Emory University awarded Lydia King (23Ox, 25C), David Lee (25C), Elizabeth Martin (25C) and Lucas San Miguel (25C) with this year’s Robert T. Jones Jr. Scholarship. The selection committee chose the four students out of a pool of 49 applicants. The group will spend one year abroad at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. Each spring, the University chooses students representing “academic excellence and exemplary character, integrity, and citizenship” to become scholarship recipients. Each student will pursue a master’s degree in their respective fields of interest, enhancing the knowledge they gained from their four years at Emory.
Emory and St Andrews first established the scholarship in 1976 to honor the late golfer Robert “Bobby” Jones (29L). He co-founded the Masters Tournament, an annual golf tournament hosted at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. Throughout his life, Jones expressed his fondness for the town of St Andrews and was named Freeman of the City of St Andrews in 1958.
The scholarship is open to all graduating seniors in any school and covers the full tuition and living stipend for one year of studying abroad. St Andrews also selects four of their seniors for a corresponding scholarship at Emory.
Following the preliminary application, where students submitted a personal statement, an academic statement and three reference letters, San Miguel said the University chose 13 candidates to proceed to the interview stage. On Feb. 14, the interview process began with a banquet at Emory’s Miller-Ward Alumni House, where applicants had the opportunity to meet the members of the selection committee and other candidates. San Miguel called the experience “fun” and “collaborative” since the event allowed applicants to engage and network with one another.
“It was just nice to get to share more outside of your application that’s not in the formal, constrained environment of an interview,” San Miguel said.
Following the reception, the students attended three consecutive 30-minute interviews conducted by a panel of former scholarship recipients, Emory deans and individuals with close ties to the Jones family.
Additionally, Lee discussed the importance of understanding Jones’ legacy and the significance of representing Emory abroad.
“This scholarship looks for people who can represent Emory abroad and carry on this tradition and legacy of 50 years of what Emory and Mr. Bobby Jones stood for,” Lee said. “To do that, you need to first be so rooted in what’s going on at Emory College, to be able to carry on that legacy abroad.”
Lee, who will graduate with a political science major and an economics minor, hopes to obtain a more global perspective on these fields during his time abroad. He plans to pursue a master’s degree in global social and political thought at St Andrews.
“Having done American politics this entire time, I wanted to get an opportunity to look at political models across the world,” Lee said. “This master’s would finally give me the opportunity to expand my horizons from just American politics.”
Outside of the classroom, Lee recently won a gold medal at the 2024 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships. Outside of the classroom, Lee hopes to continue the sport on the St Andrews team and volunteer at a community cafe in Fife, Scotland.
At St Andrews. King will pursue a master’s of research in social anthropology at St Andrews, studying the spread of zoonotic diseases through an anthropological lens. After growing up in Rwanda and Kenya, she said her experiences inspired her research and interest in East Africa. King spoke about Emory’s role in helping her interact with people from diverse backgrounds.
“Emory has given me the opportunity to interact with a lot of people that are very different from me. But then also, Emory has been a good reminder that it's very easy to stay in the bubble of your institution, and so like actively seeking out ways to maybe step outside of that is something that I also want to bring to St Andrews,” King said.
Martin appreciated how Emory’s interdisciplinary nature allowed her to explore her passions as an undergraduate student. She thinks this has prepared her for a year abroad. Martin plans to pursue a master’s of science in psychology.
“My education at Emory has given me such a robust foundation across disciplines, and for that, I’m really grateful,” Martin said. “Especially through the Institute for the Liberal Arts, I've had the absolute joy and privilege to pursue the classes and the coursework I’ve loved with excellent mentors.”
At Emory, Martin has played on the Emory Club Ice Hockey, and when she gets to St Andrews, she hopes to join the school’s Typhoons Ice Hockey Club.
San Miguel will pursue a master’s of science in global sustainable development — a degree he said would have been unaffordable for him without the scholarship. He added that much of the faculty within the program have Latin American roots, which drew him to the program. San Miguel said he looks forward to learning more about sustainable economic development in Nicaragua.
“I’ve studied a lot of economic development from a U.S.-centric lens and learned a lot about Latin America from the U.S., but specifically a sustainability degree related to development is really important for me,” San Miguel said. “In Nicaragua, they care a lot about the rainforest in ways that other countries don't have that connection to the environment as part of their development philosophy.”
The candidates also expressed gratitude for the various communities they built during their four years at Emory. King cited the important friendships she gained, stating that she “wouldn’t be anywhere” without their support.
Lee spoke of the important connections he made with mentors and peers through his activities.
“It’s less about me and more about the people who were generous enough to uplift me to a spot where, at the end of my fourth year at Emory, I have the fullness of their love to be able to pour myself into everything I’m doing,” Lee said.
Martin said she felt honored to represent Emory abroad, expressing that she was excited to serve as an ambassador for the University. San Miguel echoed this sentiment, saying he hopes to continue Bobby Jones’ legacy by leaving a positive impact on the world.
“Every accomplishment I make for the rest of my life is a positive nod to Bobby Jones’ legacy,” San Miguel said.
