Lewis Scholarship honors couple’s commitment to education
A new scholarship will reflect a couple’s love for each other and the impact Morehead State’s teaching programs have on the region.
The MSU Foundation, Inc. announced the creation of the Bernie Lewis and Ella K. Click Lewis Memorial Scholarship Endowment.
Bernie Lewis (Class of 1972) grew up on a farm in Morgan County. Despite being held back multiple grades, Bernie never gave up on his education and graduated from Morgan County High School. He considered a college career thanks to encouragement from his mother and Morgan County principal Elmer Anderson (Class of 1955, 1960), who helped Bernie complete the necessary applications to obtain financial aid and scholarships to attend. Anderson later served as MSU’s director of financial aid.
As an Eagle student, Bernie met his future wife, Ella Click, at church. She was a senior in high school, and Bernie was still attending MSU when the couple married. After earning a degree in industrial engineering from MSU, Bernie began a career as a maintenance foreman and plant engineer. He shifted his focus to cheering Ella on in her educational journey.
After some time as a stay-at-home wife, Ella enrolled in college, earning degrees and certifications in education from the University of the Cumberlands, Union College and Eastern Kentucky University.
Bernie and Ella enjoyed their careers and had a wonderful life together, which included frequent travel. In his mid-thirties, Bernie experienced possible delayed complications from a childhood case of tuberculosis and passed away in 1985.
To honor Bernie’s fight for his own education and his unwavering support of hers, Ella decided to create a scholarship fund at MSU. Inspired by Bernie’s love for Morehead State and the MSU pride held by a special cousin, Santana Francis Bobrowski (Class of 2007) and her husband, Nichola Bobrowski (Class of 2007), Ella chose to leave her legacy with future Eagles and committed the support via her estate.
The scholarship will be awarded to undergraduate or graduate students from Morgan County, offering motivation and inspiration as they pursue their educational journeys.
For more information on this scholarship or how to create your own, please contact the Office of Alumni Relations & Development at 606-783-2033 or email giving@moreheadstate.edu.
