Auburn University junior Sarah Pitts has been named a finalist for the prestigious Harry S. Truman Scholarship, one of the nation’s top academic awards.
Pitts, a Birmingham native, is a member of the Honors College pursuing a double major in English literature and Spanish with a minor in political science in the College of Liberal Arts.
Auburn University junior Elizabeth Baxter has been nominated for the prestigious Harry S. Truman Scholarship.
Ms. Baxter grew up in a military family and lived on Army posts throughout the U.S. She graduated from Bob Jones High School in Madison, Alabama and is currently is pursuing a double major in Economics and Political Science at Auburn University. For the past two summers Ms. Baxter has participated in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Honors Internship Program and upon graduation, Elizabeth plans to pursue a career as a special agent in counterterrorism with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Among her many activities and honors, she serves as the director of Student Interests on the College of Liberal Arts Student Council; president of the Economics Club; a member of the Student Eminent Society – a select group of Liberal Arts undergraduate students that serve as official hosts and hostesses for CLA events throughout the academic year; and serves as director of Accounting for Auburn Relay for Life.
The Truman Scholarship Program was established to provide scholarships to outstanding students who are committed to a career in public service. Created in 1975 by an act of Congress, The Harry S. Truman Scholarship is awarded to approximately 60 college juniors each year on the basis of four criteria: service on campus and in the community, commitment to a career in public service, communication ability and aptitude to be a “change agent,” and academic talent that would assure acceptance to a first-rate graduate school.
More broadly, Truman Scholars possess intellect, leadership skills, and passion that would make them a likely force for the public good in any field.
Scholars receive an award of $30,000 which will go toward post-graduate education. In addition, Truman Scholars participate in leadership development programs and have special opportunities for internships and employment with the Federal government.
Honors College junior Sarah Pitts has been nominated for the prestigious Harry S. Truman Scholarship.
Ms. Pitts, a Birmingham native, is pursuing a double major in English Literature and Spanish with a minor in political science. Since enrolling at Auburn in the fall of 2013, she has pursued undergraduate research in political theory as well as linguistics. Under the direction of Dr. Murray Jardine in the Department of Political Science she completed a study “Martin Heidegger and Postmodern Thought” wherein she synthesized the literature on the 20th century German philosopher examining his work and his course of lectures “An Introduction to Metaphysics” as well as “Nietzsche.”
Among her many activities, awards, and honors; she served as a legislative intern for U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions in the summer of 2015 where she had the opportunity to work on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act which was reauthorized in late 2015; she is a member of the Committee of 19 –Auburn’s anti-hunger initiative and participates in Blessings in a Backpack; she is a study partner in the Office of Undergraduate Studies; she is a Women’s B-Cyclist with the Auburn Flyers Club Cycling Team; and she was elected to membership to the national honor society of Phi Kappa Phi last spring.
The Truman Scholarship Program was established to provide scholarships to outstanding students who are committed to a career in public service. Created in 1975 by an act of Congress, The Harry S. Truman Scholarship is awarded to approximately 60 college juniors each year on the basis of four criteria: service on campus and in the community, commitment to a career in public service, communication ability and aptitude to be a “change agent,” and academic talent that would assure acceptance to a first-rate graduate school.
More broadly, Truman Scholars possess intellect, leadership skills, and passion that would make them a likely force for the public good in any field.
Scholars receive an award of $30,000 which will go toward post-graduate education. In addition, Truman Scholars participate in leadership development programs and have special opportunities for internships and employment with the Federal government.
Honors College juniors Sara Head and Jennifer Kaczmarek have been nominated for the prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship.
Ms. Head, from Auburn, Alabama, and Ms. Kaczmarek, from Tampa, Florida, are pursuing a major in Chemical Engineering and work under the direction of Dr. Elizabeth Lipke, associate professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering. Here they are seeking to engineer materials to regenerate cardiac tissue. Ms. Head is using a “biomaterial, gelatin methacrylate, for the encapsulation and direct differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into functional 3D cardiac tissues,” while Ms. Kaczmarek is engineering “an accurate ontogenic model through the direct encapsulation of human pluripotent stem cells into a photo-crosslinkable biomaterial.”
