Indiana Tech health science student earns ICI Realizing the Dream scholarship

April 3, 2026

Indiana Tech sophomore Asi White has been named one of this year’s Realizing the Dream scholarship recipients by Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI).

Realizing the Dream scholarships are awarded to first-generation students by ICI for outstanding achievement in pursuit of their bachelor’s degrees. The awards also acknowledge an “influential educator” that left a lasting impact on them, as chosen by the student.

White, a health science major, was born in Taiwan and moved to Fort Wayne with her family in 2007. After completing her degree, she will enter the accelerated nursing program, offered through a partnership between Indiana Tech and Huntington University.

“My dream is to become a travel nurse so I can help people in rural areas, especially in places that don’t have a lot of medical equipment, resources, and staffs,” she said. “With the background I come from, I can realize how much of an impact this can have in certain communities.”

White selected Erin Baumgartner, a teacher at Fort Wayne’s North Side High School, as her influential educator.

You can view White’s full video submission for this year’s Realizing the Dream scholarship here.

The scholarships are funded by the Lilly Endowment. Each student receives $4,000, while their influential educator gets $1,000. Twenty-nine students across the state were recognized for the 2025-26 academic year.

ICI is a non-profit association that represents Indiana’s 28 private, non-profit colleges and universities.