UK Junior Selected to Study at Cambridge
LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 4, 2020) — University of Kentucky junior Hailey Combs, an English major from Campton, Kentucky, has been awarded an English-Speaking Union (ESU) Scholarship presented by the English-Speaking Union Kentucky Branch. The scholarship will cover Combs’ expenses for summer study at 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.
ESU scholarships are awarded for studies in English literature, history and social sciences at the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge or Edinburgh for the summer of 2020. Scholarship winners, selected through an essay and interview process for the program, are expected to become articulate lifelong ambassadors for British/American cultural exchanges.
To Combs, the ESU scholarship will fund much more than two weeks of English literature studies at Cambridge. “I am being given the opportunity to grow personally and intellectually by visiting a different country alongside those who share my passions.”
The daughter of Christopher Combs and Rachel Lindon, of Campton, Combs is a member of Lewis Honors College minoring in Russian studies in addition to pursuing a major in English in the College of Arts and Sciences. In addition, the Chellgren Fellow is part of UK’s Bachelor to Law Undergraduate Education (UKBLUE) Program, which will allow her to start law school her senior year.
“I chose these educational and career pathways due to my love for reading and writing, my craving to study something difficult and new, and my initiative to use my fondness for analysis to help others,” Combs said.
During her undergraduate studies, Combs has served as the treasurer and an event committee member for UK’s chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, an English honor society. She also interned with Melissa Wilson Esq., an adoption attorney in Lexington.
Combs credits several UK staff and faculty for helping her apply for the ESU Scholarship and as mentors, including Emily Sallee and Patricia Whitlow in the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards; Lynn Hiler, of the Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence; Molly Blasing, assistant professor of Russian studies in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures; and Pearl James, associate professor of English; Armando Prats, professor of English; and Judy Prats, senior lecturer of writing, rhetoric, and digital studies.
The Kentucky branch of the ESU was chartered in 1923 by local business and civic leaders. Since 1964, more than 500 Kentucky teachers and college students have been awarded scholarships by the Kentucky branch of the ESU.
Combs applied for the ESU Scholarship through the UK Office of Nationally Competitive Awards, part of the Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence within the Division of Student and Academic Life at UK. The Office of Nationally Competitive Awards assists current UK undergraduate and graduate students and recent alumni in applying for external scholarships and fellowships funded by sources (such as a nongovernment foundation or government agency) outside the university. These major awards honor exceptional students across the nation. Students who are interested in these opportunities are encouraged to begin work with the office's director, Pat Whitlow, well in advance of the scholarship deadline.
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