Lamar University President James Simmons will name the second recipient of Lamar’s most prestigious undergraduate award, the David J. Beck Fellowship, at 1:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, in the Spindletop Room on the eighth floor of the Mary and John Gray Library.
The fellowship covers all expenses – including tuition, fees, books and on-campus room and board – for one full academic year and includes up to $10,000 to pursue a summer project, which is proposed as part of the application packet. This summer project, which may include research, internships or travel abroad, distinguishes the David J. Beck Fellowship from other LU awards. The fellowship is made possible by a generous gift from LU distinguished alumnus and prominent attorney David J. Beck, founding partner of Beck, Redden & Secrest, LLP in Houston.
The event also will include a presentation by the university’s inaugural Beck Fellow Jennifer Mikel about her summer project in West Africa. Mikel, a nursing major from Sweeny, spent six weeks in Hohoe, Ghana, working as a nursing intern in a rural hospital and participating in medical outreach in schools, orphanages and clinics. She and other interns, who were placed through the international volunteer organization Projects Abroad, lived with a host family during their stay.
Mikel said the experience has made her more open minded and more patient. “I definitely won’t take for granted what I learn here. I now know what it’s like in other places so I really want to go out and do even more,” she said. “I feel I can do that as a nurse.”
From a pool of applicants representing Lamar’s most accomplished students, the Beck Fellowship committee chose five finalists who will be recognized at Monday’s ceremony.
Christine Felix, a chemistry major from Port Arthur, proposed participating in a biomedical research internship at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.
Michael Hennigan, a physics major from Beaumont, now living in Anahuac, proposed a research trip to a NASA test site in Ohio to further his ongoing study of the geometry of liquid surfaces in conditions of weightlessness.
Jeffery Mitchell, an accounting and management information systems major from Wichita Falls, proposed participating in an accounting internship and Chinese language study program in Shanghai, China.
Katie Ondrias, a communication disorders major from Wharton, proposed participating in a communication disorders summer abroad program in London, England, and Edinburgh, Scotland.
Michael Zarzosa, a biology/pre-veterinary major from Kansas City, Kan., now living in Lumberton, proposed an independent research trip to Ambergris Caye, Belize, to survey parasites common to domestic dogs and the probability of transfer to humans.
At the ceremony, one of the finalists will be named Lamar University’s second David J. Beck Fellow.
“The competition this year was very intense,” said Kevin Smith, Lamar University senior associate provost and chair of the committee. “You’re looking at the best of the best.”
For more information on the Beck Fellowship, visit lamar.edu/beckfellowships or call (409) 880-8400.
