Scholar Names M-S

Davesh Maulik

US University: Harvard University

The top mathematics major at Harvard, Davesh Maulik of Roslyn, New York, plans to study maths at Cambridge. Brilliant in his field, he started Harvard with sophomore standing and has a straight-A record. He took sixth place nationally in the Putnam maths competition and fourth in the 1997 Westinghouse Science Talent Search; he won a Goldwater scholarship earlier this year. Davesh is a rock DJ for WHRB, Harvard's radio station, a member of the Gilbert and Sullivan Players, and is committed to a number of volunteer efforts, including teaching science to schoolchildren and working with Amnesty International.

Skelly Bruce McCay

US University: Loyola University

Skelly McCay is from New Orleans, Louisiana where he is double majoring in Philosophy and English at Loyola University. He will use his Marshall Scholarship to study 19th and 20th Century Continental Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Skelly plans a fusion of his academic work in the philosophy of psychology with work with psychiatrists and clinical psychologists in determining new, more holistic courses of treatment for the mentally ill. A student of impressive intellectual power and a forceful personality, Skelly is also an accomplished musician with a quick wit and an engaging personality. In addition to a heavy academic schedule, Skelly represents student body concerns to the administration, set up an organisation that raises money for small student scholarships and founded the university Croquet Society.

Nicholas Miller

US University: University of South Carolina

Helping daily in his father's barn in the South Carolina countryside, Nicholas dreamed of distant countries. His interest in the world has taken him to China where he lived for a year, and has studied in Russia, Ecuador and Spain. He is extremely bright, enthusiastic, articulate and has excellent language skills including fluency in Mandarin and Spanish which will serve him well for a career in public policy. Nicholas enjoys dancing (salsa, merengue, swing), racquetball, tennis and plays intramural water polo and has twice won the University of South Carolina International Programs photography contest. Volunteers weekly at a free adult education center and involves himself on a number of committees. He is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships and will use his Marshall to study International Political Economy Regional Integration at the University of Oxford.

Andrew Petiprin

US University: University of Pittsburgh

Andrew has a great passion for learning and is a true intellectual, fluent in French and German he is both widely and deeply read which shows in his academic record at the University of Pittsburgh, with a 3.90 GPA while majoring in French/History with a minor in German/Classics. Religion plays an important role in Andrew's life; he is an active member of the Sixth Presbyterian Church, working with members of his church in helping to feed the homeless and other community projects in the Pittsburgh area. Andrew tutors undergraduates in survey courses and students at his mother's high school during the summer when he visits his family in Orlando. Having played soccer in high school, when time permits Andrew now prefers to jog and play tennis. Andrew will use his Marshall award to study for a MPhil in European Literature at the University of Oxford.

Kevin Sabet-Sharghi

US University: The University of California at Berkeley

Raised in Anaheim, California, Kevin graduated from UC Berkeley with High Honors. Teen People Magazine calls him "the most prominent young anti-drug spokesperson in America" for his decade-long commitment to drug policy issues. He started Berkeley's first anti-drug coalition, as well as International Students in Action, the largest coalition of college students in the world educating their peers about drugs. Featured on CNN's Talkback Live, the San Francisco Chronicle, and 60 Minutes, among other media outlets, Kevin has also served as a speech writer for drug-czar Barry McCaffrey and as an advisor to George W Bush on drug policy issues -- representing his non-partisan committment to an issue he claims "must surpass all political and ideological biases should we truly want to lower the human misery that this scourge produces". He has submitted testimony to the US Congress three times, first at age 17. A career ending knee injury prevented him from re-joining Oxford's Varsity tennis team, but he now spends his spare time at Oxford serving as his college's Graduate President, advising major European drug policy making bodies, and taking an active role in the Oxford Baha'i Society.

Kevin Schwartz

US University: Harvard University

Kevin Schwartz of East Hills, New York, will be studying politics at Oxford next year following graduation from Harvard with a degree in government and a perfect academic record. A future political leader, Kevin has interned in the White House and Congress, and with a New York Supreme Court judge. A Truman Scholar, Kevin has been president of the Harvard Mock Trial Team for the past three years. He developed the Assistance for the Citizenship Exam this summer following his experience tutoring immigrants. Kevin has a special interest in social rights, including implementation of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Matthew Craig Steenberg

US University: St. Olaf College

Matthew Steenberg, a forceful intellect inside a commanding personality, is committed to the intellectual and spiritual life of his community. Majoring in Religion and Classics as an undergraduate, his participation in the 'Septuagint Project', an international group of scholars, priests and translators working to translate the entire Greek Old Testament into contemporary English, shows his dedication to his subjects. Already teaching and lecturing in Greek, Latin and early Western History as an undergraduate, Matthew's current doctoral research in early patristic conceptions of theological anthropology is aimed at rediscovering a positive conception of development and growth in human nature, long dormant in western religious and social thought. Born at a US Naval Base in Okinawa, Japan, Steenberg has travelled extensively throughout the world. Noting that "a great love for the church and the people which it educates is the foundation for all my interests, academic and otherwise", Matthew is using the Marshall Scholarship to build upon these interests via the Oxford doctoral program.

Timothy Robert Strabbing

US University: United States Naval Academy

Timothy Strabbing combines academic excellence with an unparalleled performance in athletics and leadership. He will major in Political Science and is planning to study Development Studies at Oxford, which will prepare him for leadership in the military or another area of government. His experience of the conflict in Kosovo has opened his eyes to conflict resolution. He wants to study the process of democratisation and development in countries dominated by ethnic conflict. Whatever he undertakes, his combination of intellect, determination and personality will bring success.

David Joseph Swinarski

US University: University of Notre Dame

As an undergraduate, David Swinarski majored in mathematics and English and was awarded a Goldwater scholarship for his research in chemistry with Professor Olaf Wiest. David's involvement in campus ministry as a member of the Folk Choir and as a liturgist for Sorin College led him to settings as grand as the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and as humble as the Michigan City Prison. He struggles to reconcile his passion for abstract mathematics with his deep commitment to social justice work. David will pursue an MSc in mathematics at Oxford.