2019-2020 Scholarship Program Winners
Local-Area Winners‡
Starting in January this year, Chicago Area Mensa volunteers read, screened, scored, and rescored approximately 600 student essay submissions to the Mensa Foundation Scholarship Program. Students attempted to earn a portion of the Foundation’s $140,000 in grants donated to scholars around the globe. We are very pleased that our local area’s students received two national and three local awards totaling $3,000.
The Mensa Education & Research Foundation, established in 1971, is a philanthropic organization “committed to the pursuit of excellence in human intelligence.” Their focus and mission consist of scholarships and education, and their awards, both national and international, are “in recognition of research, education and practical achievement regarding giftedness, intelligence and creativity.” They also publish the Mensa Research Journal, sponsor educational activities, and operate the Mensa for Kids website.
Each year between September and January students submit essays detailing their goals, accomplishments, and experiences. In scoring the essays, judges look for focus, achievement, and persuasiveness as well as at the technical aspects of writing.
Most applicants are rising college freshmen, but many are graduate students or returning adult learners. Their goals run the gamut from life-long to short-term, f rom general to specific, and from academic to vocational. Each of the winners demonstrates passion and commitment in his or her chosen field.
Congratulations to all of our winners and finalists! Thank you to all entrants. We wish you the best in your future endeavors.
Brittany Campbell
Crown Point, IN
Graduate Degree
Loyola University, IL
National
Don and Virginia Prince Scholarship Recipient
Kaylin Hu
Inverness, IL
Degree Major: Finance
Georgetown University: McDonough School of Business, Washington, DC
Local
Chicago Area Mensa Scholarship ‡ Recipient
Radha Patel
Buffalo Grove, IL
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA
National
Jerry and Abby Salny Scholarship Recipient
Rachel Tobias Paul
Wauconda, IL
Masters/Library and Information Science (MLIS)
Local
Chicago Area Mensa Scholarship ‡ Recipient
Samantha Wigfall
Naperville, IL
MD/Neonatologist & PhD/Molecular Biology
Local
Karen Cooper Memorial Scholarship ‡ Recipient
List of 2019-20 Foundation Winners
HTML Link Check
‡ - Chicago Area Mensa is in Region 04.
