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Sky Alland Scholarship Committee seeks nominations

Scholarship awards full tuition to a rising fourth-year

<p>Fourth-year McIntire student Faby Chaillo was last year's Sky Alland Scholarship recipient.&nbsp;</p>

Fourth-year McIntire student Faby Chaillo was last year's Sky Alland Scholarship recipient. 

The Sky Alland Scholarship Committee is preparing to pick its recipient for the 2017-18 school year as nominations close Jan. 31. The scholarship awards full tuition yearly to a rising fourth-year who embodies the characteristics of an enterprising spirit, leadership, achievement, humility and devotion to the University.

The Sky Alland Scholarship is awarded to the student “who exemplifies the qualities that helped Sky make his mark not just on the world, but on those around him,” according to the Sky Alland Scholarship Committee.

Students are chosen for the scholarship based on nominations submitted throughout the fall semester and the month of January. Once nominations close, a committee of nine fourth-year students selected by University Dean of Students Allen Groves will examine each nomination to select six finalists to be honored at a dinner in the Jefferson Room at Farmington Country Club.

Of those finalists, one will be chosen as the recipient of the award following interviews with the Sky Alland Scholarship Committee, which consists of University alumni including several past winners of the award.

Ian Yanusko, a fourth-year College student and president of the Virginia Gentlemen, serves as a member of the Student Selection Committee.

“Students [on the committee] are chosen in order to get as wide a reach across the University as possible,” Yanusko said. “They are spread across the University as far as you could imagine.”

The Sky Alland Scholarship is named after J. Schuyler “Sky” Alland, a 1979 graduate of the McIntire School of Commerce. Alland went on to start his own successful business, Sky Alland Marketing, before his murder in 1992.

“Those who knew and loved Sky established the Sky Alland Scholarship as a way to celebrate his spirit, honor his character and commemorate his love for the University of Virginia,” the scholarship website says.

Past winners of the scholarship include Honor Committee members, University Guides, Resident Advisors, Jefferson Scholars, members of the I.M.P. Society and students with many other impressive achievements. The scholarship is regarded as one of the most competitive at the University.

Michelle Faby Chaillo, a fourth-year McIntire student, received the scholarship last year. According to Chaillo, the committee pays attention to the humility of the nominees.

“One of the main characteristics and the most important attributes we’re looking for is humbly successful — looking for that student who is very involved and does well and serves the University, but is very humble about it in their day-to-day life,” Chaillo said.

Yanusko said the scholarship can also mean a call to action for the recipient.

“[The scholarship] is not only an honor but a challenge, a challenge that says a group of your peers has chosen you as one of the most impressive, high potential people at this University and that’s an honor in and of itself, but it’s certainly not a call to rest,” Yanusko said.

Caroline Herre, a current graduate student in the School of Architecture and scholarship recipient in 2015 said the scholarship showed support not only for her, but for her field of study and her extracurriculars such as the Honor Committee and the University Community Garden.

“The support of the Sky Alland Scholarship for a student in Urban and Environmental Planning signaled a recognition of the value of public servants and the need for an entrepreneurial spirit when addressing the most pressing challenges on a local level,” Herre said in an email statement.

Chaillo said she hopes the scholarship brings the next recipient recognition for his or her hard work and encourages them to continue in their efforts.

“[The scholarship]’s really about touching the people around you,” Chaillo said.

University students can nominate themselves or their peers on the Sky Alland Scholarship website until Jan. 31.

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