The Batesville Community Education Foundation (BCEF) is pleased to announce the selection of three Batesville High School (BHS) students as recipients of Andy Koors Study Abroad Sponsorships for 2022, announced executive director Anne Wilson. To be considered for financial support from this BCEF-specific program, students must first qualify for the Indiana University Honors Program in Foreign Language (IUHPFL), which sends students to other countries for the summer to further their study of foreign language by being immersed in another culture. BHS junior Megan Raab and seniors Braiden Foster and Faith Tekulve will each receive $2500 from BCEF, which will cover more than one-half of their program fees for IUHPFL.
“In the past, BCEF sponsored a maximum of two students per year, but the pandemic’s impact caused us to take special circumstances into consideration,” Wilson explained. “The IUHPFL program was canceled the last two years, which meant that those students were not given the opportunity to participate. We wanted our students to be able to take advantage of the fact that programs like this are now returning, so our selection committee chose three individuals to support financially this year—two of whom would have likely gone last year, had the program been operating.”
The Spanish language will be explored in Spain by Raab (in Oviedo) and Tekulve (in León), while Foster will be immersed in German in Graz, Austria. Programs last between five and six weeks, and students pledge to only speak the host language during their entire stay.
The Andy Koors Study Abroad Sponsorship Program was created by the Batesville Community Education Foundation after the nonprofit received the proceeds of a life insurance policy held by the former BHS German teacher, who passed away unexpectedly in February 2017. The BCEF board of directors manages the Andy Koors Legacy Fund to promote initiatives that it believes reflect the values displayed by Koors during his life, such as his dedication to foreign language and his generosity to students. This sponsorship program is one of those initiatives, along with the multi-purpose Bulldog Center at BHS.
“The Andy Koors Study Abroad Sponsorship Program is one of our most popular programs,” Wilson concluded. “We’re looking forward to receiving reports from these students when they return. Thanks to Andy’s foresight, three BHS students will be able to afford to experience travel abroad. Even though he is no longer with us, his donation is still allowing our students to explore the world.”