Two Krieger School seniors, Hari Prabhakar and Sarah
David, will be studying in the United Kingdom next year,
having earned two of the top honors in academia: a Marshall
Scholarship and a George J. Mitchell Scholarship.
Hari Prabhakar
Photo by Will Kirk / HIPS
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With his Marshall Scholarship, Prabhakar, 21,
will pursue two master's degrees, at the London School of
Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and at Oxford, with an
emphasis in health systems management and health services
research. The Mitchell Scholarship will offer David, 21,
the opportunity to pursue a master's degree in ethnic
conflict at Queens University in Belfast. Each was chosen
from a nationwide pool of applicants.
"This is a happy day for Hopkins, a reminder that our
students can go toe-to-toe with America's best — and
win," said John Bader, associate dean for
academic programs
and advising in the Krieger School of Arts and
Sciences, who helps all applicants prepare for their
interviews in prestigious competitions. "These
extraordinary young people embody the university's best
tradition: selfless devotion to public service. I greatly
enjoyed working with them, as well as our other applicants,
and could not be more pleased with this news."
Prabhakar, who is double majoring in
public health studies
and the
Writing
Seminars, is one of 43 Marshall Scholarship recipients
this year who have the chance to study at any British
university. The scholarship pays university fees and living
expenses, as well as travel to and from the United States.
It is typically a grant covering two academic years, with
the possibility of extending the scholarship for a third
year. Recipients must be U.S. citizens no older than 25
with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.70 after
freshman year.
A resident of Dallas, Prabhakar is the only student
from a Maryland college or university to receive a Marshall
Scholarship this year. In February 2006, USA Today
named him one of 20 undergraduates nationwide on its annual
All-USA College Academic First Team. Among his many
extracurricular activities, his most notable achievement is
establishing the Tribal India Health Foundation, which
provides health assistance to a neglected segment of
India's population. Prabhakar has collected more than
$16,500 in research fellowships through several Johns
Hopkins programs to learn more about tribal health issues,
and has sought the expertise of public health and blood
disease specialists at Johns Hopkins. He has made many
visits to the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where he founded
a center to provide free sickle cell disease screening,
treatment and education at a local tribal hospital.
"Indeed, I am excited at the prospect of augmenting my
international health experience at an institution that
places heavy emphasis on public health concerns that plague
the most impoverished nations," said Prabhakar, who will be
gaining an MSc in health systems management at the London
School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and an MSc in
health systems management at Oxford's Health Services
Research Unit. He plans to attend medical school in the
future. "A combination of clinical training and health
systems management experience will provide me with the
opportunity to help better the quality of medical care for
populations domestically and abroad," he said.
Sarah David
Photo by Will Kirk / HIPS
|
Sarah David, a political
science major, is one of 12 George J. Mitchell Scholars
to earn a year of graduate study at universities in Ireland
and Northern Ireland. Scholars are selected based on their
academic record, leadership and community service.
Administered by the U.S.-Ireland Alliance, a nonprofit
organization in Washington, D.C., the scholarship is named
in honor of the U.S. senator who played a pivotal
leadership role in the Northern Ireland peace process.
David, a resident of Pikesville, Md., is the daughter
of Steven David, director of the Political Science
Department's International Studies Program. A 2006 Truman
Scholar and a 2005 recipient of a Boren Scholarship, she is
passionate about politics and issues of national security,
both on campus and beyond. She was a campaign manager for
Bobby Zirkin, who was recently elected to the State Senate.
David has a deep commitment to public service and
civic engagement and for the past several years has
actively shared this passion by teaching international
relations and civics to Baltimore City public high school
students. She developed and organized the Securing the
Future Conference, which brought high school students from
throughout the Baltimore area to the Homewood campus to
learn about homeland security issues. An active Democrat,
she was elected to participate in a live televised student
debate on national security during the 2004 vice
presidential debates and was interviewed on Hardball with
Chris Matthews. David studies Arabic and Hebrew and for six
years studied Japanese.
"As the United States continues to face the threats
posed by global terrorism, much of which stems from the
Middle East, national security policy will require more
individuals who speak the languages, literally and
figuratively, of both civilizations so as to lessen the
growing distrust and hatred between them," David said. "I
ultimately intend to serve as an elected official or a
senior adviser in order to help the United States develop a
more enlightened approach to the Arab world."