Puget Sound Students Win 11 National Scholarships in 2016

TACOMA, Wash. – Eleven students and recent alumni from the University of Puget Sound have won prestigious national scholarships that will support their ongoing studies or take them overseas to teach or study in a foreign classroom.

The honors for three juniors, seven seniors, and one alumna raise the number of national fellowships and scholarships earned by Puget Sound students since 2000 to 183. Puget Sound, a national liberal arts college drawing 2,600 undergraduate students from 47 states and 12 countries, congratulates all the recipients.

 

The 2016 awards include three Goldwater Scholarships, which select students with outstanding potential in mathematics, the natural sciences, or engineering; a Boren Fellowship, to support graduate studies overseas; a Critical Language Scholarship, which sends U.S. students overseas for the summer to learn about a foreign culture and language; a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award that puts students in overseas classrooms to assist local English teachers; and five French Government Teaching Assistant Awards, which send students to help teach in French classrooms for seven months.

In addition, Maddie Grossman ’17 was waitlisted for a French Government Teaching Assistant Award. Marika Proctor ’15 was named as an alternate for the British Fulbright LAMBDA, which finances a year of studies at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

“It is very competitive to win these national scholarships, so we are enormously pleased that so many students have again been recognized for their valuable work and their potential to pursue productive lives and careers,” said Sharon Chambers-Gordon, director of the Office of Graduate and Undergraduate Fellowships. “The determination and enthusiasm with which the students pursue these opportunities always inspires me and helps make graduation an extraordinary time of year.”

The 2016 honors include:

Critical Language Scholarship (China)
Amy Bodner ’16

Goldwater Scholarship (for senior year studies)
Meghan Bacher ’17
Chili Johnson ’17 (Lillis Scholar)

Goldwater Honorable Mention
Sarah Mueller ’17

Boren Fellowship (China, for graduate studies)
Nathan Bradley ’16

Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award (Mexico)
Miriam Cook ’14

French Government Teaching Assistant Awards
Piper Gazeley ’16 (Poitiers)
Galen King ’16 (Montpellier)
Ryan Quinn ’16 (Lille)
Karina Vasavada ’16 (Lille)
Ashley Malin ’16 (Grenoble)
Maddie Grossan ’16 (Waitlisted)

Fulbright LAMDA (U.K.)
Marika Proctor ’14 (Alternate)

The successful students were greatly assisted by Puget Sound faculty and staff; by members of the Tacoma community who provided work, research, and volunteer opportunities; and by their families and friends.

The Fellowships Office, directed by Sharon Chambers-Gordon, coordinates the student applications and handles student recruiting, interviews, evaluation, mentoring, and mock interviews.

The Graduate Fellowships Advisory Committee, chaired by Professor of Religion Greta Austin, reads all applications, conducts campus interviews, and selects scholarship nominees. Committee members also include Associate Dean Martin Jackson, mathematics; Julie Christoph, English; Rachel DeMotts, politics and government; Jeff Grinstead, chemistry; Peter Hodum, biology; Mengjum Li, Asian studies; Katherine Smith, history; Kate Stirling, economics; Seth Weinberger, politics and government; and Chambers-Gordon. In addition, many faculty on and off-campus provided indispensable assistance by acting as research advisors and mentors or by writing letters of recommendation on the students’ behalf.

For more information about student fellowship and scholarship opportunities, contact Sharon Chambers-Gordon at 253.879.3329 or scgordon@pugetsound.edu.

Photos on page: From top right: Goldwater Scholars Meghan Bacher and Chili Johnson with Fellowships Office Director Sharon Chambers-Gordon; Most of the scholarship winners gather at Puget Sound.

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