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Mary Timm wins scholarship that bears her name
BAINBRIDGE — Marian University doesn’t necessarily rename its most prestigious scholarship in honor of each person who wins it.
Apparently Mary Timm is just the proper fit.
The North Putnam senior learned Thursday that she has been awarded a St. Mary Academic Scholarship, which is a full scholarship for the entirety of her four-year career at Marian.
Such a high honor was obviously an emotional occasion for Timm, especially considering she didn’t know yet that she had won.
Under the auspices of having her picture taken for another award, Timm was called to the guidance office Thursday morning. She walked in to find her family, school officials and Marian Admission Counselor Ty Garrison.
Garrison, holding a basket of Marian gear for Timm, told her why he was there. That’s when things got emotional.
“Are you serious?” Timm asked, nearly in tears. “Can I hug you?”
Those are the emotions that the admissions department at the Indianapolis liberal arts university hopes to stir.
“We try to make this a big celebration for all these students,” Garrison said.
Celebrate is what they do, knowing that only the very best incoming Marian students reach this point.
“It’s an honor just to be nominated” may be a cliché, but in this case, only certain incoming freshmen are even invited to apply.
Then, from a field of 78, Timm was chosen as one of eight students found worthy of the St. Mary Scholarship based on a combination of her resume, academic record and an interview.
“It’s the most prestigious scholarship we offer,” Garrison said.
In fact, with admissions staff needing to notify eight different students of their scholarship, not all of the scholars will even be named until Dec. 14. Timm knew of that date and had circled it on her calendar.
“The focus of her attention has been the 14th, the 14th, the 14th,” father Mark Timm said. “She already called the post office to see how long it would take for a letter to get from Marian to here.”
“Actually, I visited the post office,” Mary said.
Besides Mark, mother Angela Timm, stepmother Ann Timm, sisters Grace and Cassandra Timm and even boyfriend Jacob Nevitt were all in attendance to share Mary’s good news.
Some of them had known for at least a week, and had to keep it a secret.
“Ty called me and said, ‘Are you with your daughter?’” Mark recalled. “I said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Good,’ and then he let me know.”
While tears were shed on Thursday, it wasn’t the first time Mary has cried — in joy — about her university of choice. In separate stories on Thursday, she described getting choked up on her first visit to campus, during her interview and then on the way home from her interview.
North Putnam ag teacher and FFA sponsor Kate Skirvin, who wasn’t able to attend the actual announcement, knew what she had missed.
“Did you cry?” Skirvin asked.
“Yeah,” Timm said.
“I knew you would,” Skirvin replied.
The emotions are those of a young person who’s known what she wants to do for years, but only recently discovered where she wants to do it. Timm plans to major in psychology and double minor is sociology and social work.
“I was scared that it was going to be February and I wouldn’t know where I was going,” Timm said. “I’ve known what I wanted to do since sixth grade but I didn’t know where I wanted to go. I stepped on Marian’s campus and I was in tears.”
Her goal is to work with kids on the autism spectrum.
“I want to be a psychologist. I want to work with kids on the spectrum,” Timm said. “Both my brother and my sister are on the spectrum.”
She also feels confident in stepping on campus that she already has the support of the faculty.
“The professors there were amazing,” Timm said. “They were already thinking of internships for me. One of the interviewers said to me, ‘Mary, come make this your home,’ and I just lost it.”
Mark Timm has noticed the welcoming environment of the university as well.
“The fact that they have the area she wants to focus on is important to us,” Mark said. “They told me, ‘We don’t know how, but Mary is going to change the world.'”
