CONWAY, Ark. (April 8, 2020) – Thirty-two
first-year Hendrix College students have been selected for the Murphy Scholars Program.
Murphy Scholars explore literature and
language at a more intensive level by participating in designated study,
travel, research, and service experiences in literature and language during
their sophomore, junior, and senior years at Hendrix. The program is open to
students of all majors; this year’s cohort includes students majoring in 17
unique areas of study.
Nearly 20% of the
first-year class applied to the program, and roughly half of those applicants were
selected as Murphy Scholars.
“Once again the selection committee was blown away by the
excellence of the applicant pool,” said Hope Coulter, director of the Hendrix-Murphy
Foundation Programs in Literature and Language, which developed and oversees the
Murphy Scholars program. “It showed up in the students’ essays and in
glowing references from faculty who taught them in their first semester on
campus. The incoming Scholars are from a range of backgrounds, too. Even though
they approach literature and language from a variety of angles—creative
writing, Spanish, dramatic literature, to name a few—they share a sense of
curiosity and passion about how words, stories, and languages shape our world.”
The Class of 2023 Murphy Scholars in
Literature and Language are:
- Mary Dann
Betbeze of Mobile, Alabama (psychology major with a minor in French)
- Sydney Boone of
Olive Branch, Mississippi (double major in English–creative writing and biology)
- Keira Boop of Little
Rock, Arkansas (politics major)
- Halie Booth of
Dallas, Texas (biochemistry/molecular biology major)
- Mary Claire
Bright of Conway, Arkansas (psychology major)
- Alexandria Cade
of Little Rock, Arkansas (double major in health sciences and computer science)
- Adaja Cooper of Little
Rock, Arkansas (undecided)
- Hannah Diggs of
Hot Springs, Arkansas (double major in English–literary studies and history)
- Landry Dosher of
Gainesville, Texas (will major in theatre arts or English–literary studies)
- Aubrey French of
Houston, Texas (anthropology major)
- Cristobal Garcia
of Dallas, Texas (biochemistry/molecular biology major)
- Chloe Griffith
of Memphis, Tennessee (politics major)
- Rye Hazlett of
New Orleans, Louisiana (English–literary studies major)
- Maia Henderson
of Forrest City, Arkansas (English–literary studies major)
- Makenzie
Henderson of Little Rock, Arkansas (neuroscience major)
- Shaunell
Henderson of Sherwood, Arkansas (interdisciplinary studies major: human rights)
- Gillian
Henneberry of Benton, Arkansas (undecided)
- Sophia Isely of
Center Ridge, Arkansas (neuroscience major)
- Kouadio Kondo of
Little Rock, Arkansas (chemistry major)
- Danielle Kuntz
of Hot Springs, Arkansas (double major in English–creative writing and psychology)
- Luis Lara of
Bryant, Arkansas (double major in politics and Spanish)
- Cassandra McLaughlan
of Fort Smith, Arkansas (psychology major)
- Phillip Powell
of Jonesboro, Arkansas (double major in politics and English–creative writing)
- Maggie Ryan of
San Antonio, Texas (double major in English–literary studies and classics)
- Hannah Samuel of
Bentonville, Arkansas (English–Literary Studies major)
- Trevor Sims of North
Little Rock, Arkansas (anthropology major)
- Drew Skelton of
Brentwood, Tennessee (English–creative writing major)
- Kolya Souvorin
of Atlanta, Georgia (politics major)
- Josh Thomeczek of
St. Louis, Missouri (history major)
- Renova
Uwingabire of Kigali, Rwanda (psychology major)
- Savanna Watts of
Perryville, Arkansas (double major in biochemistry/molecular biology and
Spanish)
- Elizabeth Yang
of Little Rock, Arkansas (neuroscience major)
All Murphy Scholars will graduate with
distinction, having completed an Oxford-style tutorial course in language and
literature and three of the Murphy Scholar Program’s approved co-curricular
experiences in literature and language.
The Murphy Scholars Class of 2023 will be formally
inducted into the program at a ceremony scheduled for Sept. 1, 2020.
About the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation
Hendrix-Murphy Programs enrich the study of literature and language for Hendrix
College as a whole as well as for students with intensive interest in those
areas. The late Mr. Charles H. Murphy, Jr., former Chair of the Board of Murphy
Oil Corporation and former member of the Hendrix Board of Trustees, established
the Foundation in 1978 in memory of his mother, Mrs. Bertie Wilson Murphy. A
1905 graduate of Galloway Women’s College—which later became part of Hendrix
College—Mrs. Murphy possessed a lifelong love of literature and language, to
which these programs are exclusively dedicated.
About Hendrix College
A private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas, Hendrix College
consistently earns recognition as one of the country’s leading liberal arts
institutions, and is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools
That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges. Its academic quality and
rigor, innovation, and value have established Hendrix as a fixture in numerous
college guides, lists, and rankings. Founded in 1876, Hendrix has been
affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. To learn more, visit www.hendrix.edu.