Out of a field of 600 applicants, political science junior Abby Roberts was selected as a finalist for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, which gives up to $20,000 for graduate study.
Though primarily for political science students, any junior can apply for it. As a public service scholarship, there is a requirement that the winner must work in the public sector after graduate school.
Each student had to design a proposal for public policy as part of the application process. Roberts’s proposal was a derivation of her senior thesis – a case study of trends in different New Orleans public schools. Her main focus would be with studying causation and correlation of accountability and with funds-allocation problems. In addition, she has been working with Patrick Wolf of Georgetown University, who conducted a similar study of schools in the Washington, D.C. area.
Though she was not selected as a winner, Roberts was happy to be a finalist.
“I never thought I’d make the finals,” Roberts said. “I applied on a whim.”
Roberts considers the experience more than worthwhile, saying that it encouraged her to apply for other scholarships. She also enjoyed the social aspects of her trip and became accustomed to the 15 other candidates in her panel.
“They were very down to earth and normal, which I didn’t expect,” said Roberts.
Roberts credits Davina McClain, associate professor and chairperson of classical studies, for doing much of the grunt work to get her to Washington. “She insisted that I follow through with it and do it the best I can. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have made it to D.C.,” Roberts said.
McClain is heavily involved in helping students find graduate scholarships and provides services such as mock interviews to better prepare them for what to expect in the application process.
McClain was also instrumental in helping classical studies senior Katie Jones, Loyola’s first Mellon Fellowship winner.
“If I was a movie star, Davina would be my manager. She guided me through literally dozens of applications for fellowships,” Jones said.
The Mellon Fellowship was started in 1982 to encourage students to become professors in the humanities. It pays for tuition in graduate school and provides a stipend for living expenses. 800 students applied from around the nation and about 150 were selected as finalists. 85 awardees are selected based on their applications and an interview process.
Jones flew to Washington D.C., where she spent only eight hours before returning home. McClain was the first to notify Jones that she had been awarded the fellowship.
“She came running into our hotel room and woke me up out of bed, crying and yelling ‘You got it! You got it!'” said Jones. “It was April 1st, so I had to see for myself before I could really believe it.”
Jones will pursue a Ph.D in classics, focusing on ancient Greek and Latin texts.
Chris Liuzza can be reached at [email protected].
