GU Students Win Rhodes, Marshall Scholarships

Mariah Byrne
The Hoya
Washington, D.C.

Stephanie Bryson (GRD '13) and Luke Schoenfelder (COL '12) will be heading to England in fall 2012 as recipients of the Rhodes and Marshall scholarships, respectively.

Bryson, a first year student in the School of Foreign Services' Master of Arts in German and European Studies program, was one of 32 students chosen to study at Oxford University on the Rhodes scholarship next fall. She will postpone the second year of her master's program to study in England.

Bryson is the first scholarship winner from California State University, Long Beach, where she was valedictorian of her undergraduate class and graduated summa cum laude. At Georgetown, she is the first recipient of the award since 2008 but shares a legacy with 22 other Rhodes scholars, including President Bill Clinton (SFS '68).

Bryson said she is interested in studying transatlantic relationships, although she has not determined what degree she will pursue at Oxford. She is still torn between a Masters of Philosophy in European politics and society and a Doctorate of Philosophy in politics and international relations.

"[My interests are] kind of my life story," she said. "I grew up with both the American and German cultures in my household."

Much of Bryson's inspiration to apply for the Rhodes scholarship came from her experiences studying abroad in Germany.

"That's where it was driven home how important relationships between countries are," she said. "I see little differences getting in the way of us doing big things."

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