Their individual research projects will play a role in better understanding the use of gelatin as a developmental model that is similar in terms of structural and biological properties to the heart. Both have also presented their research findings at the 2015 Biomedical Engineering Sciences Annual Meeting and have recently co-authored a journal article with Dr. Lipke which is currently under review.
Among their many activities and honors, both are members of the Biomedical Engineering Society, the American Institute of Chemical Engineering, Tau Beta Pi Honor Society, as well as Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. Ms. Kaczmarek is also a member of the Auburn University Marching Band.
The Goldwater Scholarship Program was established to provide scholarships to outstanding students who intend to pursue careers in mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. Each scholarship covers eligible expenses up to a maximum of $7,500 annually for undergraduate tuition, fees, books and housing. In awarding scholarships, the foundation of trustees considers the nominee’s field of study and career objectives along with the extent to which that individual has the commitment and potential to make a significant contribution to the field of science or engineering.
Congratulations Sara and Jennifer!
Honors College junior Natasha Narayanan has been nominated for the prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship.
Ms. Narayanan, an Auburn, Alabama native, is pursuing a double major in Biochemistry and Spanish. Since enrolling at Auburn in the fall of 2013, she has been an active participant in undergraduate research in biochemistry field. Under the direction of Dr. Bradley Merner, in the department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ms. Narayanan has developed a short, 9-step synthetic sequence to a complex bicyclic nucleoside precursor that will serve as a key intermediate in the synthesis of several, new nucleic acid modifications for antisense technology.
Among her many awards and honors, she was a 2015 Goldwater Scholarship Honorable Mention; she placed first in the Undergraduate Oral Presentation at the 2014 Southeastern Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society; she is a 2015-2016 Undergraduate Research Fellow; and a recipient of the 2014 Cellular and Molecular Biosciences (CMB) Undergraduate Summer Research Scholarship.
The Goldwater Scholarship Program was established to provide scholarships to outstanding students who intend to pursue careers in mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. Each scholarship covers eligible expenses up to a maximum of $7,500 annually for undergraduate tuition, fees, books and housing. In awarding scholarships, the foundation of trustees considers the nominee’s field of study and career objectives along with the extent to which that individual has the commitment and potential to make a significant contribution to the field of science or engineering.
Congratulations Natasha!
Honors College junior Stephanie Campbell has been nominated for the prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship.
The Goldwater Scholarship Program was established to provide scholarships to outstanding students who intend to pursue careers in mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering. Each scholarship covers eligible expenses up to a maximum of $7,500 annually for undergraduate tuition, fees, books and housing. In awarding scholarships, the foundation of trustees considers the nominee’s field of study and career objectives, along with the extent to which that individual has the commitment and potential to make a significant contribution to the field of science or engineering.
Ms. Stephanie Campbell, from Wildwood, Missouri, is pursuing a double major in Animal Sciences and Microbial, Molecular and Cellular Biology. In addition to her studies, she is also a middle-blocker on the Auburn Volleyball team. For the past two years Stephanie has worked under the direction of Dr. Terry Brandenbourg, Associate Professor in the Department of Animal Sciences investigating clock gene expression in porcine adipose and pituitary tissue in lean and obese pigs. Her research will play a role in better understanding the development of obesity. Stephanie has presented her research findings at national and regional conferences and she has a co-authored journal article under review.
Among her many awards and honors, she was a Cellular, Molecular and Biological (CMB) Summer 2014 Research Scholar; she was elected to membership to the national honor society of Phi Kappa Phi last spring; she was named the 2015-2016 SEC Volleyball Scholar Athlete of the Year; since her freshman year she has been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll; and she was named to the 2014-2015 CoSIDA Academic All-District 1st Team.
Congratulations Stephanie.
