Kristen Lear ’11 (Pre-Professional Zoology major) earned a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship to research conservation of the critically endangered Southern Bent-wing Bat in Australia. The Fulbright Scholar Program is the largest U.S. international exchange program for students, scholars, and professionals in the world.

David Gatz ’10 (a triple major in Pre-Medicine, Biochemistry, and Pre-Professional Zoology)    received a 2011 Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship from the NCAA. Gatz was a five-time All-America swimmer and a Rhodes Scholar finalist. Recipients of the Byers Scholarship must have a 3.5 grade-point average, demonstrate evidence of superior character and leadership, and show that participation in athletics has been a positive influence on their personal and intellectual development.

Max Seigal ’09 (Environmental Studies, Zoology, and Economics triple major) of Boulder, Colorado, earned a Fulbright Scholarship to spend 10 months researching the impact of lobster farming on the coastal waters of Vietnam. Max is in the Ph.D. program in microbiology and molecular genetics at Emory University.

Sean Williams ’11 (Pre-Professional Zoology major) received a prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship for his “outstanding abilities and accomplishments, as well as his potential to contribute to strengthening the vitality of the U.S. science and engineering enterprise.”  Williams will pursue a doctoral degree at Michigan State University, where he also has been selected to receive a University Enrichment Fellowship.

Samantha Wallace Sharpe ’09, a trainee in the research laboratory at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, took first place at the 10th International Symposium on Recent Advances in Otitis Media. Sam received first place for her oral presentation: “Nontypeable Haemophilus Influenzae Outer Membrane Vesicles Contain Virulence-Associated Proteins and Adversely Affect Epithelial Cells.”

“As an art history major, you can read books, but being in New York gives you access to everything.”

Oksana Pelts ’09 (Art History major) succeeded in a job market that has been particularly challenging for people seeking careers in the arts. Her résumé was enhanced by two internships she completed through OWU’s New York Arts Program, one at the Whitney Museum of American Art and one at the Brooklyn Museum. She is now the Fine Art Sales Director at Trademark Global, Inc., in Cleveland, Ohio.

“[Wesleyan in Washington] was a life-changing experience. It took everything I learned in the classroom and made it real.”

Amanda Thompson ’09 (Politics and Government major) interned in the office of U.S. Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn through OWU’s Wesleyan in Washington program. Blackburn then offered Amanda a summer job as a campaign scheduler and wrote her a law school recommendation. Amanda is currently attending Wake Forest University School of Law.

“The key to a good life is to have a purpose greater than yourself.”

Farooq Busari ’10 (Economics Management major) is the founder of the nonprofit organization Shakepoverty, dedicated to eliminating poverty in sub-Saharan Africa and based on the premise that “poverty can be ended, not by a handful of people, but with millions of handshakes” and the commitment they symbolize. Stanford and Columbia have joined OWU as the first universities in the U.S. to establish Shakepoverty chapters.