Bobby Jones Scholars Chosen for St. Andrews Study

Four Emory University seniors, Kevin Kelly, Afeef Nessouli, Katherine Sheehan and Marie Walters, have been selected to receive the Robert T. Jones Jr. Scholarship Award for a year of study at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. The 2009-1010 Robert T. Jones Jr. Fellow is Emory senior Jessica Lake.

Widely known as the Bobby Jones Scholarship, the award was established in 1976 and recognizes individuals who will be excellent representatives of Emory at St. Andrews. Qualities required to fulfill this ambassadorship include intellectual excellence, a record of significant leadership and academic interests that can be pursued through the offerings at St. Andrews. The scholars receive full tuition and a travel stipend for their year of study. In addition, four St. Andrews students are chosen to spend a year at Emory.

The Robert T. Jones Jr. Fellowship will begin its second year, with the selection of Emory senior Jessica Lake, a neuroscience and behavioral biology (NBB) major from Syosset, N.Y., who will pursue a master of philosophy in neuroscience at St. Andrews.

Fellows receive full tuition and stipends for the duration of a postgraduate degree program. Unlike the Bobby Jones Scholars, the fellows are required to earn a graduate degree.

• Kelly, a sociology major from Western Springs, Ill., plans to pursue a graduate diploma in peace and conflict studies at St. Andrews. An Emory Scholar, Kelly is president of the Outdoor Emory Organization and Emory Concert Choir, and is the photography editor for the Emory Wheel student newspaper. He is completing an honors thesis in sociology, working with professor Tim Dowd.

• Nessouli is a Middle Eastern and South Asian studies major from Atlanta with family roots in Lebanon. He plans to pursue a master of letters in Middle Eastern and Central Asian security studies during his year at St. Andrews. He is the outgoing president of the Inter-Fraternity Council at Emory, and is completing his honor’s thesis, which examines the life and assassination of the late Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafiq Hariri.

• Sheehan is a biology major from Glenville, N.Y. While at St. Andrews, she plans to continue her studies in biology and explore areas outside her major, including Scottish history. Upon her return to the United States, Sheehan intends to enter a Ph.D. program in biology, with the goal of becoming a university professor. Sheehan received the Sonny Carter Scholarship in 2008, and is captain of the varsity track team.

• Walters, a NBB major from Dayton, Ohio, plans to pursue a master of philosophy in neuroscience. While at Emory, Walters has been active in research on the impact of early life stress on memory, and will continue her research at St. Andrews. She also is a volunteer with Best Buddies, an autism awareness program, and plans to continue her community service activities in Scotland.

Recipients are selected by a committee of faculty, administrators and trustees of the Robert T. Jones Advisory Committee as well as former Jones scholars. The late Bobby Jones, an internationally renowned golfer, was an Emory University School of Law alumnus remembered by those who knew him as an extraordinary man of rare loyalty, compassion and integrity.