Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Dain Garrett Merit Award winner chosen
 Megan Milligan, a history major with a minor in sociology, is the 2009 recipient of the Dain Garrett Merit Award for a junior or senior history student who has overcome a significant obstacle. The award was established by Dain Garrett, who graduated from USI in 1999 with a perfect 4.0 GPA despite a long struggle with muscular dystrophy. After graduation, he went on to complete a master’s degree from California State University Dominguez Hills, passing away just prior to receiving his degree. As a USI student, Garrett won many of the prizes awarded by the USI History Department, and upon his graduation, he used his award money to establish this annual cash prize to assist students who struggled against physical, economic, or other hardships. Garrett was the son of Connie Pitzer of Evansville and Don Garrett of Carmi. Milligan’s professors describe her as talented, energetic, and willing to take the lead, but her drive to succeed grew out of tragedy. During her second year at USI, her stepfather, William A. Peters, was diagnosed with cancer, and in the fall of 2007, the man she referred to as “my Bill” passed away. Milligan remembers her stepfather as a positive male role model whose death “brought me sadness and courage.” As the first person she had met who had attended college (and USI at that), he was the one who encouraged her to continue her education, and the memory of that inspiration was what helped her continue after his death. In the past two years, Milligan has been a leader among history majors, and currently serves as the president of the History Club. Her experience outside the classroom has been extraordinarily diverse; after studying abroad in Russia, Ukraine, and Estonia, she returned to Evansville and took up an internship with the Evansville African American Museum. This experience turned into a life plan, as she now intends to go to graduate school with plans to work for similar museums in the future. Contributions to the Dain Garrett Merit Award are accepted by the USI Foundation. Wendy Knipe Bredhold News & Information Services 812/461-5259 or wkbredhold@usi.edu |
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