Four College seniors were awarded the Robert T. Jones Jr. Scholarship for 2013-2014 on Monday, allowing them to study for a year at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
The scholarship was awarded to College seniors Becky Levitan, an Art History major and Mediterranean archeology minor; Nour El-Kebbi, Middle East and South Asian studies and International Studies double major; Lauren Henrickson, a Linguistics and Religion double major; and Katie Dickerson, who is studying Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology, Anthropology and Biology.
The award, commonly known as the Bobby Jones Scholarship, was established in 1976 and recognizes individuals in the Emory community who exemplify the legacy of Bobby Jones. According to the scholarship's website, Bobby Jones was a golf legend and a scholar, earning degrees from Georgia Tech, Harvard and Emory.
The scholarship sends four students from both Emory and St. Andrews to the other school to undertake a full-paid year of study.
Of the 26 students who applied at Emory, 12 students were selected as finalists, and four were ultimately selected as award recipients.
For the first time in the scholarship's history, all eight recipients both at Emory and St. Andrews are women.
"It really speaks to the extent to which woman at Emory are full participants and fully involved and a part of the leadership," said Dee McGraw, Emory's director of National Scholarships and Fellowships. "We have arrived at the point where it is not so much, 'we've got to balance the men and the woman,' but instead when you look across campus at who the leaders are, it's likely to be anybody, and that's a good thing."
Levitan said the fact that all recipients were women demonstrates that academia is no longer a male-dominated field.
"This year, [women] were the ones that showed they were the best candidates." Levitan said.
There is no formula or quota used to determine who is awarded the scholarship, according to McGraw.
She denied any rumors that race and gender quotas are a part of the recipients of the scholarship. She explained that judges only seek to find the most qualified candidates.
"The fact that eight woman were selected speaks a lot to the fact that the committee was really looking for merit and not trying to fit any kind of mold," Dickerson said.
Students are awarded the scholarship based on their "intellectual excellence, significant leadership, and exemplary character, integrity and citizenship," according to the scholarship's website.
"I think that's this is a really a unique opportunity," said Dickerson. "St. Andrews is a sister school of Emory and it is rare that an exchange program like this could exist. This was a unique opportunity and I wanted to make it an aspect of my Emory Experience."
Student finalists meet with faculty, administrators and judges in a social reception prior to an official interview process. The selection committee is composed of faculty, administrators, alumni and Bobby Jones IV, a direct blood relative of Bobby Jones.
"All of the judges and finalists come together in a social setting and chat," McGraw said. "[Finalists] try to be as normal and as themselves as possible under stressful circumstances. It really is a way for the judges to get to know the finalists in a more personable and casual way."
Selected students are offered the opportunity to continue their undergraduate education abroad and experience local and cultural offerings within the community of St. Andrews while serving as representatives of Emory, according to the scholarship's website.
"We're looking for people who represent the face of Emory, the best that Emory has to offer," McGraw said. "These are people who have been deeply engaged in campus in different kinds of ways through athletics, music or student government."
McGraw said the student finalists are the types of individuals who judges engage in a conversation with and instantly connect and want to learn more about.
The student finalists were anxious in awaiting the announcement of the winners.
Both Dickerson and El-Kebbi said that they began crying when they found out they were awarded the Bobby Jones scholarship.
"I walked into the office with my roommate, and I was extremely nervous," El-Kebbi said. "I hadn't slept in five days."
Since the creation of the scholarship, the program has sent more than 200 students from both Emory and St. Andrews to study abroad.
McGraw said students interested in the scholarship should be extremely active in the Emory community.
"Love [Emory] and give yourself to it," McGraw said. "Find your niche and those things are going to make you a strong candidate in the future."
– Contact Dustin Slade at
dpslade@emory.edu
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