Class of 2013
Virginia and Alfred L. Munkres Jefferson Scholar
Richmond, Virginia
“I think the most distinguishing factor of the Jefferson Scholars Foundation is the unique sense of community fostered amongst scholars and between the scholars and the Foundation staff. In making my decision to come to U.Va. as a Jefferson Scholar over attending another top-ranked university or over any other university’s scholarship program, I could not find any university which offered a community like that of the Jefferson Scholars Foundation. Scholars here are able to take advantage of everything that a nationally recognized, medium-sized research university has to offer, but in the context of an intimate and intellectually inspiring community.
“My fellow Jefferson Scholars have lent so much intellectual excitement to my academic experience at U.Va.—whether in classes that we share or during late night conversations in dorms, I constantly feel surrounded by peers of incredible academic caliber and quality of character. Moreover, the staff at the Foundation has provided resources and a support network that I would be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. The Jefferson Scholars Foundation is extraordinarily unique in that it provides this sort of intimacy amidst a fairly large university. I absolutely love having access to all the resources and academic breadth of a research university while simultaneously having access to a tightly-knit community…Being a Jefferson Scholar has opened doors to opportunities in both the academic and extracurricular community to which I do not think I would have had access as a typical U.Va. student.”
As a rising second year, Carolyn is contemplating majoring in Chemical Engineering and French. She spends her extracurricular time as a member of the Washington Literary and Debating Union and Engineering Students without Borders. She is also a student member of the editorial board for the Spectra Engineering and Applied Science Research Journal.
