Bailee Kennedy, Decatur Central High School – Franklin College
| We are pleased to introduce our 2024 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. |
“It was a warm day in the early fall, the Indianapolis skyline viewed clearly from where parents gathered around the finish line. People were screaming out times and chanting, “Keep it up!”, “You’re almost there!”, “Pick up your legs!” And then, out of nowhere, came the bright red face of my older sister, her french braids loose and messy. I couldn’t help but think to myself, “Wow… This sport looks intense, I’ve got to try this!” I was only eleven at the time, and I was incredibly shy and clumsy; I had been through three different sports already, but my sister was my top role model. She chose running over softball, something she was so talented at, so, despite being the most unsure and unathletic kid in my grade, I couldn’t stop myself from taking on this challenge when entering middle school.That summer I went to cross-country camp with my sister, and to nobody’s surprise, I wasn’t a natural like my sister. In fact, the first time I ran 3 miles, she had to push me to the finish line. Even then I knew I wanted to get better, maybe even beat my sister’s PR one day. When I finally entered high school, I said goodbye to 3k’s and hello to the most exhausting, time-consuming practices of my life. This transition was difficult, and my coaches and the upperclassmen pushed me harder than any team I’ve ever been on, but it was there I began to thrive. A passion for the sport took over my life; my freshman 5k time of 37 minutes slowly went down to 23:43 by the end of my senior season. I was ecstatic that I had beaten my sister’s time, but it was only a momentary win. As much as I enjoyed these accomplishments, I learned to love the look on my teammate’s face every PR. I knew that if it wasn’t for my amazing coaches and teammates’ unwavering support, I wouldn’t have gotten that time at all.Throughout all of this, I started to learn how important it was to be a leader, and how amazing it is to watch your team grow. My team and coaches showed me how special having an encouraging, familial environment was; we prayed together, ate together, joked together, and watched movies together. They are a big part of who I am today and the reason why I want to continue running in college. They taught me how to be patient, how to put myself out there, how to push myself to new limits, how to break past mental barriers and turn injuries into strengths. I am positive when I say I will be bringing these skills into my life as I move on from high school and into my journey to further my education and running career. It takes a special kind of person to enjoy running, but with coaches and a team like mine, the motivation isn’t as hard to find.”
