Dr. Duane Smith was hired in February 2020 for scholarship and fellowship advising for the Center of Career Engagement and Opportunity (CEO). There were plans for a luncheon last year for students who applied but those were cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year, Smith organized the Annual Scholarship Recognition on Wednesday, April 14, via a virtual platform, Remo, to mimic a conference setting and encourage guests to freely mingle throughout virtual “tables.” The event is invite-only.
“Something I made sure to talk about in my interview process was that it was important to have an event that recognizes all the students who applied for any scholarship or fellowship through the course of the previous year, regardless of whether or not they received the scholarship,” Smith said.
The acclaimed student to faculty ratio at New College encourages students to seek support from faculty through additional advising and recommendation letters. Smith mentioned that it was important to step away from the hustle of the semester to recognize these connections and chat about subsequent endeavors.
Thesis student Karianne Kapfer will be attending the event this year along with Assistant professor of Biology and Marine Science, Dr. Athena Rycyk, in recognition of the various research programs, external funding sources and graduate schools Kapfer has applied to this past year.
Kapfer said she wants to get her PhD in studying marine mammal acoustics. She had recently applied to REU’s with the help from the CEO, but opted for an internship in African manatee vocal behavior with Dr. Rycyck.
Students this year applied to the following programs that cover include:
The China-U.S. Scholars Program (CUSP), The Critical Languages Scholarship, Fulbright Study/Research and English Teaching Assistant Awards, The Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship, The Barry Goldwater Scholarship, The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program, The Marshall Scholarship, The National Science Foundation – Graduate Research Fellows Award, The USAID Donald M. Payne International Development Graduate Fellowship Program, The Thomas R. Pickering Fellowship, Princeton-in-Latin-America Program, The Charles B. Rangel Fellowship, The Smart Scholarship and The Morris K. Udall Scholarship.