By Logan Braman

A new house wasn’t all the Cowan-Brown family received during the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” build. The children, Ryan, Trevor, Mason and Kori, also received a gift from Ball State University.

The day after the build was finished, the Cowan-Browns met in their new front yard for a press conference with a twist. Tony Proudfoot, associate vice president for Marketing and Communications at Ball State, came to the build site on behalf of President Jo Ann Gora. The news he carried was a shocker to the Cowan-Brown family.

“If you continue to work and study hard and if you apply and are admitted to Ball State University, we will provide each of you with a scholarship to support the full cost of tuition for in-state students,” Proudfoot told the family. “Working through the Ball State Foundation, we will supplement any state or federal gift aid to cover tuition.”

Proudfoot said a scholarship like this is relatively rare. The idea of giving the Cowan-Brown children scholarships came to Gora from Paul Schwinghammer, president of Hallmark Homes. Proudfoot said once the idea was on the table, it was a matter of Gora and Tom Taylor, vice president for Enrollment, Marketing, and Communications at Ball State, getting together to finalize the details. In a press release, Gora said the scholarships were given with the spirit of Ball State’s philosophy about education.

“The ‘Extreme Makeover’ team worked hard to provide the family with a wonderful, new environment,” Gora said. “The changes they have made to their home will benefit the entire family for many years to come. It is my hope that seeing this transformation will inspire all of the children to work hard toward their goal of attending college.

“Ball State University believes that our approach to higher education — hands on, immersive learning — can also transform lives,” she added. “It is my pleasure, therefore, to offer all of them a special scholarship to Ball State.”

Ryan, the oldest recipient of the scholarship, said he plans on attending Ball State when he’s done with high school. Ryan’s love for soccer lead to his first question about the university: Whether Ball State has a school-sponsored men’s soccer program or if it’s a club sport. He was relieved to find out that there is a men’s club soccer team on campus. Now, all he’ll have to do is follow the advice Proudfoot gave the family after he told them about the scholarships.

“So, can you say ‘Go Cardinals’?” Proudfoot quipped.