TWO IU SENIORS, BOTH WELLS SCHOLARS, AMONG 38 AMERICANS AWARDED BRITAIN'S MARSHALL SCHOLARSHIPS

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Two Indiana University Wells Scholars -- Elizabeth Skomp of Crawfordsville and Van Huynh of Evansville -- are among 38 Americans awarded Marshall Scholarships for 1998 by the government of Great Britain.

The two are the only Big 10 students awarded Marshall Scholarships this year.

The scholarship pays all expenses for two years of study in any discipline at any British university. Winners are chosen by a committee in Washington, D.C., chaired by the British ambassador and the chairman of the British Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission.

IU Vice President and Bloomington Chancellor Kenneth Gros Louis said the fact that two IU students were chosen for the award is an extraordinary achievement. "It speaks worlds about the value of the Wells Scholars Program," he said. "Most of the other winners come from private institutions that our Wells Scholars turned down to attend IU."

"Looking at the other institutions from which the Marshall Scholars are drawn, Van and Elizabeth clearly are in extraordinary company," added Morton Lowengrub, dean of the IU College of Arts and Sciences. "Their selection is a tribute to their hard work, and also to the dedicated faculty in the College who have taught, helped and mentored them along the way."

The Marshall Scholarships were founded by the British Parliament in 1953 to commemorate the Marshall Plan, through which the United States helped the countries of Western Europe rebuild after World War II. Among the scholarship program's objectives are "to bring for study in the United Kingdom intellectually distinguished young Americans who will one day become leaders, opinion formers and decision makers in their own country; to enable them to gain an understanding and appreciation of the British way of life and British social and academic values; and to establish long-lasting bridges and ties between the peoples of the United States and the United Kingdom, at a personal level."

Van Huynh

Huynh, who has accumulated a trove of academic honors and awards since immigrating from Vietnam with her family less than a dozen years ago, is majoring in biochemistry, mathematics and biology at IU. She plans to obtain a doctorate from the University of Cambridge before pursuing a medical degree and a career as an academic clinical physician.

The story of an immigrant fleeing oppression to make a new life in America has an almost irresistible appeal, especially when that person rises swiftly to such success. In her short time as a U.S. resident, Huynh mastered a new language, excelled in high school and won the most prestigious scholarship IU has to offer entering freshmen.

Huynh said her volunteer work at St. Mary's Hospital in Evansville and her role on IU's Forensics Team strengthened her commitment to the world of medicine and teaching. She has also gained valuable leadership experience as President of the Vietnamese Student Association and as Diversity Advocate for her residence hall.

Outside the classroom and lab, she is an avid ballroom dancer, plays tennis and serves as an usher at the IU Auditorium.

During her four years on the Bloomington campus, Huynh has dazzled her chemistry professors. "In more than 30 years of teaching at Indiana," said Professor Jack Crandall, "if Van is not the best chemistry undergraduate I've come across, she is certainly in the top 1 percent."

Elizabeth Skomp

Skomp, who has earned distinction as a gifted scholar of languages and as a student leader at IU, plans to work on a master's degree in Russian and East European studies at the University of London, and then possibly go to law school and pursue a career in the foreign service. She will graduate from IU with a B.A. degree in Slavic languages and literatures and comparative literature, and a minor in Spanish.

A leader in IU student government, Skomp also is an active member of Students Against Poverty. Her love of language was reinforced through her internship at IU's Lilly Library, cataloging rare Slavic books and manuscripts, and through planning and presenting an exhibit of Russian miniature books.

Having experienced Russian culture firsthand during a two-month stay in St. Petersburg, Skomp was chosen to introduce former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev at a public lecture in Bloomington last fall.

Breon Mitchell, professor of comparative literature and Germanic studies, cited Skomp's "innate capacity for leadership" and called her "one of the best students" he has encountered in almost three decades of teaching. Another professor offered the opinion that in his 20 years of teaching, which included 12 years on the faculty at Cambridge, "I can remember meeting only two students I consider as gifted and motivated as Elizabeth."

For more information, contact Ellen Mathia, 812-855-0085 or 812-855-3911, emathia@indiana.edu or Jeff Austin, 812-855-0084 or 812-855-3911, jeaustin@indiana.edu at the Office of Communications and Marketing.

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