Harvard Leads Nation in Marshall Scholars With Seven

December 16, 1999

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HARVARD GAZETTE ARCHIVES

The new Marshall Scholars are (from left) Michael Jacobsohn, Nisha Agarwal, Bryan Leach, Sujit Raman, David Roddenberry, and Aaron Einbond. Recent graduate Anne-Marie Oreskovich also won. Photo by Kris Snibbe.

The British government has awarded six Harvard students and one recent graduate the prestigious Marshall Scholarships. This year Harvard led the nation in the number of winners. The University of Chicago had three winners, while Columbia University and Stanford University each had two. Forty scholarships were awarded to students from 28 different American universities.

Six of the Harvard recipients are College seniors: Nisha Agarwal, Aaron Einbond, Michael Jacobsohn, Bryan Leach, Sujit Raman, and David Roddenberry. Anne-Marie Oreskovich is a recent graduate.

The scholarships will enable the students to study at a British university for two or three years. Marshall Scholarships are named after Gen. George Marshall, who, as U.S. secretary of state in 1947, authored the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after World War II. The scholarships were set up by the British government in 1953 in gratitude for the postwar aid program. The scholarships, worth about $50,000 each, are highly competitive.

Following are brief biographical sketches of the Harvard winners:

Nisha Agarwal, of Fayetteville, N.Y., is a social studies concentrator. She will be studying Southeast Asian development issues at Oxford University with a long-term interest in international nongovernmental organization work. She is a past secretary-general of Harvard’s Model U.N. and a member of the Harvard International Relations Council.

Aaron Einbond, a double concentrator in physics and music at Harvard, will study either music and physics at Cambridge University or musicology and music composition at the Royal Academy in London. He is a native of Crestwood, N.Y.

Michael Jacobsohn from Charlotte, N.C., has devoted himself to the study of Slavic language and literature. He plans to pursue a master’s degree in Slavonic and East European studies at the University of Oxford. Jacobsohn volunteers as a counselor for the Franklin After-School enrichment program and is a tutor for the Bureau of Study Counsel. Eventually he would like to practice international law, particularly in the area of international arbitration and justice.

Bryan Leach, of Alpharetta, Ga., is a social studies concentrator at Harvard who will continue his studies in international relations at the University of Oxford. At Harvard, he is director of the Best Buddies program, which fosters mentoring relationships between mentally retarded students and adults. Leach also has been a member of the Hasty Pudding cast, Quincy House Crew, and the Crimson Key Society.

Recent graduate Anne-Marie Oreskovich of Spokane, Wash., is currently studying for a Ph.D. in mathematics at University of California at Los Angeles. Besides being an outstanding mathematician, Oreskovich is a gifted opera singer, a nationally ranked tennis player, a published poet, a musical composer, a marathon runner, and a hospital volunteer. As a result of her grandmother’s death from cancer, Oreskovich has resolved to pursue a career in the cutting-edge science of mathematical biology. She plans to study for a master’s degree in mathematics at the Centre for Mathematical Biology, Oxford University – one of only two centers in the world specializing in this field.

Sujit Raman, from Houston, who studied at the Kincaid School before going on to Harvard University, has already dedicated his future to the concerns of minorities in pluralistic societies. He sees the role of the well-rounded, thoughtful journalist and commentator as the area in which one individual can make the greatest contribution toward constructing the good and just society. Raman has served as editor-in-chief of the Harvard International Review, was coxswain for the 1999 Harvard crew that won the national championship, and organized a recent panel discussion on race and affirmative action. Raman plans to attend the University of Bristol, Britain’s leading center for the study of ethnicity.

David Roddenberry, from Miami, is completing his Harvard degree in psychology and biology. Besides working with several well-established scientists in his field, Roddenberry is very interested in sports; running, crew, soccer, and swimming are high on his list. Roddenberry also volunteers at a homeless shelter and is a volunteer tutor for the mathematics portion of the SAT. He plans to pursue a master’s degree in neuroscience at the Institute of Neurology at University College, London.