Growing up in Portage, Wis., school was easy for Heather Loomans. She graduated from high school with a 4.0 GPA and planned to leave her small-town community to see the world. Her heart was set on attending college in a big city, maybe even on the East Coast.

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Kristin Voigt
William Heller Sr. Scholar

CJ Egalite
Ignatian Scholar

Oleg Gurin
Delta Sigma Pi Scholar

Heather Loomans
McCullough Scholar

Alejandra Salinas
Goizueta Scholar

Tai Nguyen
Hearst Scholar

Carianne Hayslett
Schmitt Fellow

Gabrielle Misfeldt
Diederich Scholar

Conor Sweeney
Raynor Scholar

But on a lark, Heather joined a friend who was touring Marquette's campus — and her plans quickly changed.

"After coming to Marquette for the tour, I knew that this was the best place for me to be," she says. "It just felt right. I realized that I could get a great education in an urban environment and still be close to my family."

Loomans applied for and won one of the first McCullough Scholarships established just last year to provide financial assistance to talented students from Wisconsin who want to attend Marquette. The scholarship is named for former Milwaukee news anchor John McCullough.

Now on campus, the Jesuit tradition of caring for the whole person really resonates with Loomans.

"College is such a formative time in your life, my choice to come to Marquette was clearly the right one," she says. "I'm not just getting an education in the classroom. There are so many opportunities here that will shape the kind of person I'm going to be."

Loomans is working on a triple major, studying international business, marketing and Spanish. She knows she'd like to spend some time studying abroad. Yes, this small-town girl still plans on seeing the world. She just doesn't have the details worked out yet. She's learned it's better to be flexible.

HEATHER LOOMANS

Heather Loomans

McCullough Scholarship Recipient

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