In 2024, Alpha Association of Indiana, Phi Beta Kappa, created the Community Scholar Award. The annual merit award of $2500 recognizes outstanding community college students in Central Indiana who have completed an associate degree in a liberal arts discipline and plan to continue their education as a liberal arts major in a four-year college or university.
2026 Community Scholar Award Winner: Talia Blair
The recipient of the 2026 Community Scholar Award is Talia Bair. Talia graduated from the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities in Muncie, Indiana in 2024. In 2025, she entered the College of Arts, Sciences, and Education of Ivy
Tech Indianapolis, where she completed a diverse program of liberal arts courses, was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, and earned an Associate of General Studies degree magna cum laude. In August 2026, Talia matriculated as a full-time student in the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Cincinnati, where she is majoring in the department of Biological Sciences with a focus on animal biology.
2025 Community Scholar Award Winner: Jeff Tomasic
The recipient of the 2025 Community Scholar Award is Mr. Jeff Tomasic of Indianapolis. Jeff was born and raised in northeast Ohio, moving to Indianapolis as an adult in 2013. After not completing high school as a teenager, he pursued a higher education beginning in 2023, earning his GED and enrolling at Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis. In May 2025, he completed two Associate of Science degrees, summa cum laude, in Ivy Tech’s School of Arts, Sciences, and Education, majoring in Professional Communication and STEM-focused Liberal Arts. At Ivy Tech, he was chapter president and regional vice president of Phi Theta Kappa, an academic honor society for students in two-year degree collegiate programs. Jeff is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences at Oregon State University.
2024 Community Scholar Award Winner: Camille Zoe
The recipient of the inaugural Community Scholar Award (2024) is Ms. Camille Grulie Zoe of Indianapolis. Camille and her family moved to the United States from Liberia when she was two years old. She graduated from Center Grove High School in Greenwood, Indiana, in 2018. In December 2023, she completed the degree of Associate of Science, magna cum laude, in the College of Arts, Sciences, and Education of Ivy Tech Indianapolis with a major in psychology. At Ivy Tech, she was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, the academic honorary for students in two-year collegiate programs. In August 2024, Camille matriculated as a full-time student at Butler University, where she is majoring in psychology and minoring in French.
