Three Marshall Scholarships awarded to University of Chicago students

University of Chicago seniors Sarah Bagby, David Haglund and recent graduate Rob Chenault have been awarded British Marshall Scholarships for study at any British university. No more than 40 Americans earn this honor annually. This is the first time three Chicago students have received the scholarship in one year, bringing Chicago’s total number of Marshall winners to 15.

The British Marshall Scholarship, one of the most prestigious academic scholarships, was founded by Act of Parliament in 1953 and commemorates the humane ideals of the European Recovery Programme or Marshall Plan. The scholarship is funded by the British Government and encourages long-lasting ties between the United States and the United Kingdom. The scholarship provides a tuition and living stipend to intellectually distinguished Americans for two years of study in any field at any British university.

"We are so proud of Sarah, Rob and David! Their success in these competitions comes from the experiences they have had in our College," said Katie Nash, University of Chicago Dean of Students in the College. "Research experience and close mentoring relationships with faculty have prepared Chicago students to compete successfully for Rhodes and Marshall scholarships."

Bagby, 21, a Las Cruces, N.M., native, plans to study biochemistry at the University of Oxford. She would like to explore the internal communication of single cells and how malfunctions in that communication can lead to diseases such as cancer and cholera. She eventually hopes to develop therapies for these and other similarly devastating diseases.

Bagby will graduate Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Chicago next June with bachelor’s degrees in biochemistry and philosophy. Bagby also is a 1999 Goldwater Scholar. During college, she has served as a teaching assistant for undergraduate biology courses, an experience that has motivated her to pursue a career in teaching as well as research. "Challenging my students stimulates me to challenge myself," said Bagby. "And coming up with new ways of explaining what we know helps me to find new questions to ask about what we don’t."

One of the vice presidents of the University’s College Bowl quiz team, which is ranked first nationally, Bagby tutors neighborhood children at the Blue Gargoyle on Chicago’s South Side. When she is not in the lab, Bagby can be found playing the saxophone for the University Wind Ensemble.

Haglund, 21, a resident of Belmont, Mass., plans to study English literature at the University of Oxford. Eventually, Haglund would like to write for and edit such literary publications as the New York Review of Books and New Republic. He also plans to write a biography of Wallace Stevens.

Haglund will receive his bachelor’s degree in English this June. During college, Haglund wrote essays for the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. He has served as a producer and writer for the Interactive Division of the National Geographic Society, creating geographic lessons on the Internet, which Yahoo! recently selected as a Web site pick of the week. A program coordinator for the Robert Taylor Boys & Girls Clubs in Chicago, Haglund worked with young students on a guidebook to Chicago based on their field trips together.

An avid guitar player, Haglund composes and sings his own songs. He also has played intramural basketball, soccer and football.

Chenault, 23, a resident of Great Falls, Va., plans to study classics at the University of Oxford. After pursuing a doctorate in classics, Chenault would like to explore ways to make Greek and Latin available to more students at a younger age. He hopes to one day establish his own educational academy that will include training in Greek and Latin––subjects he believes provide great joy while training young minds in interdisciplinary subjects.

"When people ask me what there is for a classicist but to teach classics, I say nothing would please me more than to interest others in the field that has given me such pleasure," said Chenault. "I look forward to the chance to introduce beginning students to the joys of Greek and Latin, and hopefully, make a few converts myself."

Chenault graduated with honors from Chicago last June, receiving bachelor’s degrees in both classics and political science. He serves as a tutor and mentor to students at Chicago’s Midtown Educational Foundation, and he has designed and taught an adult GED class at the Association House of Chicago. Chenault, like Bagby, is active on the College Bowl team.