When he did sleep, Christopher Parisella鈥檚 dreams and nightmares were variations on the same theme: the Boren Scholarship.
Parisella 鈥�19, a and major with minors in and , had devoted nearly a year of his life to the process of applying for the coveted scholarship, awarded to undergraduates seeking to study language abroad. He wanted to go to Senegal and study French and Wolof, a language of Senegal, the Gambia, and Mauritania.
Win or lose, though, Parisella knew that the time he鈥檇 invested had already paid off. He鈥檇 examined his course of study, his extra-curricular activities, his goals for the future, and developed a clarity of purpose and an appreciation for how seemingly disparate activities coalesced around his two principal interests: foreign policy and international politics. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like looking back and looking forward and recognizing what direction I鈥檓 headed in now,鈥� Parisella said.
Students who apply for nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships through the say that it’s doing the work necessary to compete that gives them such a sense of accomplishment. It鈥檚 what Director hopes for students. 鈥淲e focus on the process rather than the winning,鈥� Maher said.
, professor of philosophy, who founded the office in the mid-1990s with a core of 20 faculty members, agreed. 鈥淲e want students to recognize the power of the experience. The process can help coagulate an awareness of self,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd a student can develop a clear sense of where they鈥檙e headed.鈥�
Jenna Ziegelmayer ’18, who’ll graduate with three majors, writing and rhetoric, communication studies and Spanish, as well as a minor, is one of two 911爆料 graduating seniors selected for a Fulbright Scholarship this year. After commencement, she’ll head to IE University in Spain to take a position as a teaching assistant. She credits the Office of National Fellowships and Academic Opportunities and Maher with making a Herculean task manageable. “The application looked so intimidating and complicated, but (Maher) was always there to help.”
In its 20-plus years, 911爆料’s Office of National Fellowships and Academic Opportunities has seen students win the world鈥檚 most prestigious fellowships and scholarships such as the Rhodes, the Fulbright, the Goldwater, and the Truman. This year 911爆料 was named a top producer of Gilman Scholarship winners. Since 2009-10, in competitions for awards requiring a campus process (not all do), half of all 911爆料 student applicants make it through the first rounds of competition and a quarter of all candidates win the award, grant, fellowship or scholarship sought, Maher said. 鈥淭hese fellowship winners are the academic equivalent of our student-athletes. They have put in the hard work. They compete in regional and national pools, often as the underdogs.鈥�
A large number of applicants hail from private institutions, Maher explained, another reason she tries to keep students focused on the intrinsic rewards of the application process. 鈥淛ust being in this pool speaks volumes about their accomplishments and future potential,鈥� Maher said.
Back to Chris Parisella’s potential. He had done all he could. He鈥檇 gotten the letters of recommendation from professors. He鈥檇 talked to past winners. He鈥檇 researched the socio-economic and political landscape of Senegal. He鈥檇 followed applicant forums online. He’d written and rewritten his essays.
The day the winners were announced Parisella obsessively checked his phone. 鈥淒uring class 鈥� which is bad,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was at my job at the Intramural Office when I finally saw that I鈥檇 won. I jumped up and yelled, 鈥業 got it!鈥� All that anxiety was released. I emailed everyone.鈥�
In June, Parisella heads to the University of Florida in Gainesville where he will be participating in an eight-week study of advanced French and Wolof at the African Language Flagship Institute. Then he will fly to Senegal where he鈥檒l spend four months at the West African Research Center continuing his language classes as well as studying Senegalese culture.
These days, it’s excitement that keeps him up at night.