Emory seniors Farah Al-Chammas (19C), Claire Barnes (19C), John Priddy (19C) and Camila Reed-Guevara (19C) were awarded 2019 Bobby Jones Scholarships, which fund a year of graduate study at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
The scholarship supports an exchange program wherein four Emory students and four St. Andrews students complete a year of graduate study abroad. Fiona Blackwood, Libbi Carruthers, Iain Millar and Iain Smith will attend Emory in the Fall 2019 semester as Bobby Jones scholars from St. Andrews.
The scholarship was founded in 1976 to honor the legacy of Emory alumnus Robert T. Jones Jr. (29G), a renowned golfer.
The scholarship is granted to students who have “excelled academically and who will benefit from graduate academic experience at the University of St Andrews,” according to the scholarship’s website.
Al Chammas, a refugee from Syria, is an anthropology and human biology and interdisciplinary studies double major. She plans to complete study a self-designed program that combines management and psychology courses at St. Andrews.
At Emory, Al Chammas founded the club Refugee Revive, which aims to empower local refugees to access better education and become entrepreneurs, according to her Linkedin profile. She is also a member of the Interdisciplinary Exploration and Scholarship (IDEAS) Fellowship that promotes interdisciplinary study on-campus and has conducted biomedical research at the University of Texas.
Barnes is majoring in religion and philosophy and minoring in sustainability. On campus, she restarted Emory’s branch of Slow Food, an organization that encourages locally sourcing food and traditional cooking, participated in the IDEAS Fellowship and has served as a Resident Adviser (RA) and Sophomore Adviser (SA).
“This year the applicant pool was amazing,” Barnes said. “[I think I stood out because] I connected really well with the committee. In my interviews it felt more like a conversation than it did an interview.”
Barnes intends to pursue a master’s degree in international political theory at the School of International Relations at St. Andrews. Barnes said she would ultimately like to pursue a doctorate and become involved in ambassadorial work.
Priddy is the Student Government Association (SGA) president, an RA in Raoul Hall, senior diversity initiatives fellow in the Office of Undergraduate Admission and serves as a captain for Emory’s mock trial team. He is double majoring in political science and history and is completing an honors thesis in political science. He plans to earn a masters of letters in legal and constitutional studies at St. Andrews.
“I think [I earned the scholarship for] a combination of my passion and love for Emory and my willingness to go and be an ambassador for Emory at the University of St. Andrews,” Priddy said.
Reed-Guevarra is a classics and philosophy double major. She founded the classics journal “Tesserae,” debated for the Barkley Forum and participated in the Atlanta Urban Debate League, according to a University press release. Reed-Guevarra did not respond to the Wheel’s request for an interview.
Jordan Chapman (19C) and Leigh Schlecht (19C) were chosen as alternates in case any of the four winners are unable to attend St. Andrews.
Editor’s Note: Leigh Schlecht is a copy editor for the Wheel and was not involved in the composition or editing of this article.
Correction (3/19/19 at 12:04 a.m.): A previous version of this article stated that Claire Barnes is pursuing a master's degree in literature. In fact, she is pursuing a master of letters (MLitt) degree.
