The names line the walls of Garrett Hall like veterans on a war memorial. And in a way, they are a memorial to a group of exceptional University students who have won the battle for fellowships.
Housed in the same dark wood that panels the rest of Garrett Hall's Common Room, black marble plaques with the names of past winners engraved in white face each other over leather sofas and hardwood floors. National fellowship winners are presented on the left, internal University fellowship winners are on the right.
"It's a celebration of the people who have won," said Nicole Hurd, assistant director of the University's fellowship office. "It's also an inspiration to the rest of us."
Hurd was instrumental in the creation of the wall, which was unveiled last spring.
"We wanted to find a space in the University to celebrate academic excellence in the College," Hurd said. Dean Stephen Plog, Dean William Wilson, Dean Lynn Davis and Hurd worked together to establish the fellowship office two years ago.
"Since the office opened we've had our highest number of successful applicants," Hurd said. "I've seen tons of students. There's really a national trend toward schools having a central fellowship office, and it was time that U.Va. had one."
In addition to aiding students in fellowship applications, the new office also had a secondary goal.
"The four of us wanted to have something tangible and visible to lift up the academic pursuits for the College," Hurd explained.
The wall was designed by Charlottesville resident Neal Gropen with the assistance of Murray Howard and University architect Pete Anderson.
The names on the wall commemorate some of the University's best students. Most applicants have done extensive volunteer work, either through Madison House or independently, Hurd said.
"These students are dean scholars, they've won undergraduate research grants," Hurd said. "They take advantage of the opportunities you have before you're a fourth year. That's why it's so important that first and second years come to see me."
But before students can even consider applying, they need to understand the goals of the different fellowships.
The idea behind the Fulbright fellowship, for example, is that winners will use it to gain experience in the culture of other nations, then return to the United States and use that experience to aid their countrymen.
To that end, the fellowship is awarded to those with viable plans for projects in various countries. Selection committees look for students with experience in the area they wish to study and for an ability to speak the local language.
The Rhodes fellowship, by contrast, has a more specific aim. The fellowship, which will be explained in more depth at an interest meeting at 2 p.m. today in Cabell Hall 119, sends students who receive the grant to study for two years at Oxford in one of several degree programs. The application is therefore focused on academic achievement as well as athletic achievement.
"Rhodes knew that being a successful leader involved a lot of activity," said Heather Warren, a professor in the religious studies department also in charge of coordinating Rhodes applications. "He wanted people who understood that."
The application process for the fellowship is extensive, with a high emphasis on the personal statement - a section most students find to be the most difficult part of the applications, according to Hurd. The Rhodes application explicitly states that the personal statement is given more weight in the final selection than any other part of the application.
"It's so much more than a rewriting of your resume," Hurd said. "It needs to be a window to your soul and your motivation and your drive."
Hurd added that while many students write anywhere from eight to 12 drafts of their personal statements, they also say it's one of the most meaningful things they do here at the University.
Hurd stressed that the application process is an education in itself.
Professor Larry J. Sabato, a Rhodes scholar whose name appears on the fellowship wall under 1975, certainly agrees.
"It was intense," he said.
Sabato was encouraged to apply by former University president Edgar Shannon when he was a graduate student at Princeton. Shannon, who was a Rhodes scholar himself, walked Sabato through the process in lieu of the type of fellowship office the University has now.
"I really didn't think I was qualified," Sabato said. "There's an image of the Rhodes scholar as a scholar-athlete, and my athletic history is lacking. I was shocked when I was elected. Sometimes lightening strikes, and that's one of the best parts of life."
Sabato went on to earn a master's in politics from Oxford, even using the optional third year to stay on as a lecturer.
"This was more than 25 years ago," he said. "At that time, it was rare for students to travel abroad. I felt extremely fortunate to have the chance."
Sabato has returned to Oxford several times as a guest lecturer, and will make the trip again this January to speak to the British Political Science Association.
"My advice to applicants is not to stress out, tell the truth, admit your shortcomings and let the chips fall where they may," Sabato said. "I still remember the advice Edgar gave me before I left. He said there are two kinds of Rhodes scholars: the kind whose obituary begins with the fact that they were one, because they rested on their laurels, and the type who viewed that piece of life as a wonderful passage to a broader and more important phase."
Thomas Hall, a fourth-year College student and Chairman of the Honor Committee, says he sees a lot of truth in Sabato's advice.
"Honesty in applications gets you a lot father than pretending to be what you're not," Hall said. "I'm keeping a realistic mindset. The Rhodes especially is intensely competitive. I've known some of the best and brightest of the University who didn't get it."
Hall hopes to either use the Rhodes fellowship toward studying modern history at Oxford, or the Fulbright fellowship toward earning a master's of international relations at the London School of Economics.
"Either degree would be an interim program before hopefully coming back here to study law," Hall said.
Hall also said he has already begun work on his personal statement.
"I feel pretty confident," he said. "I worked a lot on it during the summer, drawing from my experience with the Honor Committee."
Hall understands that while the odds for winning a fellowship are not high, the experience is worthwhile.
"The application is an exhaustive process," Hall said. "The competition is quite keen. I'm looking forward to the challenge."
The names engraved on the fellowship wall should be proof enough to applicants that even the most rigorous application process is worth its prospective rewards.
"It's inspiring to see what your peers have done," Hurd said. "It also gives you hope. There are lots of potential scholars running around Grounds right now."
Read More
Baseball is for everyone
By Xander Tilock | 4 hours agoGo corral some friends, make your way to a ballpark and experience America's pastime, just as millions do every year.
Carter Mountain Orchard is the apple of customers’ eyes
By Charley Thomas | June 5, 2024Serving up sunsets, music and more apple delicacies than one could ever wish for, Carter Mountain Orchard deserves a spot on every University student's bucket list.
How recent graduates connected with nature through hiking
By Carly Stender | May 27, 2024Van Heyningen encouraged students returning to Grounds this fall to take advantage of all the hikes Charlottesville and its surrounding areas have to offer.
