Applications are open for the 2024 Tyler Trent Courage and Resilience Award
Remembered for his courageous battle with cancer and his contagious enthusiasm for the Purdue football team, Tyler Trent inspired a nation throughout his fight with osteosarcoma bone cancer. In his honor, donors to Purdue University support a scholarship in his name.
The Tyler Trent Courage and Resilience Award is now accepting applications until February 23, 2024. The memorializing scholarship honors Tyler Trent and awards undergraduate students at Purdue’s West Lafayette campus who have encountered serious physical or similarly daunting adversity in their pursuit of higher education. First-year students through seniors, in any discipline, are eligible. Students may nominate themselves or be nominated by others.
Trent was diagnosed with bone cancer at the age of 15. While a student at Purdue, Trent served as a sports reporter for the Exponent while earning an associate degree in computer information technology. He was active in the Dance Marathon Club, a student organization that raises funds and awareness for Riley Children’s Hospital where he received cancer treatment.
Trent’s legacy includes a heart to help the causes and individuals important to him. He was a passionate activist and leader, serving as founder of Teens With a Cause, an organization that recruits young people to perform service projects for families affected by cancer. Trent also served as the first student member of the Director’s Advancement Board of the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research.
Tyler Trent passed on Jan. 1, 2019, at his home in Carmel.