Two Michigan State University students are national finalists for the Mitchell Scholarship and Schwarzman Scholars program. The scholarships provide funding for graduate school in Ireland and China. Awardees will be announced later this month.
Macken Keefe is a finalist for the Mitchell Scholarship. He is an Honors College senior majoring in political science and global and international studies in social science, with minors in peace and justice studies, and law, justice and public policy. He is also pursuing a joint Master of Public Policy degree in the College of Social Science. Keefe is a member of Social Science Scholars and Political Science Scholars. His research mentors are John Waller, Ph.D., Brendan Mullan, Ph.D., Heather McCauley, Ph.D., and Ryan Black, Ph.D. Keefe graduated from Rim of the World High School in Lake Arrowhead, California.
Gianna Méndez Germán is a finalist for the Schwarzman Scholars program. She is a senior majoring in environmental studies and sustainability in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Germán is vice president for La Comunidad Latinoamericana and Ambassador for the American Semester Program and Exchange at MSU. Her research mentors are Phillip Warsaw, Ph.D., Lissy Goralnik. Ph.D., Rebecca Jordan, Ph.D., and Igor Vojnovic, Ph.D. Germán graduated from the Instituto de Desarrollo Integral Leonardo Da Vinci, Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic.
The Mitchell Scholarship is a national, competitive scholarship sponsored by the US-Ireland Alliance for up to 12 future American leaders to pursue a year of graduate study in Ireland and Northern Ireland. MSU has had five Mitchell Scholars.
The Schwarzman Scholars program is a one-year, fully-funded master’s program at Tsinghua University in Beijing, designed to build a global community of future leaders who will serve to deepen understanding between China and the rest of the world.
The National and International Fellowships and Scholarships Office, administered by the Honors College, helps interested undergraduate and graduate students pursue major national and international opportunities by providing information and direct support throughout the competitive application processes.
This story originally appeared on the Honors College website.