Jennifer Mikel, a junior nursing major from Sweeny, has been named the inaugural winner of Lamar University’s most prestigious student award, the David J. Beck Fellowship.
Lamar University President James Simmons announced Mikel’s selection Tuesday at a ceremony on the eighth floor of the Mary and John Gray Library on campus. At the ceremony, Mikel received an engraved medallion and certificate from Lamar University distinguished alumnus and prominent attorney David J. Beck, whose generous gift to the Lamar University Foundation made the fellowship possible.
The fellowship will provide Mikel with a full academic scholarship for 2009 – including tuition, fees, books and on-campus room and board – along with up to $10,000 to pursue the summer project she proposed as part of her application. She plans to travel to Ghana where she will work as a nursing intern in a rural hospital and live with a host family for six weeks through Projects Abroad.
Mikel, 19, said she had been interested in working in Africa since her senior year at Sweeny High School when she did an internship at Brazosport Memorial Hospital and met a nurse who had traveled to Africa during her college years.
“I thought this would be an excellent way for me to mix what I want to learn in nursing with a fantastic trip that would be a journey of a lifetime. I was so happy that David Beck came up with this fellowship so that it could be possible,” Mikel said.
“This is a wonderful opportunity not only for me but for future students who want to do something extraordinary and experience something that they might not be able to do if it wasn’t for his contribution. He’s making so many people’s dreams become reality.”
Beck, a 1961 Lamar graduate and founding partner of Beck, Redden & Secrest, LLP, a boutique litigation firm in Houston, praised Mikel as an outstanding choice as the first David J. Beck Fellow.
"A willingness to work hard and learn from others is critical to success in any field,” Beck said. “I hope this fellowship year gives Jennifer a unique opportunity to supplement the excellent education she is receiving at Lamar University. Her spirit of service is admirable and indicative of the quality of students attracted to Lamar."
Mikel was one of 22 applicants for the Beck fellowship, which is being awarded for the first time in 2009. The fellowship is open to LU undergraduates in any major with fellows chosen based on the strength of their complete application packet, including proposed summer project, academic record and financial need.
Mikel is a Mirabeau Scholar at Lamar University and carries a perfect 4.0 grade point average. She is a member of the Honors Student Association and the Lamar Dance Company and serves as vice president of the LU Rotaract Club. She is the eldest and only girl among five children. Her father, A.J., is a farmer who grows cotton, corn and maize. Her mother, Dani, is an elementary school teacher.
Four finalists for the fellowship also were recognized at Tuesday’s ceremony.
Michael Hennigan, a physics major from Anahuac, proposed a research trip to a NASA test site in Ohio to further his ongoing study of the geometry of liquid surfaces in conditions of weightlessness.
Rajiv Jaini, a chemical engineering major from Baytown, proposed traveling to East China University of Science and Technology in Shanghai to work as a research assistant studying the molecular assembly of surfactants in water and air interfaces.
Garrett Roy, a nursing major from Groves, proposed traveling to South Africa for a six-week AIDS/HIV education and awareness internship through Cross Cultural Solutions.
Cynthia Alissa Weber, an American Sign Language major from Sugar Land, proposed spending the summer at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., to take professional studies courses and immerse herself in deaf culture.
During the ceremony, Beck joked that after reviewing materials about Mikel and the other finalists, he did not think he would be accepted to Lamar University today.
“I don’t think I have ever seen credentials as impressive as those of Jennifer and the other finalists,” Beck said. “I applaud every one of you for all that you’ve accomplished.”
Applications for the fellowship will be due each October with fellows named each November. For more information on the David J. Beck Fellowship, visit lamar.edu/beckfellowships or call (409) 880-8400.
