UC Clermont student and scholarship recipient Ayla Deck speaks to the crowd at the college’s 2023 Community Celebration Luncheon March 23, 2023, held in the Student Activities Center. Photo courtesy Danny Kidd.
Annual event recognizes recipients, donors and community partners
UC Clermont 2023 Distinguished Alumnus Chelsie Hornsby ‘03 speaks during the college’s annual Community Celebration Luncheon March 23, 2023. Photo courtesy Danny Kidd.
UC Clermont Dean Jeff Bauer speaks at the college’s 2023 Community Celebration Luncheon. Photo courtesy Danny Kidd.
UC Clermont celebrated almost $600,000 in scholarships awarded in 2022-23 with students, alumni, donors, faculty, staff and community partners during the annual Community Celebration Luncheon held Thursday, March 23 on the college’s Batavia campus.
The event underlined the importance of donor-funded scholarships to the education and lives of UC Clermont students. Dean Jeff Bauer welcomed the attendees in the college’s Student Activities Center. Of the scholarships awarded for academic year 2022-23, approximately $186,000 comprised donor-funded awards. An additional $410,000 was awarded in merit, leadership and completion scholarships.
“There is a great need here — this year alone we had 358 applicants for 77 donor scholarships,” said Bauer. “We project that we will receive more than 500 applications for next year. Our donors are critical to providing needed financial support to our students.”
Attendees also heard from a scholarship recipient — Ayla Deck, a sophomore studying pre-middle childhood education who received the Social Sciences Faculty Scholarship. Deck will graduate from UC Clermont this semester with her associate degree and a 3.8 GPA. She plans to transition to UC’s Uptown campus in the fall to continue her education to become a teacher. Deck works as a tutor to both fellow education majors and local high school students.
Like more than half of UC Clermont students, Deck is the first in her family to attend college.
“As a future educator, scholarship donors not only support my own education, but the education of my future students,” Deck said. “Your contributions have and will continue to spread like wildfire for many years to come.”
UC Clermont’s 2023 Distinguished Alumnus, Chelsie Hornsby, also spoke at the event. Hornsby graduated in 2003 with an associate degree in pre-business administration. She later earned her bachelor’s degree and is working toward her master’s degree in marketing. Hornsby has worked in the healthcare industry for 14 years and is currently the senior director of business development at HealthSource of Ohio.
“UC Clermont was where my education began; it launched my career,” said Hornsby, who recounted being raised by a single mother who often struggled to make ends meet. “I was grateful for the opportunity and couldn’t imagine moving away, so UCC was perfect.”
Five newly established scholarship funds also were recognized during the event, as were Sporty’s Academy founders Hal and Sandy Shevers for the 30th anniversary of UC Clermont’s aviation technology program.
Sporty’s Academy is a Federal Aviation Administration-approved pilot school headquartered at the Clermont County Airport in Batavia, Ohio — less than a mile from the UC Clermont campus. Over three decades, the aviation program has grown from just five students to more than 100 enrolled in associate degree and professional pilot certificate programs. The UC Clermont program is ranked in the top 10 pilot training programs in the United States. In 2021-22, the college awarded $61,000 in scholarship funding to aviation students alone.
“The 30th anniversary of UC Clermont’s aviation program is a great example of a private/public partnership,” said Dean Jeff Bauer. “The support of Sporty’s Academy, and the Shevers, have helped make this program among the best in the country.”
Learn more about UC Clermont scholarships at ucclermont.edu/donor-scholars. To make a gift, contact Jeannie Helsel, director of development, at 513-558-9964. To learn more about the donor-based scholarships offered at UC Clermont, visit ucclermont.edu/donor-scholars.