Scholarship Symposium

By Lyndsay Walters

In hopes of bringing increased honor and prestige to Miami, as well as inspiring the lives of select students, three Miami faculty and staff have begun a campaign to inform and encourage students to apply for esteemed national and international scholarships.

To help bridge the gap between students and scholarships, assistant to the dean of The College of Arts and Science Sara Speh, director of international education David Keitges and director of the honors and scholars program Carolyn Haynes have created an annual scholarship symposium.

“These [scholarships] already exist,” Keitges said. “The thing is, how do we bring it to the attention of the students?”

With a plethora of awards out there the scholarships described at the symposium, such as the Rhodes scholarships, the Fulbright scholar program and the Harry S. Truman scholarship, stand apart and connote excellence. Unlike others, if a student decides to take on one of these scholarships, the application process can consume as much time as a three-hour intensive course, Speh said.

With the first symposium held in November, the trio is well on their way to developing a successful program. Seventy-four high-ability, high-potential sophomores handpicked to begin the arduous application process were invited to the symposium; forty-seven attended.

Faculty members who coordinate the scholarships described what applying for each entails. After a general presentation, students had a chance to speak with representatives of the scholarship that coordinated with their interests.

Speh and Keitges provided support, helping the students decide which scholarship fit them best. Both agreed that this matchmaking is always the hardest part of the process.

“You need to find the right scholarship for you,” Keitges said. Once this is figured out, Speh added, the application process can actually become fun.
“[The scholarships] are a point of departure,” she said. “They are a beginning for students to figure out what they’re passionate about.”

Although mock applications were offered at this year’s symposium, only four were submitted. Speh, Keitges and Haynes realized the information presented was overwhelming to students and a middle step was needed before students will begin to apply. This is a gap they hope to bridge in future years.

Keitges said that by promoting the application of prestigious scholarships, Miami as an entity is being enriched as well.

In the last 12 years Miami has had at least one Barry M. Goldwater scholar named every year but one, providing each recipient with $7,500 per year to encourage post-graduate study in the fields of math, science or engineering. Each university can nominate up to four candidates, a number Speh hopes to reach in coming years.

In 2004, along with only Boston College and the University of Delaware, Miami was named an honor institution for having five students receive the Truman scholarship in five years, providing each student with up to $30,000 for graduate study in a field dedicated to service in the government.

This recognition is well deserved, Speh said. “My belief is that we can hold our own to any institution, and [this award] proves it.”

Unlike other scholarships, an unlimited number of students may be nominated for the Fulbright scholar program, which provides for post-graduate study or research in any foreign country. This past year, six students applied, Keitges said; five of whom were recommended.

He believes Miami’s number of applicants should be much higher, surpassing schools like Ohio University, which had approximately 20 nominees last year.
Speh, Keitges and Haynes all have high hopes for the symposium’s impact on applicants. Every year they hope to refine the program, constructing it to inspire students to take part in an intensive but rewarding application process.

“In the future, we will be successful,” Keitges said.

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