Kylee Gall. Photo provided.

NAPPANEE — NorthWood High School senior Kylee Gall has been awarded a Steven C. Beering scholarship from Purdue University.

The scholarship covers tuition, room and board for one bachelor’s degree, one master’s degree and one doctoral degree at Purdue or medical school through Indiana University. The scholarship also includes funding for a study abroad experience.

Kylee lives in Nappanee and is the daughter of Steve and Kristi Gall. She has maintained a perfect grade point average during high school and is on pace to graduate in May as one of NorthWood’s valedictorians.

“I managed my time so I could focus on both extracurricular activities and schoolwork,” said Kylee. “Also, I enjoy learning and studying. Mainly, I was driven and did not let set backs keep me from achieving my goals.”

At NorthWood, Kylee participated on the girls’ golf team, science and math academic teams and received national recognition as a result of her participation on NorthWood’s Girls Go Cybersecurity team. She also represented NorthWood at the American Legion Auxiliary Hoosier Girls’ State, the Richard G. Lugar Symposium and the Women in Cybersecurity Conference.

She enjoys volunteering to support children with special needs. Currently, Kylee volunteers at Nappanee Missionary Church twice a week, helping with preschool children with a focus on children with special needs.

The program was created by Purdue’s ninth president, Dr. Steven C. Beering, who raised private funds for the endowment. After securing admittance to Purdue University and the Purdue Honors College, select students are invited to apply for the award. A committee then reviews applications and determines the recipients. Scholarship recipients are selected based on high school credentials and leadership skills.

“I am grateful to Dr. Beering and the work he did in initiating this amazing scholarship opportunity,” said Kylee. “The scholarship will allow me to pursue my dream career.”

Kyle plans to major in pre-medicine then continue her studies to become a pediatrician.

“Since my parents both work in education, I have always loved helping in their classrooms, including a local special education preschool class,” said Kylee. “This experience assisting children caused me to want to work with kids in my career. After a brief internship at Elkhart General Hospital, I decided I wanted to pursue the medical field. When choosing a career path, I put these two experiences together and determined that becoming a pediatrician would be a career that I would enjoy and be able to help others.”