Now in her senior year at Purdue, Courtney Kelso can’t imagine attending another institution or what it would be like without scholarship assistance. The computer and information technology major hails from Spring Lake, Mich. As a student who pays out-of-state tuition, she recognizes even more the benefits of financial aid. “I told my dad that I was going to Purdue and nothing was going to stop me,” she says. As a Purdue alumnus, he understood her attraction to the university. And he also knew the financial realities of paying out-of-state tuition. He supported her decision, but counseled her to at least consider a local university as an option. [pullquote]Thank you for giving me this opportunity to experience Purdue at its fullest. [/pullquote] Then one day Kelso received a letter from Purdue announcing her selection as a Trustees Scholarship recipient. “I knew I fit the criteria, but it was kind of a surprise,” she says. “When I got the notification, I thought ‘that’s really cool.’ My dad was really excited, too.” With the extra aid, the cost to attend Purdue became comparable to Kelso’s in-state options. She is interested in going to graduate school in computer forensics so she is also pursuing a minor in forensic science through the College of Agriculture. During her time at Purdue, Kelso has enjoyed basketball and football games (“I was there when we beat Ohio State last year. That was awesome,” she says). She also enjoys the infamous fountain runs and her CIT classes. During Spring Break 2011, she traveled to India as part of a Study Abroad experience in her department. She completed a summer internship as a network operations/infrastructure analyst with Allstate this past summer as well. Kelso feels she has been able to participate in these activities more fully because she isn’t as worried about her financial burdens. To the donors who helped fund the Presidential and Trustees scholarships, Kelso says, “Thank you for giving me this opportunity to experience Purdue at its fullest.” In addition to her classes, Kelso a officer with Women in Technology and is active in the Association of Information Technology Professionals. During her junior year, she was president of Shealy Hall, part of Windsor Halls.