WSU Honors Alumna Roxanne Reese to Interview as Marshall Scholarship Finalist
PULLMAN, Wash.—Washington State University alumna Roxanne Reese has made it to the final round of the Marshall Scholarship selection process, and will travel Nov. 13 for a personal interview at the British Consulate-General in San Francisco. The Honors College graduate is a Seattle native and current resident.
“The entire WSU community is very pleased that Roxanne is but one step away from becoming the first WSU graduate to receive a Marshall Scholarship,” says Mary F. Wack, WSU vice provost for undergraduate education. “She is an accomplished scholar with well-defined career goals, and she will be an excellent representative of our university and nation while at the University of Cambridge.”
The Marshall Scholarship is one of a set of prestigious awards commonly known as “distinguished scholarships.” The Marshall was established in 1953 by the U.K. Parliament to provide funding for up to 40 exceptional American students each year who seek to pursue graduate education in the U.K.
“Getting to the interview stage for the Marshall is one of the best accomplishments so far in my life,” says Reese. “The application process has been very rigorous and made me evaluate my goals and think about who I am. Having recently graduated, it’s challenging to think in terms of how I, as a Marshall Scholar, would contribute in the future to the U.S.-U.K. relationship and be a global leader—but it’s also very exciting!”
Reese held a WSU Distinguished Regents Scholarship throughout her undergraduate program, and graduated with honors in May 2012 with Bachelor of Arts degrees in philosophy and political science, minors in ethics and criminal justice, and a certificate of completion from the WSU Honors College. She credits her Honors thesis work with fostering a rich intellectual experience; receiving best-student awards in philosophy were “validating,” she says.
According to her Marshall application, her personal goal is to be “a truly good person” and to always seek ways to better herself and the world around her.
Since childhood, her career goal is to become a lawyer and practice in America’s Pacific Northwest. Not just a lawyer, but a prosecutor. “That’s not what I should be, but who I should be,” she writes. She plans to seek punishment for crimes committed, but also to help find ways to “reduce the instances of it.”
Reese is interested in using the two-year Marshall to earn master’s degrees in criminology and political science at the University of Cambridge, and to become involved with the Centre for Penal Theory and Penal Ethics in Cambridge’s Institute of Criminology.
Sarah Ann Hones, the director of the WSU Office of Distinguished Scholarships, has consulted with Reese since she was a student and throughout the application process. “It is a pleasure to support such an outstanding person and alumna as Roxanne. WSU can be very proud that she has been selected to interview for the Marshall Scholarship.” The office—part of the Office of Undergraduate Education—works with WSU students as they prepare to apply for distinguished scholarships. This fall, the focus is on Rhodes, Mitchell, Marshall, Gates-Cambridge, and Fulbright awards; in spring the Borens, Truman, and Goldwater scholarships are among those that are top of mind.
The Honors College also works with its member students to learn about and prepare to seek distinguished scholarships. Robin Bond is the program head in Honors, working with individual students, arranging for group presentations, networking with individuals across campus, and inviting special guest speakers to describe their experiences when they held one or more of these prestigious awards.
Reese is the daughter of Betty Kuhnau and is an employee of Selland Auto Transport in Seattle. She earned a 4.0 grade point average (out of 4.0) both at WSU and at Kentwood High School in Covington, Wash., where she graduated as valedictorian.
WSU’s many past recipients of distinguished scholarships will be featured on a wall display located between the CUB and the Libraries. It is expected to be completed and opened to the public this spring.
MEDIA: Sarah Ann Hones, Director of the WSU Office of Distinguished Scholarships, 509-335-8239, shones@wsu.edu
M. Grant Norton, Dean of the WSU Honors College, 509-335-4505
Robin Bond, Distinguished Scholarships Program Head, WSU Honors College, 509-335-4505, rsbond@wsu.edu
Peggy Perkins, Administrative Manager of the WSU Honors College, 509-335-4505, perkins@wsu.edu