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Sebastian Burch moved to Connersville, Indiana, from Finland when he was in the 8th grade. After spending a childhood across the ocean with his mother, he was now in rural Indiana with his father’s family — and when two major medical issues hit his family in his junior year, Sebastian decided to switch his career plans from business to medicine. 

Nonetheless, Sebastian knew that a career in medicine would require a huge investment of time and money in his education. He quit some of his extracurriculars and immersed himself in his academics, determined to find scholarships that would help him achieve his dream of med school.

When Sebastian learned that he was the recipient of a full-tuition scholarship from the Paul and Jeannie Morris Education Trust administered by USLA, he couldn’t believe it. 

“It was the best feeling you could ever have. I remember just feeling amazed — for multiple reasons. I pretty much focused everything I could on academics, because my dream was to get a scholarship and go to school, and seeing all that hard work pay off just felt amazing.”

Sebastian graduated from IU Bloomington with a degree in biotechnology and minors in chemistry and psychology in 2025 — and thanks to the Morris Education Trust, he did it debt-free. 

“Even the little things it paid for, like fraternity dues, meant that I was able to network and find mentors following the same track I wanted to go down. I was able to follow their schedules and advice, and I wouldn’t have had the opportunity or even thought to join these organizations without the financial support of the Paul and Jeannie Morris Scholarship.”

Now, as Sebastian prepares to enter medical school at IU, he has the peace of mind of knowing that his undergraduate bills are already paid. 

“Scholarships are a lot harder to come by for medical school, and it’s a lot more expensive,” he says. “So it’s nice to have a clean slate to get started.”

Apply for scholarships early and often

Sebastian encourages high school students to think about scholarships early and often in their junior and senior years — and to keep applying. “I thought I was knowledgeable about which scholarships were available,” he says, “but I hadn’t really heard of this one, because it was relatively new at the time.” 

And USLA Trust Officer Derrick Mathews’ administration of the fund made the entire scholarship process easy. 

“It’s been beyond great,” Sebastian says. “Whenever I emailed Derrick about unexpected expenses or had a question about what the trust would cover, he was very quick to respond and was very nice about everything.”

Find out more about scholarships administered by USLA

Know a high schooler who’s considering college? Make sure they know about the scholarships administered by USLA! Visit uslabank.com/scholarships to learn more.