UK’s Cleary Awarded National Undergrad Scholarship From Alpha Lambda Delta

photo of Hannah Cleary standing in field
Hannah Cleary

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 7, 2020) Alpha Lambda Delta National Honor Society recently announced that agricultural and medical biotechnology and Lewis Honors College senior Hannah Cleary will receive a Jo Anne J. Trow Scholarship for the 2020-21 academic year. Cleary is one of only five students to receive a $6,000 award, the highest amount dispersed through the Trow Scholarship.

“I am beyond honored to be one of five students across the nation to receive the highest award for this scholarship,” Cleary said. “At the University of Kentucky, Alpha Lambda Delta is an organization I support wholeheartedly.”

The honor society, which has more than 280 chapters nationally, celebrates academic excellence among first-year students. UK’s chapter was revived in 2019 after being dormant for several years. Cleary served as chapter president for the 2019-2020 academic year. She is also a Chellgren Fellow, vice president of the Agricultural and Medical Biotechnology Club in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, a peer mentor for the Lewis Honors College, and an active participant in undergraduate research.

“On behalf of the UK chapter of Alpha Lambda Delta, I want to congratulate and acknowledge Hannah and the tremendous job she did this year as the chapter leader,” said Pat Whitlow, director of the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards and chapter advisor.

Alpha Lambda Delta awarded 50 Trow scholarships this year to outstanding students from across the country. The organization currently offers five $6,000 awards, 10 $3,000 awards, 10 $2,000 awards and 25 $1,000 awards. Selection is based on maintaining a 3.5 grade-point average, academic records, participation in Alpha Lambda Delta activities, campus and community service activities, and the applicant’s essay answers.

UK’s chapter inducted 122 new members during the spring 2020 semester under Cleary’s leadership. The organization is supported by the Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence and the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards in the Division of Student and Academic Life.

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.