12 NSF Graduate Research Fellowships Cap Off Great Year for UK Student Scholars
Video by Jenny Wells/UK Public Relations and Marketing.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 23, 2016) — More than 30 of the University of Kentucky's students and recent graduates had the world's most prestigious scholarship, fellowship and internship organizations take note this year, including what is believed to be a record-breaking group of 12 current and former UK students who were selected to receive National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships, which carry an award of more than $100,000 to use toward research-based master's or doctoral degrees.
Helping prepare these UK students and recent alumni to compete for and win such honors is the mission of the UK Office of Nationally Competitive Awards. The office, under the direction of Pat Whitlow, is dedicated to identifying and working with young scholars on the application process for large scholastic prizes.
"It has been an exciting year," Whitlow said. "These are very, very competitive awards and students have worked very hard to be prepared to apply. Applicants have to do well in their academics. They have to show a strong record of involvement in extracurricular activities or research or public service. We've had a number of UK students interview for the Rhodes in recent years and we have a student on her Marshall Scholarship studying right now. So, I want UK students to know that they can be very competitive for these awards."
This year's UK students and alumni award winners are:
Astronaut Scholarship
· Corrine Elliott
· Shauna Rust
· Amaris Wade
· Lee Clark
· Lauren Copeland
· Ruth Dike
· Faiyad Mannan
· Bridget Nicholas
English-Speaking Union Scholarship
· Abby Schroering
Fulbright and Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship
· Daniel Ball
· Emily Furnish
· Malinda Massey
· Gabriel Pike
· Katelyn Wiard
Fulbright Summer Institute (United Kingdom)
· Abigail King
Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship
· Rebecca Blair
· Jarred Brewster
· Austin Eirk
· Tiffany Johnson
Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship
· Corrine Elliott
National Institute of Standards and Technology Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship
· Benjamin Riley
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
· Sarah Barney
· Robert Cass
· Michael Crocker
· Matthew Fahrbach
· Charles Fieseler
· Marc Higginson-Rollins
· Christopher Karounos
· Jessime Kirk
· Edward Limin Lo
· Andrew Arthur Nelson
· Cassandra Porter
· Danielle Schaper
· Calvin Hong
· Brittney Woodrum
One of the primary responsibilities of the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards is to administer a campus nomination process for 13 major awards that require institutional endorsement. For these specific opportunities, which include such honors as the Truman and Rhodes Scholarships, students must apply first to a campus review committee. The university committee then selects the students who will represent UK. Nominees receive feedback on their application and are officially nominated by the institution.
Recently, UK was selected for another of this type of program. This spring UK became a Churchill Foundation Scholarship Institution. The Churchill Foundation’s scholarship program offers students of exceptional ability and outstanding achievement the opportunity to pursue graduate studies in engineering, mathematics or the sciences at Cambridge University.
"This is just terrific. It is specifically for STEM students," Whitlow said. "We can nominate two students; the deadline is in the early fall. We will do a campus deadline, so we will actually have our students submit materials in September, and we will do interviews on campus to select our two nominees for that award. It will be a wonderful opportunity."
But the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards doesn't just work with those 13 awards alone, the primary goal of the office is to recruit and prepare UK students with strong academic and extracurricular records to help them be successful in pursuing any nationally or internationally competitive programs. The office shares its knowledge of the process helping UK students find scholarships, fellowships and even internships that match their particular area of study or research, which are funded by nonprofit groups, government agencies and companies.
Funding opportunities abound, ranging from the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) fields to the arts and humanities for many student scholars.
"You can come from any discipline. You can come at a variety of points in your academic career," Whitlow said. "I just get a sense of what their interests are and what it is they think they want to do. I am happy to walk them through things that I know about based on their interests."
The Office of Nationally Competitive Awards can help students determine if they are eligible for a particular award, assist them in crafting personal essays, offer opportunities to practice for an interview, and shepherd them through the application and/or nomination process. These efforts help the office reach its goal to increase the number of UK students and alumni who apply for, and receive, these national and international awards each year.
"I will help students with drafting essays for awards that permit that. We do a lot of practice interviews for students, because interviewing is a skill. We also talk to them about what makes a good recommender and how do you cultivate a contact for a recommendation," Whitlow said.
In addition to programs that work with the university, there are many scholarship opportunities that allow direct application. For those awards, the UK Office of Nationally Competitive Awards also is willing to provide advice and assistance to students preparing an application.
The process of applying for a nationally or internationally competitive scholarship is, in itself, a learning experience. It challenges the student to think through his or her career plans, to set ambitious long-term goals, and to imagine how they can use their talents to shape and change the world. In order to be a successful candidate for one of these highly competitive awards, the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards recommends students begin to consider opportunities as early as their freshman year, building extracurricular and leadership background, as well as participating in community and public service while maintaining a high grade point average.
"I encourage them to come in early. I encourage students to come see me or come to an info session. We hold an information session nearly every Wednesday evening during the fall term," Whitlow said.
But students need not wait until fall to get started — in fact, Whitlow encourages them to take advantage of the summer months in preparing to apply for these opportunities. Her office, located in 221 Funkhouser Building, is ready and waiting for students wanting to talk with her in person or by phone.
The UK Office of Nationally Competitive Awards is part of the Academy for Undergraduate Excellence within the Division of Undergraduate Education.
UK is the University for Kentucky. At UK, we are educating more students, treating more patients with complex illnesses and conducting more research and service than at any time in our 150-year history. To read more about the UK story and how you can support continued investment in your university and the Commonwealth, go to: uky.edu/uk4ky. #uk4ky #seeblue
MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu