Oriana Fuenmayor: A Scholarship Story of Ambition, Opportunity, and Community Confidence

Every scholarship represents a choice someone made to invest in a student’s future. And every scholarship recipient represents a student who is working hard to turn opportunity into momentum.

Generous community members who hold funds with CICF have established scholarships to help make education more accessible for students in our community. In 2024, CICF fundholders awarded 76 scholarships totaling $879,400. Those numbers represent students whose paths have been expanded, futures taking shape, and communities strengthened.

One of those students is Oriana Fuenmayor.

Oriana graduated with high honors and a dual degree in Political Science and Global & International Studies, with minors in Legal Studies and Africana Studies. She also earned multiple institutional awards, including the William M. Plater Civic Engagement Medallion and the Chancellor’s Scholar Award for the School of Liberal Arts. Oriana was named one of the Top 10 students of the 2024 graduating class for her academic excellence, campus leadership, and community engagement.

Her story reflects what scholarship support is meant to do: reduce barriers so talented, dedicated students can focus on learning, leading, and preparing for what comes next.

After graduation, Oriana shared something that stuck with us.

In an interview for her current job, her employer told her that seeing scholarship awards on her resume signaled ambition and follow-through. She had taken the initiative to apply, earned the awards, and those scholarships served as a vote of confidence from the community, including CICF.

That’s an impact we don’t always think about when we talk about scholarships. Yes, scholarships help cover tuition and expenses. But they also tell a student: you are capable, and people believe in you. And sometimes, they tell an employer the same thing.

At a time when Indiana is seeing a decline in students pursuing higher education, stories like Oriana’s remind us why scholarship support matters. Fundholders who invest in scholarships are lowering financial barriers, expanding access to opportunity, and helping prepare the next generation of leaders to give back to their communities.

Congratulations, Oriana. And thank you to the fundholders who make stories like this possible.