MUNCIE, Ind. -- A Ball State University harp student has been honored with a national award for excellence in academics and performing arts.

Rachel Browne, a sophomore from Independence, Mo., recently received the ALEX award from the National Alliance for Excellence, a nonprofit organization dedicated to recognizing and supporting excellence in America’s high school and college students.

The alliance awards scholarships to students who are judged to be the best in their respective fields by a panel of qualified and respected judges.

Browne accepted her award in a March presentation in Los Angeles. She qualified for the ALEX in two of four categories: academics and performing arts. The other two categories are technological innovation and visual arts.

To be eligible for the academic competition, Browne was required to have an ACT score of 30 or better and a grade point average of at least 3.7. For the performing arts competition, she had to send a 10-minute video showcasing her talent.

Later she had to submit her school transcripts, write an essay and write letters to various government officials on the importance of recognizing talented scholars and artists.

On her birthday last summer, Browne received the call that she was one of the winners.

“I got down on the floor and started thanking God,” Browne said. “I was overwhelmed by this awesome blessing.”

One of the prestigious features of the award is that the winners may choose anyone to be their award presenter. Past presenters have included Sandra Day O’Connor, Colin Powell, Henry Kissinger and Alan Greenspan. Even the president of the United States has never refused to present the ALEX award.

Browne chose Eugene Scott, a Los Angeles religious leader, as her presenter. Scott’s Sunday church services and nightly talk show have been seen via satellite across much of North America, and his radio program can be heard around the world. He has written and published some 20 books.

“Since I was really young, my family would watch Dr. Scott,” Browne said.

She said she was excited that she was able to pick Scott because he has been a role model to her.

“True music is meant to worship God,” Browne explained.

Browne is a harp student of professor Elizabeth Richter and showcases her talent in the Ball State Symphony Orchestra and occasionally with the Ball State Wind Ensemble. Although she has always wanted to play the harp, she started on the piano as a young child. She then moved on to the harp, which she has been playing for nine years.

Browne said music has been a tradition in her family. Her relatives get together at least once a year to play their instruments. Browne credits her grandmother, a piano teacher, as being a primary influence on her.

“My grandma encouraged music all the way down the line,” Browne said.

Other early musical influences for Browne included her mother and an electronic toy that would play the sounds of different instruments in an orchestra.

“I wore out the harp button,” Browne admitted with a grin.

After her ALEX award presentation, Browne had the opportunity to perform in front of an audience at the University Cathedral in Los Angeles. The cathedral is Scott’s main church and has more than 15,000 members in the Greater Los Angeles area. It is the largest Protestant church in downtown Los Angeles.

Browne said she hopes to become a solo performing artist after college but would be happy teaching on the side. She has expressed an interest in foreign languages and hopes to expand her knowledge in her remaining years at Ball State.

Students interested in information on the ALEX or other awards the National Alliance for Excellence offers may visit the organization’s Web site at www.excellence.org.

By Mark Golabek, Student