Jefferson Scholars Class of 2011 Announced

May 2, 2007 -- The Jefferson Scholars Foundation is pleased to announce the Jefferson Scholars Class of 2011. The group of 34, which includes students from 17 states, China, and the Philippines, will enter the University of Virginia in August.

The merit-based Jefferson Scholars program provides stipends to cover the complete cost of attending the University, including tuition, room and board, books and other University-related expenses.  It also includes leadership training and foreign travel/study.

The sole criteria for selection are demonstrated excellence and exceptional potential in the areas of leadership, scholarship, and citizenship.  These newest Jefferson Scholars were named after a rigorous selection process that began with a record 971 nominees from across the country and the world.  The list was pared to 95 finalists who participated in the 27th annual Jefferson Scholars Selection Weekend in March, from which the recipients emerged.

The incoming Jefferson Scholars are a diverse group of school and community leaders.  One is the founder of a successful web design company, while another is the reigning Miss Teen Maryland.  There is a third-generation cattle farmer, an Olympic Festival women’s ice hockey player, and a loan officer for the largest student-run credit union in the world.  Several have done independent science research, and many are involved with debate, drama, and music.  Over half are captain of a school sports team. 

The Class of 2011 also includes the first Jefferson Scholarship recipient to attend the University’s School of Nursing.  Together with the Office of Admission, the School of Nursing conducts an at-large review of applicants for admission who attend schools that do not nominate a candidate directly to the Jefferson Scholars Foundation.

"This year the quality of the nominees was again truly exceptional, for which we offer our gratitude to the hundreds of school counselors who nominate these outstanding young people," said James H. Wright, president of the Jefferson Scholars Foundation. "Those selected are all devoted to the pursuit of excellence both inside and outside the classroom, and have the potential to benefit the University in a most substantial way.

"We also offer thanks to the nearly 700 alumni volunteers across the country who help select the candidates.  Time and again we hear from nominees that the passion for the University of Virginia shown by these volunteers makes a very positive impression about the University, regardless of the final results of the competition," Wright added.

In fact, dating back to the beginning of the Jefferson Scholars program in 1980, over 5,500 Jefferson Scholarship nominees have elected to attend the University without having won the Jefferson Scholarship.  Over the last five years, Jefferson Scholarship nominees have comprised approximately nine percent of each incoming class.

Financed entirely with private funds, Jefferson Scholarships are designed to help the University attract the most promising student leaders in the country.  Students may not apply to become Jefferson Scholars, but rather must either be nominated by their schools or identified through the admissions process.  More than 2,700 schools are eligible to nominate scholarship candidates, including every secondary school in Virginia.

CLASS OF 2011 JEFFERSON SCHOLARS

Listed by recipient, high school and hometown

Sue Ann Abigail Adams, The Westminster Schools, Atlanta, Georgia

Claudia McNeely Antonacci, Maclay School, Tallahassee, Florida

Anjun Kumar Bose, Tates Creek Senior High School, Lexington, Kentucky

Michelle Christine Chmielewski, Crystal Lake Central High School, Lakewood, Illinois

William T. Cozean, St. Ignatius High School, Hudson, Ohio

Lee Whitmore Eschenroeder, E. C. Glass High School, Lynchburg, Virginia

Carrie L. Filipetti, Clarkstown High School South, West Nyack, New York

Erin Kathleen Franey, Jesuit High School, Portland, Oregon

Theodore Crockin Goldstein, Frank W. Cox High School, Virginia Beach, Virginia

Lauren Groetch, School of the Holy Child, Port Chester, New York

Catherine A. Hartmann, Voorhees High School, Oldwick, New Jersey

Justin Michael Holmes, Catonsville High School, Catonsville, Maryland

Molly Logan Holmes, Savannah Country Day School, Savannah, Georgia

Lynne Nichole Kolodinsky, Norristown Area High School, Norristown, Pennsylvania

Kelly Melissa Laustsen, Newman Smith High School, Carrollton, Texas

Warren C. Mackie-Jenkins, Highland School, Warrenton, Virginia

David Andrew McGinley, Bay Shore High School, Bay Shore, New York

Claire Hays Montaigne, The Fieldston School, Pelham, New York

Sarah Pettus Munford, Norfolk Academy, Virginia Beach, Virginia

Laura Kathryn Nelson, Noble and Greenough School, Westwood, Massachusetts

Manas Nigam, Carlisle School, Danville, Virginia

Kaleigh Brogan Oleynik, Greensboro Day School, Greensboro, North Carolina

Caroline Terrell Richards, J. J. Pearce High School, Dallas, Texas

James Thomas Rogers, Radford High School, Radford, Virginia

Alyssa Michele Schechter, Wooster School, Ridgefield, Connecticut

Gregory Scott Siegel, Kent-Denver School, Denver, Colorado

Emily Nicole Skiba, Summit Country Day School, Cincinnati, Ohio

Sarah Elizabeth Stickley, Rockbridge County High School, Lexington, Virginia

Stuart Elizabeth Stump, Charlotte Latin School, Charlotte, North Carolina

Ji-Soo Suh, International School Manila, Makati, Philippines

Ning Tay, American International School of Guangzhou, Guangzhou, China

Danna Elisabeth Thomas, Broadneck High School, Annapolis, Maryland

Sarah Kristen Touse, Girls Preparatory School, Signal Mountain, Tennessee

Lian Xue, Shanghai Foreign Language School, Shanghai, China