Sixteen Women Awarded Marshall Scholarships

In 1953 the Marshall Scholarships program was established by an act of the British Parliament. Funded by the British government, the program is a national gesture of thanks to the American people for aid received under the Marshall Plan, the U.S.-financed program that led to the reconstruction of Europe after World War II.

The scholarships provide funds for two years of study at a British university, travel, living expenses, and a book allowance. Applicants must earn a degree at an American college or university with a minimum of a 3.7 grade point average. Up to 40 Marshall scholarships can be given out each year. This year the Marshall Foundation selected 34 winners. Sixteen are women. Four of the women are seniors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

(L to R) Top row: Alyssa Bilinski, Rhaina Cohen, Natalia Emanuel, Mailyn Fidler, Chelsea Glenn, Erin Hylton, Kate Koch, and Colleen Loynachan. Bottom row: Samantha Olyha, Rebecca Peters, Joana Petrescu, Madeline Sands, Emily Shearer, Kirin Sinha, Anna Wherry, and Grace Young.

Here is a listing of the 16 women who earned Marshall Scholarships this year.

Alyssa Bilinski is a 2013 graduate of Yale University. She majored in political science and was a Global Health Fellow at Yale. She is currently working as a data analyst for Partners in Health. Bilinski will study for a master’s degree in health policy, planning, and financing at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Rhaina Cohen is a senior at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. A native of East Brunswick, New Jersey, Cohen is majoring in American studies. Cohen has worked on several political campaigns and has interned with CBS News and ABC News. She will study comparative social policy at the University of Oxford.

Natalia Emanuel graduated from Yale University last spring with a bachelor’s degree in economics. Currently, she is a research assistant for the National Bureau of Economic Research. In England, she will study evidence-based social research at the University of Oxford.

Mailyn Fidler is a senior at Stanford University in California. She is majoring in science, technology and society. Fidler is from Bloomington, Indiana. She has interned with Google Inc. and the U.S. Department of Commerce. At Stanford she was the co-founder and co-editor-in-chief of the Stanford Journal of Public Health. She will pursue a master’s degree in international relations at Oxford.

Chelsea Glenn is a summa cum laude graduate of Northwestern University. She is currently a Fulbright-Garcia Robles Scholar in Mexico City where she is conducting research on consumer credit and household welfare. At Northwestern, she was the founder and director of the University’s Women’s Caucus. Glenn will study economic development at Oxford and global development at the University of Sussex.

Erin Hylton is a senior at the University of Maryland College Park, where she is majoring in civil engineering. Hylton is spending the current semester in Rio de Janeiro. She plans a career in water resource management in the developing world. She will study at Imperial College London.

Kate Koch, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, is a senior at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is majoring in biology and has been conducting cancer research since her sophomore year. She will study for a master’s degree in radiation biology at the University of Oxford. She then plans to enter an MD/Ph.D. program.

Colleen Loynachan is a senior at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she is majoring in materials science and engineering. She spent a semester of her junior year at the University of Oxford. She will return to England to study for a master’s degree in biomedical engineering and a master’s degree in biomedical research at Imperial College London.

Samantha Olyha is a biological sciences major at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Her senior thesis is titled, “The Effects of Stem Cell Differentiation Defects on Muscular Dystrophy and on Dilated Cardiomyopathy Disease Progression.” Olyha is a member of Cornell track team and is editor of the university’s neuroscience journal Synapse. She will enroll in a two-year master’s degree program in oncology at Oxford and then plans to enter an MD/Ph.D. program.

Rebecca Peters is a senior at the University of California at Berkeley. She is pursuing a double major in society and environment and international development. Last spring, she was chosen as a Truman Scholar. She is interested in research on water rights in developing countries. Peters will study at the University of Manchester.

Joana Petrescu is a senior at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. A former Goldwater Scholar, Petrescu is a triple major in biochemistry, French, and honors. She has conducted research at Thomas Jefferson University and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Petrescu will study at the University of Cambridge and plans to enroll in an MD/Ph.D. program in pediatric oncology.

Madeline Sands is a summa cum laude graduate of Arizona State University. She is currently studying for a master’s degree at the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State. Sands will enroll in the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in October 2014. After completing her Marshall Scholarship, Sands plans to enroll in medical school.

Emily Shearer from Lafayette, California, is a senior at Cornell University, majoring in biology and government. At Cornell she is captain of the cross country and track teams. In England, Shearer plans on a one-year master’s degree in public policy at Cambridge and a one-year master’s degree in medical anthropology at Oxford.

Kirin Sinha, a native of Denver, Colorado, is a senior at MIT. She will graduate this coming spring with bachelor’s degrees in theoretical mathematics, and electrical engineering and computer science. She will also have a minor in music. She also dances professionally with the Triveni School of Dance in Brookline, Massachusetts. In England, she will study at the University of Cambridge.

Anna Wherry is a senior at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. She has conducted research in cigarette smuggling in the Republic of South Africa. In England, Wheery will study at the University of Oxford.

Grace Young has lived in Hartville, Ohio, and Washington, D.C. She currently is a senior at MIT majoring in mechanical and ocean engineering with a minor in the history of art and architecture. She will enter a master’s/Ph.D. program in engineering science at the University of Oxford.