Kent Dell, an Army veteran and junior at Michigan State University, has been nominated to compete for a Beinecke Scholarship in support of his graduate education.
The scholarship grants $4,000 immediately prior to entering graduate school and an additional $30,000 while attending graduate school. Scholarship students must pursue graduate study in the arts, humanities and social sciences.
“Kent is already making important contributions in research and on the campus of MSU,” said Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore, dean of the Honors College. “We wish him every success as he pursues graduate school opportunities and hope that the Beinecke Scholarship may become a reality for him.”
Dell, a graduate of Fowler High School, is an Honors College member majoring in public policy in the College of Social Science. He was a recent intern at the Michigan House of Representatives Republican Policy Office and plans to obtain a master’s degree in public policy.
“I would like to thank the selection committee for nominating me and Dr. Jackson- Elmoore for being such a wonderful mentor,” Dell said. "I would not be where I am today were it not for her.”
Dell is currently working on his senior honors thesis, investigating the factors that influence veterans to use or not use their education benefits (specifically Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans and the G.I. Bill®).
As a paratrooper in the Army Parachute Infantry, Dell was deployed to Iraq twice, spending a total of 27 months there. He received the Combat Infantryman Badge and earned a Purple Heart. He is currently an instructor for the U.S. Army Reserves in Fraser.
Each year approximately 100 colleges and universities are invited to nominate one student for the Beinecke Scholarship. This year, 20 new scholarships will be awarded. MSU became affiliated with the program upon invitation in 2010-2011. If selected by the board of directors, Dell will be the second Beinecke Scholar from MSU.
Established in 1971, the Beinecke Scholarship program provides substantial scholarships for graduate study in the arts, humanities and social sciences to students who have demonstrated superior standards of intellectual ability, scholastic achievement and personal promise during their undergraduate career despite economic hardships.
GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government website at https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.