Hansen becomes OU’s first Cooke Scholar
Recent University of Oklahoma alumna Heather Hansen has been named a Jack Kent Cooke Scholar, the first OU student to win this prestigious and highly competitive award. Recipients demonstrated outstanding records of achievement in academics, service, leadership and community involvement.
The foundation selected 30 individuals from among 678 nominations nationwide to receive graduate scholarships of up to $50,000 per year for up to six years of study. Last year, awards for the first year of graduate study averaged $36,000.
Hansen, the daughter of Anita and Thomas Hansen of Springfield, Mo., graduated with distinction from OU in 2007 with a double major in international studies and psychology and a minor in Spanish. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in international affairs at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in New York City.
Hansen’s career goal is to work with development and aid organizations on the design, implementation and evaluation processes pertaining to displaced persons and refugees. She is interested in a career with such organizations as the International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps or the U.S. Agency for International Development. Next month, Hansen will complete two years in Jordan with the Peace Corps, where she teaches English as a foreign language and organizes several health initiatives.
– From University of Oklahoma public affairs
Eat chili to help students
The University of Oklahoma School of Art and Art History will host a chili cook-off fundraiser from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Jan. 29 at the Lightwell Gallery, 520 Parrington Oval, in Norman.
Chili will be sold in ceramic bowls made by art students. Cost is $15 for chili in a bowl or $8 for chili not in a ceramic bowl. The bowls are dishwasher and oven safe.
Money raised through the event will go to student scholarships.
For more information, contact David Akbaran at (405)325-2691 or dakbaran@ou.edu.
ORU Scholarships
Oral Roberts University will offer 25 full scholarships and other partial scholarships for the fall 2009 semester. “We are looking for well-rounded students who have already started to excel as a whole person. Then we can provide them with the education they need to realize their full potential,” Mart Green, chairman of the ORU Board of Trustees, “Like a basketball coach wants to find the best basketball players for the team, we want to find the best whole-person students to attend ORU.”
To be considered for the Whole Person Scholarship, a freshman or transfer student must be nominated by a school, church, or community leader or a member of the ORU faculty staff, or alumni. Nominees who are selected will be invited to campus for a Scholarship Day Competition Jan. 23 or Feb. 27, 2009.
For more information or to nominate a student, see wholeperson.oru.edu.
