Ava Wilkie, a senior at Wichita East High School, is the winner of the 2024 Lenora N. McGregor Endowed Scholarship at Wichita State University.

The Lenora N. McGregor Endowed Scholarship awards up to $26,000 over four years to an incoming freshman student who has demonstrated academic excellence, has an academic vision for the future and who expresses an interest in advancing knowledge through individual learning. The McGregor Scholar agrees to maintain active membership in WSU’s Dorothy and Bill Cohen Honors College.

Ava Wilkie is the daughter of Katie Lynne Sheppard and Allen Dale Wilkie. She is a member of East High’s National Honors Society. Last year, Ava completed an independent study, in which she researched and wrote extensively about feminine iconography in religious art. Her most meaningful involvement in her community is volunteering for the Wichita Public Library’s summer reading program to help support early childhood literacy. In her leisure time, Ava enjoys cooking, going on nature walks, wandering around bookstores and museums, and spending quality time with her family.

Ava is excited about the opportunity to grow as an individual while attending Wichita State and fostering new relationships.

“If I had to pinpoint one thing I’m most excited for, I think it would be building relationships with professors and fellow students at Wichita State,” Ava said.

Her plan is to study secondary history education with ambitions for a master’s in child psychology or special education. Moreover, Ava’s long-term career goals are to specialize in gifted services either as a teacher, administrator or curriculum coordinator.

Wichita State University is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling more than 23,000 students between its main campus and WSU Tech, including students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. Wichita State and WSU Tech are recognized for being student centered and innovation driven.

Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), Wichita State University provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students.

The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the Wichita State University main campus, is one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing over 120 acres and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.

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