UK Junior Wins Scholarship to Study at Cambridge

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 4, 2010) – Jason Grant, an English and linguistics junior at the University of Kentucky, has been awarded one of five English-Speaking Union Scholarships presented by the English-Speaking Union Kentucky Branch. The scholarship will cover Grant's expenses for summer study in literature at the University of Cambridge.

The Kentucky Branch of the English-Speaking Union awards a limited number of scholarships to qualified Kentucky college students for courses offered at institutions in the United Kingdom. Scholarship awards include tuition, lodging and two meals daily for three-week courses at the institutions chosen by the scholarship winners. Scholarships also include one week’s lodging in London and a cash allowance. Student scholarships are awarded for studies in English literature, history and social sciences at Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh University for the summer of 2010. Scholarship winners, selected through an essay and interview process for the program, are expected to become articulate lifelong ambassadors for British/American cultural exchanges. 

"I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to study literature at one of the most important universities in the world," says Grant. "The added bonus of a week in London, too, is such a fantastic opportunity to travel and experience England."

Grant, the son of Hal and Julie Grant of Lexington, is a 2007 Paul Laurence Dunbar High School graduate.

Besides pursuing majors in English and linguistics, Grant is also working on a minor in French. Through his Chellgren Fellowship, he has studied with mentor Susan Carvalho, associate provost for International Programs, in the study of magic realism, especially the work of Gabriel García Márquez, with the intent of incorporating the style into contemporary literature. Grant is also beginning a project on urban semiotics, the study of cities in literature.

One of UK's Singletary Scholars, Grant is also the recipient of the Dantzler/Farquhar Prize for Fiction and a Gaines Fellowship. Additionally, he serves as editor of JAR, the literary magazine of the UK Honors Program.

Outside of UK, Grant has interned at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning.

After graduation, Grant plans to pursue graduate study in fiction and literature to prepare for his career.

"I hope to become a professional novelist and teach literature in a university," says the scholarship winner. "I want to focus on criticism, especially in theory and modern/postmodern literature."

The English-Speaking Union (ESU) of the United States is a nonprofit, nonpolitical, educational service organization whose mission is to promote scholarship and the advancement of knowledge through the effective use of English in an expanding global community. Headquartered in New York City, the organization implements programs through a network of 78 branches throughout the United States. The Kentucky Branch of the ESU was chartered in 1923 by local business and civic leaders. Since 1960, more than 450 Kentucky teachers and college students have been awarded scholarships by the Kentucky Branch of the ESU.