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Scholarship Recipients

The following testimonials were written by recent recipients of scholarships and fellowships at Millsaps College.

Angela Pell: Goldwater Scholar

The Goldwater Scholarship has been a great asset for me.  It is recognized across the country.  It is impressive on resumes and says a lot about the recipient: that you are an intelligent, dedicated student.  I would not have received the scholarship without the help of Professor Lee Lewis and my advisor, Dr. James Harris.  The scholarship has been helpful in getting additional awards while at Millsaps College, from the geology department and from the Mississippi Geological Society.  Even more impressive, it has helped in my getting a graduate fellowship and an internship. 

Robert Caskey: Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship:

The scholarship basically made one of the major goals of my life possible. Since the end of my freshmen year at Millsaps, when I discovered what it was I wanted to do with my life, I had wanted to attend the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and do a Masters or PhD in Medical Entomology. I wanted to do this because I realized a traditional medical degree in America would never offer me enough detailed information on tropical diseases and their control. The scholarship not only made this possible but also allowed me the opportunity to travel the world including Africa, which is where, back at the end of my freshman year, I thought I would end up working. Finally, the design of the scholarship program, which has as its main objective the fostering international understanding, allowed me an in depth look into many cultures(French, Belgian, Polish, Scottish, Tanzanian, Kenyan to name a few), but especially English culture.

This is something which I believe I never would have gotten from any of the other scholarships available. I look on my year in London (and everywhere else!) as the best year of my life and without the scholarship it never would have happen.

Doc Billingsley: Freeman-ASIA Scholarship

The Freeman-ASIA program allowed me to study abroad for a semester in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where I conducted field research for my honors thesis on Thai family planning programs. The cost of the study abroad program simply would have been too high without the Freeman Foundation's assistance. There's no substitute for experience, and just living in Thailand for a few months gave me a perspective on my research that no amount of literature review could have provided.

Drs. Galaty and Murchison helped me in preparing essays for the Freeman-ASIA application, as in all of my endeavors. But I should say that undergraduates who want to study abroad or otherwise expand the usual college experience had best take the initiative themselves in finding scholarships and evaluating program options, as I did in finding a suitable program for study in Thailand. The process of finding a program and funding it really taught me a lot about grant applications and the politics/logistics of advanced studies, which will certainly come in handy over the next 5-8 years as I complete graduate study and begin my career.  

Kenneth Townsend: Truman Scholars Program 

I think it is safe to say that receiving the Truman Scholarship was one of the great turning points in my academic life.  As a young college student, I only gradually became comfortable with my ability to discuss big ideas with important people.  While at Millsaps, however, my professors consistently nurtured this budding confidence and helped prepare me for the new academic opportunities, including my application for the Truman Scholarship.  From Dr. Omo-Bare's guidance as the Truman advisor, to Dr. MacMaster's assistance in proof-reading my application, to Dr. Armstrong's convening of practice interview panels, by the time for my actual interview came around, I felt as prepared as I possibly could have.  The preparation paid off, and I was fortunate enough to be named a 2003 Truman Scholar.  Little did I know what was to await me.  Through my involvement with the Truman Foundation, I have conversed with the likes of Robert Reich, Madeline Albright, and Michael Dukakis, to name just a few, and my participation in the Truman Summer Institute during the summer of 2004 allowed me not only the opportunity to work in the U.S. Department of Education, but also provided the chance to live and learn for a summer with my fellow Trumans from around the country.  I will be forever grateful to Millsaps for the support provided and to the Truman Foundation for these opportunities given.  And to think I have not yet even used my Truman Scholarship money!   

Kenneth Townsend: Rhodes Scholarship

Growing up in a small town in rural Mississippi, the idea of receiving a scholarship such as the Rhodes was even more distant to me conceptually than the shores of England were geographically.  Upon coming to Millsaps, however, I was encouraged move past any self-imposed constraints and to consider possibilities I never would have imagined before.  Both intellectually and personally, Millsaps nurtured my mind and heart, and in so doing, prepared me for a number of things, not least of which was the Rhodes Scholarship application process.  A conversation with Dr. Griffin in the spring of 2003 helped convince  me that I was a legitimate contender, and from that point forward, I had the unflagging support of the entire Millsaps community.  Dr. McElvaine, the Rhodes advisor, not only assisted with convening practice interview panels, but he also distributed my application essay to members of the faculty for their perusal.  The feedback I received concerning my written work and my interview performance proved essential in qualifying for an interview and, ultimately, in winning the scholarship.  I am still living in England as a reaping the benefits of this scholarship, so it is difficult to assess exactly what long-term effect the Rhodes Scholarship will have on my life.  The immediate impact has been more than I would have imagined, though.  Before I came to England with my fellow Rhodes Scholars, I had never been overseas, but since arriving, I have not only had the opportunity to learn with some of the brightest minds in the world, but I have also been able to use my vacation time to travel the world--something I, otherwise, would have had only dreamed of.   

 

 
 


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