualified for the IUHPFL, which sends high schoolers to other countries for about a month to further their study of a foreign language by being immersed in another culture. Programs last between four and five weeks, and students pledge to only speak the host language during their entire stay.

The BCEF board of directors created the Andy Koors Legacy Fund in honor of the former BHS German teacher who passed away unexpectedly in 2017, using it to promote initiatives that foundation board members believe reflect the values displayed by Koors during his life, such as his dedication to the study of foreign languages. To date, BCEF has awarded more than $25,000 in study abroad sponsorships for BHS students.

Students participating in the 2024 IUHPFL group from BHS are Lucy Abplanalp, Lucas Alonso, Sarah Bedel, Abigail Hartz, Lydia Haskamp, Kailey Schaeffer, Matthew Skinner, Ava South, Isaac Trossman, Georgia Voegele, and Jenna Zimmerman. The eleven students will share the donation from BCEF evenly, applying the funds to their required program fees.

“Besides this program, we are evaluating new ways that we can honor Andy’s legacy within our school community to impact students,” Wilson said. “We look forward to hearing about these students’ experiences when they return.”

Donations to the BCEF Andy Koors Legacy Fund are always being accepted.