Submitted by Saint Martin’s University
LACEY, Wash. – Ten young people will begin their college careers at Saint Martin’s University this fall as the second cadre of students selected as Benedictine Scholars, a program designed to support and reflect the University’s mission as a faith-based, values-centered institution. The launch of the Benedictine Scholars in 2012 dovetailed with the roll-out of Saint Martin’s new Benedictine Institute.
“I am thrilled to see such a talented, compassionate and diverse group of Benedictine Scholars join our community,” says Scott Schulz, Ph.D., dean of enrollment. “Saint Martin’s is increasingly becoming a destination for some of the most academically gifted and dedicated students in the region.”
The average grade point average (GPA) for the incoming scholars is 3.93 out of 4.0, according to Schulz, and three of the ten are the first in their families to attend college. The scholars were chosen from a pool of 75 candidates who interviewed for the 2013-14 program, which offers a $10,000 renewable scholarship to each scholar.
“We welcome all of our new Benedictine Scholars most warmly and sincerely,” says Father Kilian Malvey, O.S.B., executive director of the Benedictine Institute. “We will assist them in forming a strong spirit of community in which they will be able to develop all of their unique gifts and talents as independent men and women of faith and reason, while helping them to form strong bonds of friendship with their fellow students, their faculty, staff and members of the monastic community.”
The scholars aim to embody the Saint Martin’s core values as a Catholic, Benedictine institution, regardless of their individual faith or religious affiliation. These values are implicit in The Rule of Saint Benedict, which was written c. 540 A.D. by Saint Benedict of Norcia and remains today a guide to community living that addresses spiritual and practical concerns. The expectation is that once their first year is completed, Benedictine Scholars will carry the core values of Saint Martin’s out into the wider community and mentor incoming cohorts of Benedictine Scholars.
The Saint Martin’s Office of Admissions identifies the Benedictine Scholars candidates. They typically are students whose academic records are matched by their leadership experiences, their contributions to the life of their school or faith communities, and their service to individuals and groups.
The 2013-14 Benedictine Scholars are as follows:
Anna Agloro
Yelm High School, Port Ludlow, Wash.
Ian Boyle
Seton Catholic Prep High School, Ridgefield, Wash.
Hope Chamberlain
Port Angeles High School, Port Angeles, Wash.
Matthew Jankovic
Cascade Senior High School, Everett, Wash.
Madeleine Knecht
Gig Harbor High School, Gig Harbor, Wash.
Chelsea Luna
North Marion High School, Hubbard, Ore.
Claire Palmiter
Gresham Union High School, Gresham, Ore.
Gerardo Ponce Rodriguez
Everett High School, Everett, Wash.
Melissa Roth
Holy Names Academy, Lynnwood
Corbin Schamber
Homedale High School, Homedale, Idaho
Saint Martin’s University is an independent four-year, coeducational university located on a wooded campus of more than 300 acres in Lacey, Washington. Established in 1895 by the Catholic Order of Saint Benedict, the University is one of 14 Benedictine colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, and the only one west of the Rocky Mountains. Saint Martin’s University prepares students for successful lives through its 23 majors and seven graduate programs spanning the liberal arts, business, education, nursing and engineering. Saint Martin’s welcomes more than 1,100 undergraduate students and 400 graduate students from many ethnic and religious backgrounds to its Lacey campus, and 300 more undergraduate students to its extension campuses located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and Centralia College. Visit the Saint Martin’s University website at www.stmartin.edu.
