FW: Student nominations for national scholarships/internships
Andrew Larson
From: Officeoft...@umontana.edu [mailto:Officeoft...@umontana.edu]
Sent: Monday, April 30, 2012 8:44 AM
To: CampusComm...@umontana.edu
Subject: Student nominations for national scholarships/internships
To: All UM Faculty Members
From: Laure Pengelly Drake, Director of External Scholarships and Advising
Re: National Scholarships
I am writing to remind UM faculty members to send to me your best and brightest students who are engaged and intellectually curious for discussions about scholarship possibilities as soon as possible. Please also consider recent alumni because they still qualify for several awards. You do not have to review every criterion for every scholarship; just tell the students to contact me for the academic coaching process because you see potential, and we can sort out which scholarship, if any, is best suited to the student’s interests and abilities. I frequently refer students to other people for scholarships run outside the DHC office. By May 17, please also nominate for the Portz Award any Honors student who has written a brilliant, thought-provoking paper for you this year.
Even if we cannot find the right scholarship match, the process is worthwhile for all dedicated students who want to prepare well for graduate and professional school and other opportunities. Students who want to apply next fall should meet with me before they leave school this spring, so please make recommendations as soon as you receive this letter. Thank you to those who have responded to previous requests.
Many scholarship competitions are not announced until close to the deadlines, but it is extremely helpful both for the student and for the scholarship program if the student starts on the process long before the application is even available, preferably early in his or her academic career. Conversations while the student is a freshman (or even still in high school) would not be premature because curriculum, research, service, leadership, internship, and study abroad decisions and experiences can require years of development. Successful scholarship applications often build on previous wins.
The scholarship process requires powerful mentoring from many people with strong dedication to stewardship. We need the help of professors who will notice, report, and help nurture and direct talent and dedication. The interview skills required for most major scholarships build through many challenging and inspiring conversations with you and your colleagues long before most students come in to discuss scholarship options. Students cannot overcome shyness or learn to handle strong objections to their answers in the few weeks many students give to the process. I would like to call your attention again to a testimonial from Harold Urey, Nobel Prize winner for chemistry in 1934, in which he addresses the importance for this process of individual attention from professors. In his letter to Professor Elrod after his prize was announced, Urey quotes a friend who notes that Nobel Prize winners had come from small schools, not necessarily the Ivy League schools. Urey agrees and attributes that result to relationships: “I think the reason for this is that the professors in small colleges give so much personal attention to the freshman students in college. It pushes up their vanity, their self-regard and induces them to do an enormous amount of work which otherwise they would not do.” Urey goes on to thank the professors with whom he studied and to credit his success to their engagement with him: “That personal attention, I think, has been the most important thing to me--far more important than any instruction I have ever received.” Send all potential Nobel Prize winners my way!
Because scholarship criteria are complex and sometimes change focus, the scholarship program needs as many venues as possible for communication with faculty members about scholarships. I am eager to talk with you individually and to speak at department meetings. I can provide information for you to discuss, post, and pass on to students with excellent records of intellectual achievement, service, and leadership, as well as academic and career potential. It would help the students and me if all departments would share information about your best students at faculty meetings at least once a semester and then refer those students to me. It would also help if I could get a scholarship contact within each department if your department has not already provided one and an updated external scholarship link on your website:
http://www.dhc.umt.edu/scholarships.htm. Scroll down to find the external scholarships and the list of UM scholarship winners. Many exceptional students will not think to nominate themselves for scholarships; your interest and attention will help them understand their own potential and direct them to the opportunities for developing that potential.
Please post the attached partial lists of national scholarships and fellowships and recommend the programs to your students. Thank you.
National Scholarships
National or external scholarships are those for which UM students compete nationally. Most nationally competitive scholarships reward academic excellence, service, and leadership, and many of the applications include interviews for finalists. Students should contact the scholarship director early in the process for referrals to other programs and for coaching to represent themselves and UM well in national scholarship competitions.
