Ohio Northern University student Shawn Stevens, a junior music education major from Lima, Ohio, has been named a 2015 Presser Scholar Award recipient. As a Presser Scholar, Stevens will receive a $4,200 grant.

The award is given to students who show excellence in academics and a passion for music. In order to present the scholarship each year, the University must have at least 40 undergraduate music majors enrolled in the program. The recipient must have at least one-third of their credit hours in an area other than music.

In addition to the terms above, students must be at or near the end of their junior year. They are chosen by the music faculty with the choice of the recipient guided solely on excellence and merit.

Stevens is a vocal major, sings with the ONU University Singers and Men’s Chorus, and serves as student assistant conductor for both ensembles. He currently serves on the ONU Music Department Student Advisory Board and the Getty College of Arts & Sciences Student Advisory Board, and acts as the choral assistant and librarian. Stevens is a member of the Delta Omicron international music honorary fraternity

The award is made possible through the generosity of Theodore Presser’s will. Presser founded and published the Etude music magazine and was an influential teacher at ONU and other institutions of higher learning. In 1916, Presser created the Presser Foundation through several deeds of trust and through his will. The Foundation officially incorporated in 1939 following his death in 1925.