December 19, 2018

Purdue scholarship honors Tyler Trent

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Donors to Purdue University have established the Tyler Trent Courage and Resilience Award, a scholarship honoring the student whose fight against cancer and enthusiastic support of the Purdue football team captured national attention.

Funded through a combination of gifts, the scholarship will be awarded to undergraduate students at Purdue’s West Lafayette campus who have encountered adversity in their pursuit of higher education. First-year students through seniors are eligible, in any discipline. Students may nominate themselves or be nominated by others. The first scholarship is expected to be awarded in 2019.

Trent, who earned an associate degree from Purdue in computer information technology and is now in hospice care, was diagnosed with bone cancer at the age of 15. He founded Teens With a Cause, which recruits young people to perform service projects for families affected by cancer. At Purdue he joined the Dance Marathon club, a student organization that raises funds and awareness for Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, where he receives treatment. He also worked as a sports writer for the Exponent, Purdue’s student newspaper.

As the first student member of the Director’s Advancement Board of the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research, Trent helped raise cancer awareness with a younger audience. He was named honorary team captain for Purdue’s Hammer Down Cancer football game, which raises funds for the center.

Throughout his battle with cancer, Trent has remained a Boilermaker superfan. He correctly predicted Purdue’s Oct. 20 upset over Ohio State, sending the hashtag #TylerStrong soaring in popularity on social media.

Details on how to apply for the Tyler Trent Courage and Resilience Award are to be announced at a later date. 

Media Contact: Lisa Tally, assistant vice president for philanthropic communications, 765-494-2181, lhtally@prf.org 

Source: Amy Noah, 765-494-1704, arnoah@prf.org

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