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Scholar Dollars

SMU’s Office of National Fellowships and Awards sees student applications for national awards triple and successful applications quintuple over the past two years.

Warren Seay is not waiting for graduation to start work in his chosen field: public service. At age 20, the DeSoto, Texas, native and SMU political science major won election in 2008 as the youngest member of his hometown’s school board.

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Warren Seay

Now he is balancing those duties with his studies as a 2009 Truman Scholar – an award recognizing college juniors with exceptional leadership potential who are committed to careers in government or public service.
Seay has joined several SMU students who recently have distinguished themselves with national scholastic awards. Esmeralda Duran, who graduated in December 2008 with degrees in English and French, received a Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholarship to continue her studies at Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris. The Cooke Foundation scholarship, one of the nation’s most competitive awards, will provide her with up to $50,000 for graduate study.
“This has been a wonderful year for SMU,” says Kathleen Hugley-Cook, director of SMU’s Office of National Fellowships and Awards, who guided both students through the application process. The office, established in 2007 to help students and faculty prepare their candidacies for national scholarships, fellowships, grants and awards, has reaped results.

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Kylie Quave

Over the past two years, student applications for national awards have tripled and successful applications have quintupled. More than 70 students applied for national fellowships and grants in 2008-09; nearly one-third resulted in awards.
Hugley-Cook also helped archaeology graduate student Kylie Quave and studio art major Amy Revier ’09 win Fulbright Scholarships in Peru and Iceland, respectively. With her assistance, senior political science major Cody Meador won a 2009-10 Presidential Fellowship at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress in Washington, D.C.

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Daniel Salta

Science and engineering students also benefit from Hugley-Cook’s efforts. Seniors Daniel Salta, mechanical engineering and mathematics, and Amy Hand, physics and mathematics, spent last summer working in their fields as participants in the National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduates.
Hugley-Cook encourages students to plan early. She presents information sessions each semester on how they can pursue national grants and fellowships. Generally, students begin to apply for national awards in their sophomore year
“Many of the best opportunities require an application a year in advance,” she says. “If you don’t know those deadlines, you could miss out.”
She also helps students find the fellowships and grants best suited to their areas of interest. “The most important aspect of any candidacy is what students are planning to do with their careers,” Hugley-Cook says. “As they begin to focus their interests, we can help them develop a long-range plan and make them aware of possibilities they might miss otherwise.”
The office began serving faculty members in fall 2008, doubling both candidacies and successful applications. During the past academic year, SMU faculty members received a National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award; a Fulbright award to teach in Vietnam; seven Sam Taylor Fellowships from the Division of Higher Education, United Methodist General Board of Higher Education and Ministry; and a Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation Professorship that honors superior teaching at Texas universities, among others.
The pool of future student candidates is encouraging, Hugley-Cook says. “We’ve had excellent results this year, but knowing that this incoming class is such a strong one, we look forward to seeing where they go as their academic careers progress.”
– Kathleen Tibbetts

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