Receive our RSS FeedContact Jo Procter, college news director; phone: (413) 597-4279; e-mail Jo.Procter@williams.edu
Williams College Senior Shannon Chiu Named Gates Cambridge Scholar - Alumnus Shawn Powers '04 also Wins Scholarship
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., March 11, 2008 -- The Gates Cambridge Scholars Program has announced the award of scholarships for study at the University of Cambridge to Williams College student, Shannon Chiu '08, and alumnus Shawn Powers '04. The scholarships will cover tuition, living expenses, and travel fees.
Six hundred thirty-five students from the United States applied for the Gates Cambridge Scholarship this year and 45 were selected for the award. The selection was based on intellectual caliber, leadership ability, and desire to enrich the lives of others.
Chiu, who hails from Woodbridge, Conn., will complete her B.A. this year. A pre-med major, she is majoring in biology with a concentration in neuroscience. At Cambridge, she intends to complete a M.Sc. in experimental psychology.
"My work at Cambridge next fall will bridge my current pursuits in clinical and behavioral neuroscience, as well as offer a much more in-depth study of the variability of age-related atrophy," Chiu said. "In the future, I hope to play a role in the effort to combat degenerative brain disorders."
At Williams, Chiu has been exploring an interest in fighting neurodegenerative disease in an independent project in neurosciences at Williams on the Nintendo game "Brain Age," exploring the hypothesis that cognitively stimulating activities may mitigate age-related decline.
Chiu says she knew she wanted a career in medicine after her experience two years ago, when as a Class of 1972 Intern, part of the Alumni Sponsored Internship Program, she worked as a research associate in the Emergency Department (ED) of the Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.
The internship gave her the chance to assist medical staff in a number of research studies, including acute HIV, intubation procedures, migraine drugs, and patient satisfaction with ED attending physicians. "The day-to-day proximity to patients and their needs made me realize how much I wanted to be able to make a positive difference in others' lives, particularly the ill and the neglected."
Outside of the classroom, Chiu has worked on the Williams College student newspaper, most recently as executive editor. She is a co-chair of the Biology Major Advisory Committee, and an editorial member of the college yearbook, the Gulielmensian. She also has worked on the Williams Literary Review, in the Math/Science Resource Center and tutoring program, and participated in the Asian Theater Project and played JV field hockey.
Raised in Danvers, Mass., Powers graduated summa cum laude in economics in 2004. He will pursue a M.Phil. in development studies at Cambridge, and hopes to gain a comprehensive understanding of development theory and practice from this interdisciplinary program.
At Williams, Powers discovered his affinity for development economics and subsequently administered a system for distributing surplus dining hall food to aid organizations in the area.
After graduating from Williams, he completed a year as an Emerson National Hunger Fellow, which included field work in Alaska, and another year as a Fulbright scholar in the Philippines, where he studied the impact of community-initiated and -funded development projects. Since then, he has founded an advocacy program at Alaska's statewide food bank. He is a columnist for the Anchorage Daily News.
The Gates Cambridge Trust was established for outstanding international graduate students in 2000 with a $210 million donation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This highly competitive program is similar to the University of Oxford's Rhodes Scholarships.
Last year, Alan Rodrigues '07 became the first Gates Cambridge Scholar from Williams. He is currently pursuing a M.Phil. in computational biology at Cambridge's Emmanuel College.
END
Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.
To visit the college on the Internet www.williams.edu
News: Yue-Yi
Six hundred thirty-five students from the United States applied for the Gates Cambridge Scholarship this year and 45 were selected for the award. The selection was based on intellectual caliber, leadership ability, and desire to enrich the lives of others.
Chiu, who hails from Woodbridge, Conn., will complete her B.A. this year. A pre-med major, she is majoring in biology with a concentration in neuroscience. At Cambridge, she intends to complete a M.Sc. in experimental psychology.
"My work at Cambridge next fall will bridge my current pursuits in clinical and behavioral neuroscience, as well as offer a much more in-depth study of the variability of age-related atrophy," Chiu said. "In the future, I hope to play a role in the effort to combat degenerative brain disorders."
At Williams, Chiu has been exploring an interest in fighting neurodegenerative disease in an independent project in neurosciences at Williams on the Nintendo game "Brain Age," exploring the hypothesis that cognitively stimulating activities may mitigate age-related decline.
Chiu says she knew she wanted a career in medicine after her experience two years ago, when as a Class of 1972 Intern, part of the Alumni Sponsored Internship Program, she worked as a research associate in the Emergency Department (ED) of the Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.
The internship gave her the chance to assist medical staff in a number of research studies, including acute HIV, intubation procedures, migraine drugs, and patient satisfaction with ED attending physicians. "The day-to-day proximity to patients and their needs made me realize how much I wanted to be able to make a positive difference in others' lives, particularly the ill and the neglected."
Outside of the classroom, Chiu has worked on the Williams College student newspaper, most recently as executive editor. She is a co-chair of the Biology Major Advisory Committee, and an editorial member of the college yearbook, the Gulielmensian. She also has worked on the Williams Literary Review, in the Math/Science Resource Center and tutoring program, and participated in the Asian Theater Project and played JV field hockey.
Raised in Danvers, Mass., Powers graduated summa cum laude in economics in 2004. He will pursue a M.Phil. in development studies at Cambridge, and hopes to gain a comprehensive understanding of development theory and practice from this interdisciplinary program.
At Williams, Powers discovered his affinity for development economics and subsequently administered a system for distributing surplus dining hall food to aid organizations in the area.
After graduating from Williams, he completed a year as an Emerson National Hunger Fellow, which included field work in Alaska, and another year as a Fulbright scholar in the Philippines, where he studied the impact of community-initiated and -funded development projects. Since then, he has founded an advocacy program at Alaska's statewide food bank. He is a columnist for the Anchorage Daily News.
The Gates Cambridge Trust was established for outstanding international graduate students in 2000 with a $210 million donation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This highly competitive program is similar to the University of Oxford's Rhodes Scholarships.
Last year, Alan Rodrigues '07 became the first Gates Cambridge Scholar from Williams. He is currently pursuing a M.Phil. in computational biology at Cambridge's Emmanuel College.
END
Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.
To visit the college on the Internet www.williams.edu
News: Yue-Yi
top