Aliza Watters '04.5, an English major, plans to pursue masters degrees at Oxford
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — Aliza Watters, a senior at Middlebury College, is one of 43 American students to be awarded Marshall Scholarships to study at a university in Britain next year.
Watters, who graduated summa cum laude from Middlebury in January, grew up in Philadelphia and, later, Old Brookville, New York, on Long Island. Fascinated by storytelling and all things interdisciplinary, Watters is an English major, with a concentration in literary non-fiction creative writing. She also serves as the student co-chair of Middlebury's Academic Judicial Board.
She believes her interest in justice and literature is rooted in her Quaker education, which began at the William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia, the oldest Quaker school in the world, and continued at the Friends Academy in Locust Valley, New York. Watters attended the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference in the summer of 2002, and spent January to May 2003 in the Czech Republic, where she studied Central and Eastern European literature.
Watters plans to use her Marshall Scholarship to tackle two consecutive one-year masters programs in English at Oxford, the first in 20th century English literature and the second in European literature. Beyond that, she's unsure about her future, but believes "education will be part of it, and writing will be part of it."
Education runs in the family. Watters's parents both work at an independent school on Long Island, the Green Vale School in Old Brookville. Her father, Stephen, is the headmaster and her mother, Anne, works in admissions and as the school psychologist. The family also includes an older brother, Jesse, who works on the Fox News show, "The O'Reilly Factor."
More than a thousand students have been awarded Marshall Scholarships since the program's inception. Prominent past Marshall Scholars include U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer; former Wellesley president Nannerl Keohane; Providence psychiatrist Peter Kramer ("Listening to Prozac"); and Pulitzer Prize winning authors Thomas Friedman of the New York Times and Daniel Yergin (The Prize); Yale Law School Dean Harold Koh; and noted inventor Ray Dolby.
The Marshall Scholarships were established in 1953 as a British gesture of thanks to the people of the United States for the assistance received after the Second World War under the Marshall Plan. Financed by the British government, the highly competitive scholarships provide an opportunity for American students who have demonstrated academic excellence to continue their studies for two to three years at the British university of their choice. The scholarships are worth about $60,000 each.
In addition to intellectual distinction, Marshall selectors look for people likely to become leaders in their field and make a contribution to society. The exceptional academic achievements of this year's scholars are matched by their commitment to public service, artistic talent, and triumph over adversity.
For more information on the Marshall Scholarships see www.marshallscholarship.org.