UConn Students Participated in National Scholars Convention

The University of Connecticut was one of 41 universities participating in the third Stamps Scholars National Convention held on April 10-12 at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Approximately 500 Stamps Leadership Scholars were at the convention. Three of them, Ashwini Joshi, Annie MacLachlan and Bridget Mary Oei, are UConn students.

Georgia native Roe Stamps and his wife, Penny Stamps, started the Stamps Scholars program in 2006 to support students in their academic pursuit and have since forged a national network of scholars through the program.

At the same time, the UConn Foundation has kicked off its “Transform Lives’’ campaign, a five-year, $150 million fundraising initiative that will double the amount of financial support—including merit and need-based scholarships—that the Foundation raises for the benefit of the UConn student body.

“As UConn adds more students over the next decade, the need for scholarship and fellowship support will grow considerably,” said Josh Newton, president of the UConn Foundation. “Ashwini, Annie and Bridget are shining examples of the type of students we want to help pay for their education.’’

The scholars gathered in Atlanta to discuss current challenges in various academic fields as they visit CNN, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Carter Center, and the Center for Civil and Human Rights.

Penny and Roe Stamps formed the Stamps Scholars Program at their alma maters: the University of Michigan and the Georgia Institute of Technology, respectively. Since then, the scholarship has grown to over 700 current and graduated Scholars and is one of the nation’s largest merit-based national scholarship programs.

Four Stamps Scholars have won Rhodes Scholarships, three have received Fulbright Fellowships, and two have been named as Barry Goldwater Scholars.