(L-R) Dr. Anne Hopkins and Dr. Mary Borg congratulate Jessica Stebbins, Rebecca Hayman and Bree Frank during a reception honoring the students who all received prestigious national scholarships.

Three students who received prestigious scholarships to further their academic careers were honored at a reception last month by President Anne H. Hopkins.

"This is the kind of day a university dreams about," said Hopkins, who attributed much of the success to the growing Undergraduate Enrichment Program, study abroad, honor societies and other campus opportunities. "These programs have begun to permeate the whole university," she said. She and Provost David Kline, as well as the recipients, credit Dr. Mary Borg, director of the Undergraduate Enrichment Program, with starting many of the programs and assisting the students as they apply for these competitive scholarships. "Dr. Borg has been the academic and spiritual genesis of these programs," said Kline.

Bree Frank, a junior in psychology, was recently selected as the third Truman Scholar in five years, and the second in two years at UNF. Each year the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation awards scholarships to college students who have outstanding leadership potential, plan to pursue careers in government or other public service and wish to attend graduate school. The recipients are selected from a group of 800 students nominated by universities throughout the United States. Frank will use the award, valued at up to $30,000, to complete her undergraduate degree at UNF and attend graduate school in social work.

Frank grew up in Jacksonville and graduated from Bishop Kenny High School in 1994. After a few years off for marriage and motherhood Frank returned to school at UNF in 2000 where she is also working on a minor in criminal justice. UNF is a family affair for Frank as her four-year-old son attends the Child Development Center on campus while she is in class.

Frank credits an internship last fall with the Head Start program in giving her a career direction. "It helped me to really understand what social services is about. It was an eye-opening experience to see what it was like for kids to have needs that are unmet."

Rebecca Hayman, a sophomore in electrical engineering, just received notification she has been named a Goldwater Scholar. The scholarship was established by Congress in 1986 to honor Senator Barry M. Goldwater by assisting students in mathematics, natural sciences and engineering who intend to pursue careers in these fields. The national scholarship covers $7,500 for each junior and senior year.

Hayman, a native of Ft. Pierce, decided at the end of high school to major in engineering after she attended the International Science Fair. She is currently an Honors student at UNF and is a research assistant in the Applied Global System lab. She hopes to go into the field of wireless communications.

A May 2001 graduate, Jessica Stebbins was awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship that will allow the Cape Coral native to study at Cambridge University in England. The Gates Scholarship was established two years ago by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It covers all tuition and fees at Cambridge as well as a generous living allowance and travel stipend. About 150 students with high academic merit and leadership potential are selected from 50 different countries to participate in the 11-month program. Stebbins will work on a master's of philosophy degree in economics and social history. After Cambridge, Stebbins will attend law school where she has been accepted by Harvard, Yale, NYU and Duke. She was also recently notified she is a recipient of a Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society Graduate Fellowship that carries an award of $8,000.