Claire Monahan, Bishop Chatard High School – University of Dayton
We are pleased to introduce our 2023 Erika Wells Memorial Scholarship winners, who each received a $1000 scholarship towards their college education. Please enjoy reading their personal essays, in which they discuss how running has made a positive impact on their lives.
Erika Wells was a beloved member of the Indy Runners who tragically passed away in October 2016. Her dedication to service, personal growth, social engagement, and an overall use of running as part of a healthy lifestyle and a way to help support the community were unparalleled. We believe these winners each exemplify these characteristics as well.
We are thankful that these young people were willing to share their unique stories of how running has influenced their lives. We hope that they will continue to make running a cornerstone of their life.
“I have a love/hate relationship with running, like many who have chosen it as their sport. In just the six years I have been involved in it, my feelings have alternated between both of these and more. It has been a big part of my life, and I know it will continue to be important as I get older and participate in running as a lifestyle, rather than a sport I compete in.
I started running in seventh grade as a part of the track and cross-country team. I was a “social runner”, using the sport to be with my friends. I did not plan to run in high school. That changed the summer before my freshman year when I reluctantly decided to train with the cross-country team. It turns out I loved it. Part of the reason was the actual running and the accompanying feeling of accomplishment and I also deeply appreciated the feeling of community, each teammate pushing each other to be our best. But the main reason I continued running was our coach. She was like my older sister, friend, and mentor combined into one person. Maris showed me how to be a role model and gave me a sense of who I wanted to be, and she did this in such a selfless way as our volunteer coach.
I’ve always been passionate about helping disadvantaged people. The summer before my sophomore year I decided to take initiative with a specific goal of helping children in a forced transition from their home by providing a backpack with items that would give solace in a time of need. I worked with police and firemen to select items to include and determined an initial budget. To pay for the items, I created a GoFundMe page, called “Bag of Comfort”, and contacted newspapers, radio stations, and television shows to get the word out. My team helped me by offering encouragement and helping spread the word themselves, showing me that we had much more than running in common.
The summer before my junior year, my family moved from Illinois to Indianapolis. The transition from a town and group of friends that I had known my whole life was not easy, and it still isn’t, but the constant during the change has been running. I was able to form new friendships and make the town and school feel smaller by immediately joining the Bishop Chatard cross country and track teams. I found my ‘group’ in the summer workouts. A challenge I didn’t anticipate was a stress fracture in my ankle, but this limitation helps me appreciate and be grateful for the ability to run when I am healthy.
Being new to Indianapolis, I had not heard of Ms. Wells until my coach, Dan Kinghorn, mentioned this scholarship opportunity. I enjoyed reading about her and regardless of the outcome, this essay has helped me see how running can be a part of my life well after I compete in my last meet.”
