Elliot Wells, Raymond Strobel and Joshua Kurtz, all juniors in the Honors Program, have been named Goldwater Scholars for 2013.
Congress established the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program in 1986 to honor the late senator, who served his country for 56 years as a soldier and statesman, including 30 years in the U.S. Senate.
Kurtz
Strobel
Wells
The program provides scholarships to students interested in careers in science, math and engineering, and they are considered the premier scholarships awarded to undergraduates in these fields.
Strobel, from Spring Lake, is majoring in honors chemistry. He is operations manager of the Men’s Glee Club and a recent winner of the Otto Graf Scholarship, awarded to outstanding juniors in the LSA Honors Program. He plans to attend medical school in 2014.
“I am excited to use the skills I have developed in the laboratory for solving the medical problems of the 21st century,” Strobel says.
Kurtz, from Traverse City, is majoring in honors biochemistry. He is an undergraduate student instructor and volunteer with Circle K, an international community service organization on campus that is affiliated with the Kiwanis Club. He will serve as Circle K president next year. He plans a career in medicine, conducting research on obesity and hopes to teach at a university.
“I feel so blessed to have been chosen for a Goldwater Scholarship,” Kurtz says. “I am very grateful for the research opportunities I have already had at U-M.”
Wells, from Loveland, Ohio, is majoring in honors mathematics. He is the winner of the M.S. Keeler Merit Scholarship and Evelyn O. Bychinsky Award in the Math Department. Wells also is a course assistant for honors math and a volunteer tutor with the Math Circle.
“I am thrilled to have received a Goldwater Scholarship,” Wells says. “This award is a reflection of the support and opportunities provided to me by my Michigan professors.”
Henry Dyson, scholarship coordinator for the Honors Program, says students have received more than 60 Goldwater Scholarships over the years because of U-M’s strong science and engineering programs and research opportunities for undergraduates.
“We are thrilled to have three winners this year,” he says.
The 271 Goldwater Scholars were selected from 1,107 mathematics, science and engineering students, nominated by their school faculties nationwide. The scholarships cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year. For more information, go to www.act.org/goldwater/sch-2013.html.
