On an unseasonably warm day in the spring of 2004, Stephanie Redmond of Camas, Wash. toured the Wells College campus as a prospective student. Like many other visitors, she was charmed by the village of Aurora and the college's historic architecture.

For Redmond, the tour had a very personal dimension. Glen Park mansion, now a residence hall, was the former home of her great-great-great-great-grandfather Henry Wells. She was in the village her grandfather loved, and to Redmond it was like a homecoming.

"I knew Wells was for me when I visited in March," Redmond said in a news release. "I like the homey feel of the campus, especially all of the trees and nature around the buildings."

In the 19th century, Henry Wells and his Ithaca business partner, Ezra Cornell, supported each others' plans to establish premier institutions of learning in central New York, which led to the creation of Wells College and Cornell University.

Redmond was selected as a Henry Wells Scholar last spring, she will now receive funds to pursue an experiential learning project of her choosing during her junior and senior year. Wells was also the founder of the American Express Company and the Wells Fargo Bank.

"I learned the Wells Fargo Bank was directly related to the old postal systems in the West," Redmond said. "And from there that Henry Wells is my ancestor on my mother's side of the family."

Redmond will be one of 131 students who will be entering Wells College this fall. This is the largest class Wells has seen in more than 20 years. Among the students are 21 males, the first males to be accepted into the traditionally all women's college.

Redmond was also accepted to Cornell and the University of California at Berkeley.

"I chose Wells because of the intimate attention given to the students," Redmond said. "The opportunity for internships built into the curriculum and the connection with Cornell were also important to me."