DAILY LOBO new mexico
Protecting America’s Assets
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November 27, 2012
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
Speakers to discuss funding scholarship
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Lottery Scholarship poised to run out of money by fiscal year 2014 by Svetlana Ozden news@dailylobo.com
Today, UNM students will have an opportunity to weigh in on the University’s proposal to address the solvency issue of the New Mexico Legislative Lottery Success Scholarship. According to the New Mexico Higher Education Report, in Fiscal Year 2012 the Lottery Scholarship balance was about $29 million, less than half of the FY 2009 balance, which was $66.5 million. According to the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC), the scholarship will run out by FY 2014. ASUNM President Caroline Muraida and UNM Student Regent Jacob Wellman arranged a Lottery Scholarship town hall to inform students about the scholarship and receive feedback from students through an online survey. Both said they hope the information provided at the town hall will allow students to have input on potential eligibility requirement changes that may be made to ensure that the scholarship is still available for future students. “This is a tough conversation to have and I think the best way to carry it out is to educate students on the issues and ask them what makes sense to them,” Wellman said. “I think we’ll walk away from the forum with a sense of where students are at on what direction to lead the Lottery Scholarship.” Wellman said the scholarship allows students who may not be able to afford tuition to access a college education and encourages talented students to stay in New Mexico. “The scholarship brought me to UNM and hopefully will help the University deliver its flagship education for many generations,” he said. Muraida said the town hall will include three speakers from UNM: Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management Terry Babbitt, Dean of University College Kate Krause and UNM associate professor Melissa Binder. Muraida said Babbitt will speak about UNM’s participation in the Lottery Scholarship in relation to other New Mexico institutions and address the ways the University uses the scholarship to ensure students graduate. She said Binder will explain the demographics of the average Lottery Scholarship recipient and Krause will discuss the implications of academic eligibility for the scholarship and academic indicators of success. “Student Regent Jacob Wellman and I have been working on the lottery summit,” she said. “We saw the need for the UNM community to step up and really come together as a community and propose a few solutions.” Muraida said a panel discussion will allow panelists, including LFC Deputy Director Charles Sallee, Rep. Rick Miera (D-Bernalillo), Sen. Michael Sanchez (D-Valencia) and Secretary of Higher Education Jose Garcia, to weigh in on the information provided at the town hall. She said that after the panel discussion, students will be able to participate in the survey and share their ideas about the changes that should be made to ensure the Lottery Scholarship remains available. “We are grateful for all of the support that the New Mexico State Legislature has given us in providing this scholarship and addressing all the various components that come up with funding this massive project,” Muraida said. “So many people are eager to attend and be part of the solution.”
Lottery Scholarship town hall Today
11 a.m. to 2 p.m. SUB Lobo Room (top floor)
Inside the
Daily Lobo volume 117
issue 68
Juan Labreche / @Labrechemode / Daily Lobo A man stares out the window of a bus in downtown Chicago. The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) operates the second-largest system of public transport in the country. According to the CTA website, the bus system alone has 1,781 buses which operate over 140 routes and 1,959 route miles. For full photo essay see Page 2.
Students named Rhodes finalists by Megan Underwood news@dailylobo.com
For the first time since 2009, two UNM students were selected as finalists for the Rhodes scholarship. Kandis Wright and Student Regent Jacob Wellman had their final interviews a week ago in Colorado Springs, Colo., where award recipients were announced. Wright, who is a pre-med student studying biology, graduated from Rio Rancho High School in 2005, was fifth in her graduating class, and was a finalist for the Marshall Scholarship, but did not receive it. She won the Genevieve Townsend Memorial Award in 2011, which is awarded to students who have high academic achievement and are in good standing in the University’s Honors College. Wellman, who is studying political science, was the Capital Office Intern for then-Rep. Martin Heinrich and in 2011 he received a President’s Call to Service Award by former U.S. President George W. Bush. Wellman has also been a student representative for multiple University boards and committees, including the Student Fee Review Board and Sustainability Council. Neither candidate was selected, but Wellman said he was honored to have been able to compete at such a high level.
Adria Malcolm / Daily Lobo UNM Student Regent Jacob Wellman, left, and student Kandis Wright were the first finalists from UNM for the Rhodes scholarship since 2009. Neither Wellman nor Wright was selected for the scholarship to study at Oxford University for two years, but both were grateful to be chosen as finalists. “I think it really hit home when we met the other candidates this past weekend and realized just how awesome and accomplished they all were,” he said. “And being in their company made me feel good about getting to this stage.” The Rhodes scholarship is awarded annually to 80 college students worldwide, 32 of whom are from the United States. The award gives recipients the opportunity to study for two years at Oxford University in England. Two U.S. recipients are selected from each of 16 districts, divided up by state. New Mexico is in district 13,
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which also includes Colorado, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah. Wright said applying for the scholarship was a long and arduous process that included a general application, a personal statement, a list of extracurricular activities, transcripts, eight letters of recommendation and interviews with a panel of six Rhodes scholars. She said the interviews were particularly nervewracking and that questions were often difficult to answer. “I got some kind of off-thewall questions,” she said. “I had one guy ask me why my morals were better than Hannibal
Lecter’s morals. I think what he wanted was more of a philosophical answer, but I’m not a philosopher, I’m more of a scientist type.” Wellman said one of the hardest parts of the application process was writing the personal statement. He said it’s crucial to represent yourself as accurately as possible so interviewers get to know you better as a person. “Trying to put down all of my experiences and hopes and aspirations and really pour out my personality on a sheet of paper that’s a thousand words or less took a lot of time and many revisions,” he said. Although neither student received the scholarship, the pair may have the opportunity to try again in the future. However, one scholarship recipient, Rachel Kolb, is an Albuquerque native who is a student at Stanford University. Wellman said he does not wish to re-apply and that he has his sights set on law school once he graduates in May. Wright said she may re-apply for the scholarship after she is accepted into medical school in hopes of improving her application and her chances of receiving the scholarship. “I’m open to new possibilities, especially because I love to travel,” she said. “If I want to apply again, at least I know I can do that.”
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