Five outstanding and accomplished undergraduate students have been endorsed by WVU for nationally competitive scholarships.
The scholarships and the endorsed students are:
George J. Mitchell Scholarship: Laura Curry of Cincinnati, Ohio
Marshall Scholarship: Talia Buchman of Syracuse, New York; Zachary Gilpin of Morgantown; Gwendolyn Nurkiewicz of Morgantown; and Christina White of Morgantown.
All of the nominated students are members of the Honors College.
Mitchell Scholarship
Laura Curry is a senior history major in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences who previously studied abroad in Tanzania for seven months after winning the Boren Scholarship. She later used her Swahili skills volunteering with refugee services through Catholic Charities in Cleveland, Ohio.
Curry said she’s later planning to go to law school, and, if awarded the Mitchell, would use her scholarship to learn more about immigration, comparing the impacts of the different border systems and detainment policies.
“It would be particularly interesting to study immigration on the island of Ireland, which has two systems on one island,” Curry said. Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, uses detention facilities, while the country of Ireland utilizes direct provision centers. Curry is passionate about immigration and criminal justice reform, both of which she says are heavily impacted by legislation, and she plans to become a legislative policy aid in the future.
The Mitchell Scholarship is sponsored by the U.S.-Ireland Alliance to introduce and connect future American leaders to the island of Ireland.
Marshall Scholarship
Marshall Scholarships fund high ability young Americans for two years of graduate study in the United Kingdom.
Talia Buchman is a senior anthropology major with minors in dance and biology. Buchman is passionate about the conservation and protection of endangered species and developing collaborative efforts between different countries.
“Species Survival Plans do a great deal to help assist endangered species, and can happen across different zoos,” Buchman said. “I’m excited about the impact that collaborations between zoos can have, and to see examples of these collaborations in the field.”
She is particularly interested in working with primates, and if awarded the Marshall Scholarship, would spend her first year in a masters program focusing on studying primate behavior and conservation through Liverpool John Moores University, with her second year spent focusing on exploring human impacts on apes in the Anthropocene.
Zachary Gilpin is a senior studying history, Spanish and Latin American studies, with a minor in foreign literature in translation. Gilpin is co-editor-in-chief for the Mountaineer Undergraduate Research Review, and, if selected for the Marshall, plans to study human geography as well as the early modern history of the Spanish empire. Gilpin later plans to pursue a PhD in geography.
“I love the idea of being able to share my interests with other people,” Gilpin said. “Geography allows me to draw on all these academic disciplines — history, sociology, anthropology — to provide context to contemporary issues and society.”
Gwendolyn Nurkiewicz, a senior immunology and medical microbiology student minoring in creative writing, found her future path during the stress of coronavirus social isolation this past spring.
“I had the realization that my current plan, becoming a research immunologist, wasn’t the path for me. I was finding so much comfort and solace in creative writing. I knew I really needed to pursue that further,” Nurkiewicz said.
Combining her two passions, Nurkiewicz will pursue science communication and creative writing at the University of Edinburgh if selected. She then plans to become a professor, thinking about scientific writing and how to make science and research more accessible to broader audiences.
Christina White is a senior double major in biology and international studies with a minor in Spanish. After volunteering abroad with WVU Global Medical Brigades and within the state through the WVU Institute for Community and Rural Health, White said she realized she wanted to pursue work in both settings.
If awarded the Marshall, White plans to study in London and Edinburgh, learning about nutrition and public health through a social lens. Once she returns, her goal is to attend the WVU School of Medicine and study rural and global health, as well as culinary and lifestyle medicine.
White said her experiences with coping the past six months have reinforced her commitment to this goal.
“During tough times, learning how to take care of my mind and body using local resources has reinforced my desire to study prevention on a broader scale,” White said. “I want to help create flexible strategies that respect an area's culture, preferences, and needs.”
The ASPIRE office prepares students for highly competitive scholarships. Students who are interested in applying should email aspire@mail.wvu.edu to set up an appointment.