Congratulations to these USC students who have won nationally
competitive fellowships in 2004!
Marshall
Scholarship
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David
Chacko and Nilay Vora will become USC's fifth and sixth Marshall
Scholars. This is the first time two USC students have won this
prestigious award in the same year.
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David
Chacko, B.A. & B.S., Biological Sciences & Business AdministrationUpon
graduating from USC with a dual-bachelor's degree in Business Administration
and Biological Sciences, David will pursue a degree in Comparative
Social Policy at Oxford under the auspices of the Marshall Scholarship.
After completing his studies at Oxford, David plans to attend medical
school and eventually become a leader in health policy and a physician
to the medically underserved.At USC, David has been actively involved
on campus, winning him the title of "Mr. USC" and member of the Order
of the Torch. He has served as a Senior Resident Advisor, co-founding
member of and vice- president for Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honor
society, and co-chair of the Associated Trustee and Presidential Scholars.
He has played as a starting defender for the USC men's soccer club
since his freshman year. After volunteering in clinics in rural India
and at the Los Angeles County-USC hospital, David co-founded the Collegiate
Med Volunteers program to promote direct patient and physician contact
and mentoring of students. As Program Manager, David now coordinates
such experiences for 150 volunteers from 17 universities. |
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Nilay
Vora, B.A., Mathematics & Interdisciplinary Studies
A
graduating senior double-majoring in Mathematics and Interdisciplinary
Studies (Human Rights and Religious Nonviolence) with a minor in natural
science, Nilay plans to apply his Marshall Scholarship towards graduate
studies in Human Rights at the London School of Economics. Nilay intends to pursue a career in human
rights law and a position as prosecutor for the International Criminal
Court. As part of an impressive record of involvement on campus,
Nilay has served as an elected student senator, a senior resident
advisor, editor-in-chief of the Trojan Horse newspaper, a tutor in
multivariate calculus, and chair of his residence hall government.
He also coordinated the Alternative Spring Break: Death Valley program,
a student-run environmentally-oriented service trip. With a strong
commitment to social justice, Nilay'swork with United Students Against
Sweatshops on labor and human rights issues in Sri Lanka and India,
helped lead to the unionization of local garment workers. Along with
counterparts in Mexico and with the support of the AFL-CIO, he filed
a complaint under the NAFTA agreement about garment factory conditions
in Mexico. |
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Fulbright
Grant
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Debra
Cheverino,
B.A., Music & M.M., Instrumental Conducting
The first
woman to ever win an Italian Conducting Competition when she took
first prize at the Accademia Dell'Arte in Arezzo in 2001, Debra
is a distinguished conductor who has garnered an impressive list of
accolades and fellowships. After receiving her Bachelor's in Music
at USC, Debra completed her Master's in Instrumental Conducting at
the University of Hartford. She will spend next year in Italy, examining
the contributions of women composers to the origins of conducting
and their leadership roles during the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
Debra is currently the conductor of the Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra,
Asia America Symphony, Sinfonia di Firenze, and the Pacific
Symphony Youth Orchestra. |
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Natalie Do, Pharm.D., Pharmacy Upon completing her doctorate
in Pharmacy, Natalie will conduct clinical research at Princess Marina
Hospital in Botswana, the first African country to provide HIV/AIDS
antiretroviral therapy to its citizens on a national scale. Natalie
will examine cultural and social barriers that affect medication acceptance
and adherence to treatment, as well as the existing health care delivery
infrastructures, trained health care professionals, community awareness
intervention programs, and the role of pharmacists in hindering or
facilitating treatment of HIV/AIDS. Previously, Natalie conducted
clinical AIDS research in Peru. She has also interned at a pharmacy
and served as a mentor with the Big Sisters of Los Angeles.
