3 students win prestigious scholarships

Three Cornell College students have won scholarships that will allow them to study abroad and pursue advanced degrees.

Sophomore Erinn Voas received a Boren Scholarship, junior Kyle Durgin received a Gilman Scholarship, and senior Sanjeev Khatiwada received a McElroy Fellowship.

Voas earned a Boren Scholarship, which covers the cost of pursuing an entire academic year of study and language training in Jordan. The Boren is an extremely competitive grant from the U.S. State Department designed to encourage undergraduate students to study abroad in areas of the world that are critical to U.S. interests.

Durgin received a Gilman Scholarship to support his summer studies in Guatemala. Sponsored by the U.S. State Department, the Gilman scholarship will cover program tuition, room and board, books, and transportation. The scholarship provides awards for U.S. undergraduate students who are receiving federal Pell Grant funding at a two-year or four-year college or university to participate in study abroad programs worldwide.

Khatiwada was one of two Iowa college students to earn a McElroy Fellowship, which pays a stipend of $10,000 per year for students from Iowa colleges pursuing advanced degrees. He will study at Baylor College and is pursuing a Ph.D. in biochemistry and psychology. The McElroy Fellowship is named for R.J. McElroy, a broadcaster who founded KWWL and the Black Hawk Broadcasting Company in 1947.

Three faculty members, Robert Givens, Jim White, and Gayle Luck, served as advisors to the students.