The majority of the scholarships that require institutional support and nominations are for graduate study, but I also manage two undergraduate scholarships for which students with one or two years of college remaining may apply:
The Goldwater Scholarship (www.act.org/goldwater/) provides $7,500 for students committed to careers in math, science, or engineering. Research experience is not officially required, but it certainly helps.
The Udall Scholarship (www.udall.gov) provides $5,000 for students committed to careers related to the environment AND to Native American students committed to careers in tribal public policy OR Native American health care. UM currently leads the nation in Udall Scholarships.
One graduate scholarship honoring and supporting leadership requires application a year early: Truman Scholarship candidates apply as juniors for $30,000 for graduate school. They must demonstrate outstanding potential for public service and be committed to making a difference through careers in government, the nonprofit or advocacy sectors, education, or elsewhere in the field. They write a policy proposal as part of their application. (www.truman.gov)
Students who would qualify for the top US graduate programs in their fields should be encouraged to meet with me to discuss these opportunities:
The Gates Cambridge Scholarship, for study in any field at Cambridge University, seeks students “with the capacity for leadership, intellectual ability, and desire to use their knowledge to contribute to the well-being of society” (http://www.gatesscholar.org/). Gates Cambridge Scholars should also be a good fit with Cambridge.
The Marshall Scholarship, for graduate study at any British university in most fields, supports students who will “strengthen the enduring relationship between the British and American peoples, their governments and their institutions” as “leaders of thought” (www.marshallscholarship.org).
The Mitchell Scholarship, for graduate study in Ireland, honors “Senator Mitchell’s commitment to public service and community, integrity, leadership, justice and fairness” (www.us-irelandalliance.org).
National Fellowships
The Carnegie Junior Fellows Program is a paid research fellowship for recent college graduates in Washington, DC. The topics tend to be related to security issues and languages. Students in political science, climate change, communication, and economics, as well as students who have strong skills in Russian, Arabic, Chinese, and other security languages should consider the opportunity (http://www.carnegieendowment.org/). Applications are due late in fall term.
Humanity in Action (HIA) programs “are designed to promote and facilitate an ongoing, international dialogue about the challenges that democratic societies encounter as they experience new degrees and forms of diversity.” Deadlines for HIA programs vary (www.humanityinaction.org).
The James Madison Fellowship Program provides graduate funding for those who want to teach American history or government or social studies and “master the content of American constitutional history” (www.jamesmadison.com). The program is actively seeking Montana applicants. Apply for assistance by the first week of February.
The Rotary Peace Fellowship provides academic and practical training to prepare scholars with personal, academic, and professional achievements for leadership roles in solving conflicts around the world. Fellows earn a master’s-level degree or a professional development certificate in peace and conflict studies at one of six Rotary Peace Centers at leading universities in Australia, England, Sweden, Japan, the United States and Thailand. Both programs require, at minimum, a bachelor’s degree in a related field; 3 years of relevant work experience and proficiency in a 2nd language for the MA program and 5 years for the professional development certificate and proficiency in English. The deadline is 1 July 2012. Applications are available at: www.rotary.org/rotarycenters. Please pay close attention to the language and academic test requirements for each center. All Rotary Peace Fellowship applications need the endorsement of your local Rotary district; use the Club Locator tool on the Rotary International web site at http://www.rotary.org/en/AboutUs/SiteTools/ClubLocator/Pages/ridefault.aspx.
The Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship provides college graduates with the opportunity to gain a Washington perspective on key issues of peace and security during a six-to-nine month fellowship. Supported by a stipend, the Fellows serve as full-time junior staff members at the participating organization of their choice (www.scoville.org). Scoville offers two application deadlines.
Teach for America offers a challenging and rewarding opportunity to teach in low-income and rural schools to develop educational leadership (www.teachforamerica.org).
For assistance with external scholarships and fellowships and other applications, contact Laure Pengelly Drake, Director of External Scholarships and Advising, as early as possible. laure.pen...@umontana.edu, (406) 243-6140; DHC 102 |