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Corrie Francis, M.F.A., Animation Corrie, a Master's
student in Animation, will explore the relationship between wilderness
and culture in New Zealand, where one-third of the land is dedicated
to national parks. Collecting visual and audio material from both
popular and remote areas, she intends to create an animated documentary,
which will focus on the personal concept of wilderness through interviews,
digital imagery, and hand drawn animations. She will also work with
professors and filmmakers at the University of Auckland and the University
of Otago. Previously, Corrie has worked as an illustrator and
art teacher in Cameroon, and her films have been official selections
at a number of film and animation festivals, winning several awards.
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Jeffrey Friedman, M.D. & Ph.D., Medicine & Biochemistry/Molecular
Biology Currently pursuing degrees in Medicine and Biochemistry/Molecular
Biology, Jeffrey will spend his Fulbright year in Brazil researching
dengue virus infection, a mosquito-borne viral disease with tens of
millions of reported cases each year. He will conduct experiments
using molecular biological and biochemical techniques on cells of
the mosquito digestive tract. Jeffrey intends to find pathways that
facilitate dengue virus infection and survival in the mosquito and
manipulate these pathways to discover new therapeutic targets to break
the dengue cycle. A SCUBA Divemaster and Assistant Instructor, Jeffrey
is founder and president of the USC SCUBA Club and president of Probe
and Compass, an outdoor activities club. |
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Sulggi Lee, M.D. & Ph.D., Medicine & Epidemiology Sulggi
will spend her Fulbright year in Uganda - where malaria is the number
one cause of morbidity and mortality - studying anti-malarial drug
efficacy and resistance. A student in Medicine and Epidemiology, Sulggi
will analyze data from the ongoing Uganda Malaria Surveillance Project,
assist in setting up a laboratory at Makerere University to assess
genetic samples, and help instruct Ugandan Master's in Public Health
students. Previously, she has been involved with studies of air pollution
and pediatric respiratory illnesses in Chile, preterm low birth weight
and pesticide exposure in migrant women, and cancer genetics. After
medical school, she plans to work as a physician and scientist.
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Ann
Swanson, M.S.G. & M.H.A., Gerontology & Health Administration
After completing her Master's degrees in Gerontology and Health Administration,
Ann will travel to Spain to work with the Catalunya Alzheimer's Association.
She plans to implement a retreat program for people caring for dementia
sufferers, while examining management of challenges, such as providing
services to a bilingual, multi-cultural population and promoting caregiver
self-identification. While at USC, Ann has worked extensively to improve
care for the elderly and to provide resources for caregivers. Through
her work with the Graduate and Professional Student Senate and the
Teaching and Research Assistant Handbook Committee, she has also been
an advocate for graduate students at USC. |
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Alexandra
Webber, J.D., Law, Alexandra will spend her Fulbright year in
Mexico researching efforts to combat "trafficking in persons"
- the coerced relocation of humans for the purpose of labor or sexual
exploitation. She will examine efforts to foster bilateral collaboration
along the US-Mexican border and the legal mechanisms available to
prosecutors and law enforcement to protect human rights. At USC, Alexandra
has actively volunteered her legal skills to those in need of legal
support. Her pro bono work includes services with the Public Counsel
Homelessness Prevention Clinic, the Department of Public Social Services,
and USC Street Law. She currently serves as Elections and Recruitment
Chair for the Graduate and Professional Student Senate. |
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National
Security Education Program - David L. Boren Scholarship
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Brandon Marc Higa, B.A./M.A., International Relations
Brandon Marc, graduating with a dual Bachelor's/Master's degree in
International Relations and minor in East Asian Languages and Cultures,
will use his NSEP scholarship for advanced language study at Stanford
University's Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies
in Yokohama. Brandon Marc, who previously studied in Japan under the
auspices of a Freeman Asia award, intends to continue his research
on US-Japan security relations, particularly those involving the bases
in Okinawa Prefecture. At USC, he has served as a resident advisor,
orientation advisor, and officer for the USC Hawaii Club. He
is also a member of the East-West Center and various Okinawan and
orchestral music ensembles in Hawaii. |
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