Hometown:

Lexington, KY

Biography

When Elvin was 10, he wanted to grow up and become either an astronaut or a doctor. Not much has changed in the intervening eight years as he has delved further into the sciences and developed a particular interest in medicine, but he still plans to submit a civilian astronaut draft application every chance he gets! He is the third Scholar from Gatton Academy and will major in neuroscience. He chose IU for its strong student culture, amazing academic and study abroad opportunities, and its student-focused administration. Elvin can’t wait to get to work on new and difficult problems at an institution at the forefront of biomedical and neuroscience research. He also looks forward to making awesome memories, meeting amazing people, and experiencing all that IU, Bloomington, and the world have to offer. He’d love to travel to Morocco for the warm weather and great food, and also the opportunity to ride a camel. Elvin has already had some international experiences, such as the school trip he took to the Cloudforest Nature Reserve in Costa Rica where his group hiked, roughed it through some extreme weather, and learned about the local culture. He still considers Costa Rica his “happy place” and dreams of retiring to a tropical island. He will hold the James Mentzer scholarship.