Oaklawn Scholarship

University of Connecticut sophomores and juniors who are enrolled in the Honors Program and did not receive University merit financial aid upon entrance to the University are eligible to apply for the Oaklawn Scholarship. This endowed scholarship consists of a renewable grant that is directly applied toward the student’s tuition. Selection is based on a combination of academic excellence, involvement in UConn’s Honors Program, and leadership. 

The Oaklawn Scholarship is awarded to as many as four Honors students per year. The amount of the scholarship is $1,000 per semester. The 2009 awards will be applied to the scholarship recipient’s tuition fee bill beginning in fall 2009. Recipients who meet the scholarship’s requirements of remaining in good standing in the Honors Program and submitting annual reports of their activities will continue to receive the scholarship each semester until they graduate.

To apply, students must submit an “Oaklawn Scholarship Application,” an unofficial transcript, two letters of recommendation from faculty or staff, and a 1-2 page response to the questions listed on the application. Applications should be submitted to the Honors Program office, in the CUE Building, Room 419, Unit 2147, Storrs, CT 06269 or may be emailed to honors@uconn.edu, subject line: “Oaklawn Application.” The application deadline for the 2008-2009 academic year has passed. Please check back in fall 2009 for the spring 2010 deadline.

2009 Oaklawn Scholarship Recipients

Mark Connolly is currently pursuing a dual degree in economics and accounting
with a particular focus on environmental economics.  Following college, he hopes
to become active in environmental research and am weighing the option of attempting
to become a professor in that field.  In my free time he takes part in Honors Council,
the Frisbee team, Garden club, Wilderness club and Advocates for Corporate Social
Responsibility.  Along with those clubs, Mark has also traveled to New Orleans for
alternative spring breaks the past two years and hope to be a team leader on next year’s trip.         

Jennifer Kalita is a 6th semester honors student pursuing her B.A. in Spanish and
Political Science. She has aspirations to become an attorney focusing on International
and Corporate Law. Last Spring, Jennifer studied abroad with UConn in Granada, Spain,
an intensive learning program in which a student is completely immersed in the Spanish
culture and language. Jennifer has been involved in Peer Allies Through Honors, Honor’s
Council, Spanish Club, Undergraduate Student Government, and currently she is the
President of the Law and Business Society. Furthermore, she was recently accepted into
Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. Finally, her honors thesis topic will revolve around the
Unlawfulness of the Iraq War and specifically the actions and characteristics of the American
presidency that may have influenced the war’s occurrence.

Margaret McCarthy is a Political Science and Economics double major and Human
Rights minor in the class of 2011. She hopes to live and work internationally, but also
in the U.S. Federal Government in D.C. after graduate school. She has participated in
both honors spring break trips to the Gulf Coast, and worked on a House of
Representatives bill for rebuilding the Gulf Coast. She is a member of the Global
Leadership Commission and of UConn’s Model United Nations. This summer she
will be going to Guatemala to work in economic development, and hopes to conduct
her thesis research in socioeconomic development.

Christine McMeekin is a mathematics major in her 7th semester. She will pursue a PhD in
mathematics to study abstract algebra or number theory. Last summer, Christine
was a counselor at PROMYS, a program in number theory for high school students.
This summer she will participate in the Park City Mathematics Institute, an REU at
the University of Utah, and a summer school in algebra at the University of Alberta.
Christine is the president of the math club and is a member of the Golden Key
International Honour Society, the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, and Pi Mu Epsilon.

Meghan Rickard is a 4th semester communications major graduating in 2011. Throughout
her 2 years here at UConn, she has been involved with the honors program as a facilitator
for both an INTD 1784 class in the fall and the INTD 3784 class in the spring. Outside of the
honors program, she is the alumni liaison in the Student Alumni Association and a member
of the UConn Marching and Pep Bands. This summer she will be traveling to Toulouse,
France with the UConn Study Abroad Program, where she will take upper level French
classes and have a great, cultural experience.