Auburn University graduate to study at Oxford University with Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship and Clarendon Fund Scholarship

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Auburn University graduate Alyssa White has been awarded both a Phi Kappa Phi National Fellowship and a Clarendon Fund Scholarship which she will apply to graduate studies beginning this fall at Oxford University in England. The receipt of both will provide full funding of her graduate studies in archaeological science for the next four years – from a Master of Science degree, or MSc, through a doctorate.

White, a native of Auburn, Alabama, graduated in spring of 2014 from the Honors College and the College of Liberal Arts with a double major in anthropology and Spanish and a minor in East Asian studies. Her research advisor is Kristrina Shuler, associate professor of anthropology in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work. White lives in Oxford with her husband, Patrick Donnan, who is currently a Marshall Scholar.

"I am very grateful for all of the support that I received from my professors at Auburn" said White. "I am thankful to my letter writers, Dr. Schuler, Dr. Lorriane Wolf, Dr. Paul Harris and especially the late Dr. John Cottier. "I look forward to the challenging years ahead at Oxford where I will grow and expand as a person and a researcher."

In the summer of 2013, White participated in the Harvard Summer School program in Kyoto, Japan, where she took advanced courses in Japanese language, religion and history. Funding for Alyssa's study abroad experience came from the support of the Doug and Lisa Kilton Fellowship established in the Honors College in the spring of 2012.

While at Auburn, White served as associate editor of the Auburn University Journal of Undergraduate Studies and as an assistant director of the campus biological anthropology lab. She was a two-time recipient of the university's competitive Undergraduate Research Fellowship, was selected for the Phi Kappa Phi Most Outstanding Freshman Award and Phi Kappa Phi Most Outstanding Second Year Award and was one of only a few third-year students elected to Phi Beta Kappa in the spring of 2013. She was a Japanese tutor at the campus language lab, presented her peer-reviewed research to state, regional and national conferences and authored two peer-reviewed publications. As a junior in March of 2013, she received the Women's Studies Undergraduate Student Achievement Award.

White received one of the 51 Fellowships of $5,000 each that the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi awards each year to members entering their first year of graduate or professional study. Each active Phi Kappa Phi chapter may select one candidate from among its local applicants to compete for the Society-wide awards. This is the third consecutive year that an Auburn University graduate has been awarded a Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship.

In addition to receiving the Phi Kappa Phi National Fellowship, White has been named a Clarendon Scholar – one of only 140 scholars selected world-wide this year. Funded through a contribution from Oxford University Press, the Clarendon Scholarship supports outstanding graduate students from outside of the United Kingdom. For Clarendon Scholars, all tuition and fees are waived and living expenses are covered. For more information on the Clarendon Scholarship, go to http://www.ox.ac.uk/clarendon/about.

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