Class of 2013
Alan and Muriel Botsford and Crawford and Virginia Johnson Jefferson Scholar
Long Island, New York
“Coming from New York, I was looking for a cultural change when thinking about where I wanted to go to college… I was hoping to find an environment with different sorts of people from various backgrounds. More than any cultural factors, the most important question for me was ‘where do I want to wake up every morning for the next four years?’
“The Jefferson Scholars and U.Va. experiences challenge you in not only the expected academic sense, but also challenge you to grow and develop as a person and a leader. After one year, I honestly consider the Jefferson Scholars experience to be one of…the most unique undergraduate experiences in the world and the opportunity of a lifetime. First, you are surrounded by an extraordinary group of students who enjoy having hours long conversations about the issues facing the world while at the same time equally enjoy having a good time and a full college experience. Moreover, these students become a powerful support system and some have become my best friends. Supporting all these scholars is a staff whose sincerity, generosity, and kindness are evident from your first interaction with them. All of these people [forming a] rare community found in a college setting is only the bedrock of the countless opportunities the Jefferson Scholars Foundation provides.
“From traveling abroad to camping out one of your first weekends in school with your fellow Scholars, from spending two weeks in the summer improving your leadership skills to intimate interactions with professors, the Jefferson Scholars experience provides opportunities that are simply not available for a typical student…[which] allows you to take full advantage to be the best person you can be, and want to be, without outside pressure. In sum, it goes back to my original question: where do you want to wake up for the next four years of your life? When thinking about that question, I was tempted to choose to go to a school that everyone else considered one of the “best schools in the world.” But, at the end of the day, a title or name on a résumé means less than the countless opportunities provided by a Jefferson Scholars experience which simply can not be found anywhere else.”
As a second year, Stephen plans to major in Religious Studies and Foreign Affairs. He spends his extracurricular time as a member of the Honor Counsel and volunteering through Madison House, U.Va.’s student-run community service organization.
