CONWAY, Ark. (October 13, 2016) – Twenty-five Hendrix College sophomores have been selected for the newest class of
Murphy Scholars in Literature and Language.
The new Murphy Scholars will be formally inducted at a special ceremony Tuesday, Oct. 18, at 6 p.m., in Reves Recital Hall.
Murphy Scholars will explore literature and language at a more intensive level by participating in designated study, travel, research, and service experiences in literature and language between now and their graduation in May 2019.
The Murphy Scholars program was launched last year with
20 inaugural scholars. (See examples of their projects below.)
Sixty-three students (19.5 percent of Hendrix sophomores) applied for 25 positions in this year’s cohort.
“This is another fantastic group of Murphy Scholars. They’re avid readers and writers, many of whom speak a number of languages,” said Hope Coulter, director of the
Hendrix-Murphy Foundation Programs in Literature and Language, which developed and oversees the Murphy Scholars program. “Several of them join their passion for words to other, quite specific interests – everything from insects to empathy, Cajun French to gender politics
to theater.”
“Not surprisingly, considering these interdisciplinary passions, these 25 Murphy Scholars represent 17 different majors in all three major areas of study [humanities, natural sciences and social sciences],” added Coulter. “They come from hometowns as far away as Beijing and as close by as
Conway. I’m excited to see just what questions in literature and language this talented group of Scholars is going to explore!”
The new Murphy Scholars in
Literature and Language are:
- Roshaneh Ali ’19 from Little Rock, Arkansas (English/Literary Studies or Biophysics)
- Jordan Reed Borst ’19 from New York, New York (Politics and English/Creative Writing)
- Disheanna Brown ’19 from El Dorado, Arkansas (English/Creative Writing)
- Blythe Bull ’19 from Lafayette, Louisiana (Music)
- Graydon Carter ’19 from Pocahontas, Arkansas (International Relations)
- Peyton Coffman ’19 from Greenwood, Arkansas (English/Creative Writing)
- Ben Curry ’19 from Jonesboro, Arkansas (Neuroscience)
- Julianne Darden ’19 from Chicago, Illinois (English/Creative Writing and Spanish)
- Katy Divino ’19 from Little Rock, Arkansas (Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and Classics)
- Zabe Evans ’19 from Seattle, Washington (Undeclared, likely Biology)
- Emily Harris ’19 from Conway, Arkansas (German)
- Max Hancock ’19 from Portland, Oregon (International Relations and Spanish)
- Leah Headley ’19 from Little Rock, Arkansas (English/Literary Studies)
- Tazin Islam ’19 from Little Rock, Arkansas (Biology with English minor)
- Baylee Jennings-Wells ’19 from Hot Springs, Arkansas (Psychology)
- Rebecca Levin ’19 from St. Louis, Missouri (Neuroscience and Classics)
- Hanna Liebermann ’19 from Dallas, Texas (Biology)
- Abby Lynch ’19 from Hot Springs, Arkansas (English/Film Studies)
- Allison Monroe ’19 from Cabot, Arkansas (Biology and Spanish)
- Matthew Perkins ’19 from Little Rock, Arkansas (Chemistry with Spanish minor)
- Everett Roddy ’19 from Little Rock, Arkansas (English/Creative Writing)
- Meraj Sayyed ’19 from Little Rock, Arkansas (Politics)
- Callie Summerlin ’19 from Jackson, Mississippi (Anthropology and English/Creative Writing)
- Sarah Weems ’19 from Eureka Springs, Arkansas (Environmental Studies)
- Yifan (Eva) Zhao ’19 from Beijing, China (Undeclared)
Examples of current Murphy Scholars’
projects
- Raúl Contreras ’18 studied Mandarin Chinese in Taipei, Taiwan, while Lily Hammer ’18 attended language school in Berlin for intensive language immersion that raised her fluency, increased her accent, and deepened her cultural understandings of German. Lexus Raney ’18 will study French intensively at the France Langue
School for three weeks over winter break.
- With the help of Hendrix Spanish professor Dr. José Vilahomat, Will Matheson ’18 is translating his late grandfather’s memoir, Las memorias de mi vida, which was written in Spanish. Due to language barriers, no one in Will’s family has been able to read the 150-page work, which includes an
account of decades lived in Spain, including 1950s and ’60s-era Barcelona.
- Joy Spence ’18 interned with First Class Communications, a firm in Little Rock that focuses on educational advocacy and literacy.
- Other Murphy Scholars have completed or are currently participating in literature and language studies in Graz, Austria; Madrid, Spain; Tours, France; and Oxford, England.
About Hendrix College
Hendrix College is a private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1876 and affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884, Hendrix is featured in Colleges That
Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges and is nationally recognized in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings for academic quality, community, innovation, and value. For more information, visit
www.hendrix.edu.