Contact: Ron Fisher, MSU Honors College, (517) 355-2326; Kristin K. Anderson, University Relations, (517) 353-8819, ander284@msu.edu; or Bhooma Aravamuthan, (517) 355-1676
11/22/2004
EAST LANSING, Mich. � Bhooma Aravamuthan of Kalamazoo, a senior at Michigan State University, is the recipient of a prestigious Marshall Scholarship for 2005 and the opportunity to study in the United Kingdom.
As a Marshall Scholar, she will pursue a master of science in neuroscience at the University of Oxford, where she will continue exploring research, and seeking answers to and treatments for Parkinson�s disease and other neurological illnesses.
�I am so excited to be a Marshall Scholar and represent MSU, my state and country,� she said. �I am so lucky and so fortunate to win this scholarship. When I was interviewing I let people know that MSU has given me a great education. I am proud of my school and the education I have received here.�
The Marshall Scholarship program allows up to 40 young Americans to study in the United Kingdom for two, and occasionally three years, and covers expenses related to tuition and fees, travel expenses and costs of living. The scholarship is approximately $60,000 per student. Individuals are selected on the basis of high levels of academic and personal achievements.
Aravamuthan, daughter of the Raja and Lakshmi Aravamuthan, is majoring in biochemistry and physiology in the College of Natural Science, and is an MSU Honors College student. She has been involved in numerous research projects at MSU, and at Actives International and Borgess Health Alliance in Kalamazoo.
Starting in December she will be working with other researchers on a ship off the Antarctic coast examining the diving patterns of Weddell seals.
Following her May, 2005, graduation from MSU and her studies at Oxford University, she plans to continue her pursuit of doctorate and medical degrees and become both a doctor and a scientist.
The recipient of a 2004 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, she has received numerous other awards and scholarships, including the MSU Alumni Distinguished Scholarship, the Ronald E. McNair Outstanding Natural Science Research Scholar award and the Dallas J. Chapin Natural Science Scholarship.
Her MSU activities include Associated Students of MSU student government, MSU Science Theatre, Honors Students Actively Recruiting, Asian Pacific American Student Organization and fundraising efforts for St. Jude�s Children�s Hospital.
The Marshall Scholarships were first established in 1953 by the British government to mark the implementation of the European Recovery Program, or the Marshall Plan.
A final listing of all the new Marshall Scholarship winners will be posted after Dec. 13 on www.marshallscholarship.org/