Michael Branch used to think about scholarship applications the same way he did lottery tickets.
     “Winning is what happens to other people,” said the senior management major. “People who weren’t me always got the prize.”
     Then he applied for the new $5,000 Northwestern Mutual Diversity Scholarship and something remarkable happened.  He got it.  

   “Unbelievable,” he said.  
    Branch had investigated the scholarship and its sponsor, the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, prior to the application deadline, but it was only at the urging of Allie Goatley, the assistant dean for advising, that he actually completed the forms.
     “She said I’d be a good candidate,” he said. 
     Branch, who earned Dean’s List honors for the fall ’07 semester, is the first recipient of the new $55,000 scholarship fund scheduled to award $5,000 per semester for five years to qualifying students.  To be eligible, a student must be a member of an ethnic minority, being in good standing with the college, and meet minimum grade point requirements.  Another scholarship will be awarded this spring for the fall ’08 semester. More information is available at business.louisville.edu under the ‘scholarships’ menu.
     Branch, meanwhile, is basking in the glow of unexpected success and looking at future career and academic options, including the college’s accelerated MBA program.
     “The Ulmer Center tested me and said I’d work best in a creative, structured environment that was interesting, maybe like an ad agency,” he said. “Who knows?  Lots of options out there. Maybe I’m on a roll now.”