Murray Scholars Accomplishments
As the year goes by, we often rave about how well the Murray Scholars students are doing, but never have we been so overwhelmed by their accomplishments as we have this month! Each one of the following awards or achievements is the results of years of dedication and hardwork, and showcase the range of activities that the Murray Scholars are involved in - from highly competitive physics research to original poetry.
Colton O'Connor and Francesca Fornasini both had the daunting task this month of choosing between the many equally outstanding PhD programs that they were accepted to. Though we secretly hoped they would end up at the same school (or at least on the same coast!), Colton has chosen the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Francesca has opted for University of California Berkeley.
Francesca also was awarded the competitive National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship to fund her doctoral work. This fellowship is highly prized among young researchers, as it provides 3 years of full financial support. Because students already in PhD programs can apply for this grant, it is even more impressive that Francesca was awarded one while an undergraduate.
Becca Starr won two separate W&M poetry awards, both the Goronwy Owen's Poetry Prize and the Academy of American Poets prize. Because Becca is a freshman, we plan on seeing many more years of creative writing achievements before she leaves!
Senior Murray Scholar Jennifer MacLure was also acknowledged for her dedication to scholarship and service as she was named the 2010 Outstanding Greek Scholar. Jenn should be extremely proud to be singled out as the leading scholar among our large Greek system.
Sophomore Rachael Tatman was selected to present her research at the Colonial Academic Alliance Undergraduate Research Conference, held at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her talk, titled "The evolution of the singular child protagonist in children's fantasy series" is the culmination of her summer research here at William and Mary.
