Madison County Community Foundation

Bruce & Janie Stansberry honor their son’s life with a scholarship in his name

A graduate of Madison Heights High School and Purdue University, Brad was an engineer with Delco Electronics and was on temporary assignment in Germany. He also was working on a master's degree at IU Kokomo. Within three months of the tragedy, several family friends approached Bruce and Janie Stansberry about establishing a scholarship in their son's name. The couple agreed to the idea and then worked with the Foundation to determine the selection process.

"We primarily wanted this to be reflective of Brad and his life," explains Bruce. "We restricted it to students who have been accepted at Purdue and are going to major in engineering. We put a lot of emphasis on extracurricular activities because Brad had always been active, had loved playing in the high school band, and had been part of Star of Indiana drum corps in Bloomington."

Since 1995, 10 students from Madison County have enrolled at Purdue with assistance from the Brad Stansberry Scholarship. The stipulation that recipients must be planning careers as engineers is particularly timely because current economic projections emphasize a need for persons skilled in the STEM disciplines-science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

"The circumstances were so sad," says Mary Catherine Kelich, a graduate of Frankton Junior- Senior High School and recipient of the 2008 award. "But the Stansberrys have created something positive by helping students realize their dreams. Their son's memory lives on with this scholarship."

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