KINGSTON R.I.– March 24, 2015–The University of Rhode Island Honors Program will bring back four women graduates of the program for a discussion on their post-graduate careers and how the program influenced them. Among the speakers are the University’s first Rhodes Scholar and first Marshall Scholar.
The alumnae will talk about how the program helped them compete successfully for scholarships and fellowships, which remain available through the Honors Program today. The event will be Friday, March 27 from 3 to 5 p.m., in the Lippitt Hall Auditorium, room 402, 5 Lippitt Road, on URI’s Kingston campus.
Those interested in attending must respond. To reserve a spot for the discussion, please refer to the Honors Program event website.
The speakers are: Morgan Breene, Eily Cournoyer, Meg Frost, and Rachel Walshe.
Breene, of East Greenwich R.I., a 2014 graduate in anthropology and history, earned the Marshall Scholarship this year and was the only recipient from Rhode Island. Breene will use the two-year award to pursue master’s degrees at the University of Southampton in maritime archaeology and at the University College London in European history. Breene credits the Honors Program with helping her prepare for the intense application process. URI honors professors put her through rigorous mock interviews so she would be at ease in front of the scholarship committee. For further information on Breene, go to Morgan Breen.
Cournoyer, of Portsmouth, R.I., a 2013 graduate with majors in biological sciences and chemical engineering, received several scholarships and awards during her time in the program. As a sophomore in 2011, she won the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship. In 2013 she received a Fulbright Study/ Research Grant to study cancer at the graduate level in England for a year; only about 6 percent of student Fulbright applicants to the United Kingdom receive funding. Along with the Fulbright grant, she received the Whitaker International Fellowship, which covered her tuition costs. For further information, please visit Eily Cournoyer.
Margaret “Meg” Frost, of South Kingstown, R.I., a 2011 graduate with majors in political science and Spanish, received the 10-month Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in 2011. Her fellowship allowed her to travel to Colombia to teach English to college students, engage in the community, and take classes herself. Frost was also a finalist for the Truman Scholarship. For further information, go to Meg Frost.
Walshe ’00, who majored in philosophy, will be the moderator for the panel discussion. In 2002, Walshe became the first URI student to win the Rhodes Scholarship. She studied dramatic literature and theater history at Oxford University in England for two years. Walshe praised the Honors Program for helping her succeed.
“I wasn’t named a Rhodes Scholar in spite of being a URI student. I was named a Rhodes Scholar because I attended the University of Rhode Island.” For further information, go to Rachel Walshe.
For any further information please visit the Honors program page or contact Kathleen D. Maher, Assistant Director for National Fellowships, University Honors Program, 401/874-5875 or kmaher@uri.edu.
This release was written by, Rachel Smith, a graduate assistant for the Marketing and Communications Department.