Student Honored for Academic Excellence and Leadership

Release date: December 14, 2012

Franklin College student Victoria Miller is a first-generation college student recently honored by the "Realizing the Dream" program in Indianapolis.

"Realizing the Dream" recognizes the triumphs of first-generation students in their first year of college. The student honorees are Indiana high school graduates who subsequently demonstrated superior academic performance during their first year of studies and exhibited leadership in campus or community activities.

Miller, a Cascade High School graduate, was nominated by Ellis Hall, dean of students at Franklin College.

The program also recognizes the roles played by teachers and parents in shaping student aspirations for a college education. Student honorees identify the teacher or counselor who most influenced them to attend college. These educators were also honored at the banquet. Miller recognized Lisa Gray, a Cascade Middle School math teacher.

Student honorees received a $2,000 grant to use for school, and educator honorees received a $1,000 professional development award. The program is funded by a grant to the Independent Colleges of Indiana from Lilly Endowment, Inc.

Miller is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Miller of Stilesville.

Founded in 1834, Franklin College is a residential four-year undergraduate liberal arts institution with a scenic, wooded campus located 20 minutes south of downtown Indianapolis. The college prepares men and women for challenging careers and fulfilling lives through the liberal arts, offering its approximately 1,000 students 28 majors, 36 minors and eight pre-professional programs. In 1842, the college began admitting women, becoming the first coeducational institution in Indiana and the seventh in the nation. Franklin College maintains a voluntary association with the American Baptist Churches USA. For more information, visit www.franklincollege.edu.