Glen Percifield received an unconventional Father’s Day gift this past year.

“He was in shock,” said Jim Percifield, Glen’s youngest son. “I think it took a while to sink in.”

The gift was paperwork outlining the terms of an Indiana University Northwest scholarship that Jim had established in his father’s name. Once fully funded, the Glen Percifield Scholarship will be awarded to a Chesterton High School Speech and Debate student attending IU Northwest, Jim’s alma mater.

“You usually think about doing something like this when someone passes away,” said Jim, who earned his business degree at IU Northwest in 1989, “but I say, ‘let’s honor our loved ones when they are alive and see their legacy in action.’”

A legacy lives on

Glen indeed has a powerful legacy. And thanks to Jim’s gift, he can continue delivering the impact of his life’s work in his retirement. A lifelong educator, Glen has influenced countless high school students. Now, through the scholarship, he can help them achieve their career goals beyond high school as well.

In 1966, Glen started the speech and debate program at Chesterton High School, which grew into a top program in the state and nation. He had coached his team’s way to six state speech titles, 14 individual speech championships, and a few national honors.

“He definitely started something,” Jim said. “Even today, some 40 years later, people are still approaching me and saying, ‘Your dad was a great teacher. He really made an impact on my life.’”

Glen left Chesterton High School in 1981, and moved the family to Highland. He and his wife, Letty, started a private Christian school and worked in private education for many years. Glen finished his career at Munster High School, also a speech and debate powerhouse, and retired at the age of 72 to a lakefront home in Michigan City.

Philanthropy runs deep in the Percifield households. The elder Percifields had always donated a portion of their income and taught their children to do the same. It was a principle handed down from Jim's grandparents who also freely gave their time and talents to others. So it was no surprise that Jim would seek out ways to give back in a big way.

Jim said he wanted to find something to do that would “integrate my dad’s commitment to the speech and debate students at Chesterton High School, while also supporting higher education locally.” Plus, Chesterton’s speech and debate family remains a family affair. Glen’s eldest son, Richard, was a speech and debate contender and Jim’s law school-bound daughter, Emily, took home titles for her policy debates.

An investment advisor with Wells Fargo, Jim learned that his contribution would qualify for two separate match programs, IU’s Bicentennial Campaign Matching Program, as well as one through Wells Fargo. Together, these programs essentially quadrupled his contribution, enabling him to create an endowed scholarship to be awarded year after year.

Regional pride

Jim says the scholarship might also encourage students to take advantage of a regional education, like he did. Jim attended IU Northwest so that he could maintain a local lawn care business he had launched, an enterprise which paid his way through college. He was glad he did because IU Northwest delivered on its promise to make him as marketable as any other reputable school. When he graduated with his accounting degree, he quickly landed a top job in Chicago.

Once funded, hopefully in less than five years, the scholarship will amount to about $4,500 per year for a Chesterton High School student to attend IU Northwest. The hope is that Glen himself will present the award to a deserving student each year.

“Speech and debate is probably the best training for college and your career that a student can get,” said Glen, who still returns to judge meets, occasionally. ”My hope is that thanks to this scholarship, these students will be successful in whatever they attempt. I know that their future success will be partially attributed to their skills in communication, logic, and argument.”

Glen’s wife of 57 years, Letty, who coached some of the novice debaters while working as a social studies aide at Chesterton, said that her son’s gesture “fills our heart.”

“As we get older, I think more and more about what legacy we are leaving. This scholarship certainly fits into our thoughts on that,” Letty said. “We’ve gotten many notes and letters from students in college that say that speech and debate was the most important preparation they had in their high school career. Speech and debate gives students important skills they need for academic success. This scholarship will perhaps help students at Chesterton achieve something just a little bit beyond what they could achieve without a scholarship.”