Tough past, bright future: Hauser senior earns Horatio Alger scholarship

Hauser Jr./Sr. High School senior Shelby Fugate, from left, sits with her former AP history teacher Stephanie Tom and AP literature and language teacher Kaylie Fougerousse during an interview at Hauser Jr./Sr. High School in Hope, Ind., Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020. Fugate was recently awarded a Lilly Endowment scholarship and a scholarship from the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans. She plans to study finance at Indiana University in the fall. Mike Wolanin | The Republic

HOPE — A Hauser Jr.-Sr. High school senior is being honored by a scholarship organization that recognizes the accomplishments of students who’ve achieved success despite severe hardships.

Hauser senior Shelby Fugate, already a Lilly Scholar recipient, was at a basketball game when she received a telephone call from New York City notifying her that she would receive a $25,000 scholarship from the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc.

That’s how the Hauser senior learned she was one of 106 students selected from 35,000 applicants to receive the scholarship.

“I couldn’t talk to this woman on the phone for a full two minutes,” Fugate said. “I was just in awe.”

[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery

As one of the nation’s largest need-based college scholarship programs in the country, the Horatio Alger Scholarship Program specifically assists high school students who have faced and overcome great obstacles in their young lives, according to its website.

While many programs are directed primarily to recognizing academic achievement or leadership potential, the Horatio Alger organization seeks students who have exhibited determination, integrity, and perseverance in overcoming adversity, as well as those who have critical financial need.

The Lilly Scholarship granted to Fugate means she will receive full tuition for four years to the Indiana college or university of her choice, as well as a $900 annual stipend for required books and equipment.

“I didn’t use the rough time of my childhood as an excuse,” Hauser High School senior Shelby Fugate said of the scholarship offers coming her way. “I used it as my drive to conquer any obstacle and break through all the walls I can.”

More scholarship support

Fugate also learned recently she will receive $5,000 through a scholarship earmarked for students who will be the first members of their families to attend college.

The Horatio Alger scholarship provides the Hauser senior with $5,000 a year over five years, and can be used to pay for anything not covered by the Lilly scholarship, Fugate said. When she obtains her bachelor’s degree, the Horatio Alger Association will allow her to use fifth year funds for graduate work.

In addition to the scholarship, Fugate will fly on a plane for the first time in April when she travels to Washington D.C. to meet the other Horatio Alger Scholarship winners, as well as meet with a number of celebrities that support the Horatio Alger organization. Some performers she is scheduled to meet are Grammy-award winning singers Reba McEntire and Jewell, as well as actor Rob Lowe.

“Meeting celebrities was something I never thought I’d get to do,” Fugate said. “But now that I’m going to do it, I’m like ‘wow!’ I’m totally starstruck.”

That remark prompted an educator Fugate describes as one of her major role models — Hauser Social Studies Dept. chairman Stephanie Tom — to give Fugate a little perspective.

“You won’t be going to Washington to meet the celebrities,” Tom said. “The celebrities are coming to Washington to meet you. You are the star in this show. And while you may be a high school senior in Hope right now, you are going to change the world.”

A long road

What amazes many teachers and administrators at Hauser is how far the teen has come in her life.

After growing up in a low-income family as the oldest of seven children, a court order took all the kids away from their mother when Fugate was 12, she said. She spent the next four years in different foster homes, she said. During her childhood, Fugate said she endured mutiple forms of abuse.

“But when I was only 4 years old, I made up my mind I wasn’t going to be like those in my family who made wrong choices,” Fugate said. “I was going to go for everything I can. Grades became the most important thing to me. I’ve had perfect attendance since fifth grade, and I’m always wanting to learn.”

When she became a junior in high school, Fugate moved from the Hope area to Columbus to live with her grandmother, Merri Fox. Her request to finish her high school career with her friends and teachers at Hauser was approved.

So how did she win all those scholarships? Tom said she can’t think of anyone who has as strong a work ethic as Fugate.

“She is driven to succeed at everything she does, and that is something that will carry her through for the rest of her life,” the teacher said.

Multiple achievements

Fugate’s resume shows she is competitive and successful in a wide variety of areas. She’s been chosen as a three-sport team captain in volleyball, softball and basketball, a volunteer peer mentor, a member of the National Honor Society and Student Council representative. She volunteers with Feed My Starving Children, FFA, Sunshine Society and the Hawcreek-Flat Rock Area Endowment.

Another Hauser teacher — Advanced Placement English teacher Kaylie Fougerousse — said that while she has been an educator in other states and countries, Fugate stands out from all other students she’s met.

“Shelby is someone who does not accept defeat,” Fougerousse said. “Now, she might get frustrated and have a good cry, but she always gets right back up and figures out a way to make it work. She’s also a perfectionist, which is going to be both a blessing and a curse in her life.”

While Fugate calls Fougerousse as her other major role model, she also says Hauser Athletic Director Tyler Phillips came up with the most accurate description of her.

“(Phillips) told me that if he ever goes to war, the one person he’s taking with him is Shelby Fugate,” the senior said. “He said that’s because I know how to get out of a bind, and how I’m going to get home. I think that describes me best.”

Fugate will begin her studies this August at Indiana University in Bloomington, where she plans to major in finance and accounting. Although still in high school, she has already been selected for direct admittance into the prestigious Kelley School of Business at IU, her teachers said.

Her dream is to eventually start her own business as an investment broker, and “be like Edward Jones Investments,” Fugate said.

But at the same time, the 17-year-old insists she never wants to forget where she came from.

“My siblings have been through everything I’ve been through — maybe even worse,” Fugate said. “So I also want to foster children whenever they are going through times of need.”

[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Shelby Fugate” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

Age: 17

School:  Senior at Hauser Jr.-Sr. High School

Current class ranking: Fourth

Grade point average: 4.28

Type of diploma earned:  Academic Honors

Favorite subject: Math

Family: Merri Fox, grandmother, three younger brothers and three younger sisters, ages 5 to 15.

[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”About the Horatio Alger Scholarship” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

Based in Alexandria, Virginia, the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc. administers one of the nation’s largest privately funded, need-based college financial aid programs. 

The organization has awarded about $180 million in scholarships to more than 27,000 students since 1984.  

Past and current recipients have come from households with an average income of $17,675 per year, yet maintain an average grade point average of 3.84 and are heavily involved in their communities. 

Information: Visit scholars.horatioalger.org

[sc:pullout-text-end]