Kenyon Fund Scholars
Thank you to all Kenyon Fund and Kenyon Parents Fund donors who allocated their gifts to scholarship and financial aid. Your gifts make a Kenyon education a reality for many students.
Yauncey and Juanita Newman Rugby Scholar
This operating scholarship, supporting a rugby player receiving need-based financial aid, was created through the generosity of rugby alumni who wished to honor the memory of the Newmans. Yauncey and Juanita were longtime supporters and friends of the rugby teams at Kenyon. They befriended many students and adopted them as their own "Kenyon Kids" over the course of 20 years. Yauncey passed away in September 2011, and Juanita in April 2014. In their memory, this scholarship lets them adopt one more “Kenyon Kid.”
Owen Thomas McCloskey IV '16
Owen, from Reynoldsburg, Ohio, is double majoring in biology and economics and is a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon, the Kenyon College Dance and Dramatic Club and Kenyon Men’s Rugby Club. His favorite Kenyon moment came from his fraternity activities: “The Shawn Kelly Memorial Holiday Party for the kids of Knox County that Delta Kappa Epsilon throws in partnership with Knox County Head Start is by far and away my favorite event,” says Owen, who organized the event in 2015. Owen gravitated to Kenyon because a relative worked in the library for more than 20 years. He says, “Seeing alumni and residents give toward continuing the tradition of a Kenyon education really demonstrates that the sense of community at Kenyon and between once and current Kenyon students never dies. I look forward to one day being in the position to give back, and carry on the legacy of community by helping Kenyon students with financial aid."
Firefighter Scholar
This scholarship is supported by alumni who served as volunteer firefighters with the College Township Fire Department, which provides Emergency Medical Services and fire protection for the College, the Village of Gambier and surrounding areas of Knox County. The scholarship is awarded to one of the 12 current students serving with the department and learning teamwork and hands-on medical care. This gift enables Kenyon to recognize the community involvement of these students and to maintain its commitment that qualified students can attend the College regardless of their family finances.
Zachary Scott '19
Zach came from Erie, Pennsylvania, to Kenyon in 2015 and quickly joined the College Township Fire Department, Club Soccer and Kenyon Knitting Club and took up guitar lessons. His favorite instructor is Assistant Professor of Biology Kathy Gillen, and he is thinking of majoring in history or economics. The financial aid he received to attend Kenyon was critical to his college choice. “It means the difference between me being trapped in my hometown, which is poor and crime-ridden, and being able to explore my professional and personal interests in a safe environment here at Kenyon,” he says.
Kenyon Veterans Scholar
To honor of all those Kenyon community members who have served, the Kenyon Veterans Association established this need-based scholarship to support a student who is a veteran or a student who is the dependent of a veteran or service member.
Caroline Popiel '18
“I have really enjoyed my intro Arabic and intro Religious Studies classes, because they’re very different than things I would normally study,” says this physics major from Avon Lake, Ohio. Caroline likes the quiet of lunches in the Peirce Pub and the holiday meals at Peirce. “It’s interesting to see how early people get to Peirce to get a table and place in line,” she says. Caroline plays baritone in the Symphonic Winds Ensemble, works at the library, and likes the trips she has taken with the Physics Department. “Financial aid is an integral part of me continuing my studies. Without it, I would have to take out more loans, and I want to minimize the debt I graduate with. Every bit of financial aid I receive means a lot, and I really appreciate it,” she says.
Hannah More Scholars
The Hannah More Scholarship is awarded to two students who are the first in their families to attend a four-year institution. This scholarship is named for an English educator and reformer who met with Kenyon’s founder in 1824 and gave her enthusiastic support to the College. The scholarship was a special initiative of Kenyon’s 18th President, S. Georgia Nugent, and remains popular among faculty, staff and administrators.
Brandon Byrd '18
This Kenyon football player from Solon, Ohio, says his favorite Kenyon moment was beating Hiram at homecoming in 2015 in front of “an awesome crowd.” Brandon is a biology major with a concentration in environmental studies, and he likes to spend time at Gund Commons and the Kenyon Athletic Center. He also belongs to the Men of Color student organization. Brandon loves the tradition of signing the matriculation book: “It is extremely neat to see the signatures of the amazing people that graduated from Kenyon College.” Brandon adds, “I chose to come to Kenyon because I believe this the best place for me to advance myself academically as well as set a great foundation for postgraduate life.”
Kenyon Fund Scholars
This special initiative is made possible by the annual gifts to Kenyon from our generous alumni and parents who designated their gifts in specific support of Scholarships and Financial Aid. These gifts enable Kenyon to hold firm to a fundamental commitment: that qualified students can attend the College regardless of their family finances.
Emily Daluga '17
“I love walking down Middle Path early in the morning in the fall, right after the leaves have changed color,” says this Libertyville, Illinois, native who is majoring in English with a creative writing emphasis. Emily works at the Kenyon Review and the library and relishes her memory of sitting across a dinner table from author John Green '00 during one of his Kenyon visits. It was that kind of closeness that convinced her to attend Kenyon: “When I first drove onto campus, I felt comfortable and just wanted to explore. I was given a tour by a senior English major, and I remember thinking that he was really smart, and I wanted to be as well-read and eloquent as him.” Emily also says that, because of the financial aid she has received, “I’m able to go on the Kenyon-Exeter program, and I am currently having the time of my life in England! Coming from a family with five kids, that really wouldn’t be possible without the financial aid, and I cannot thank Kenyon enough for giving me this opportunity.”
Nicholas LaPoint '18
Every year, political science major Nicholas looks forward to Summer Sendoff and the campus unity it brings. Community is important to the Toledo, Ohio, native — he takes pride in his close ties with his football teammates and his friendship with his Beta Theta Pi brothers.
Funmilayo Lawal '18
The stars aligned for Funmilayo, a Newark, New Jersey native who, with the help of financial aid, was able to follow her older brother to Kenyon. Her time at Kenyon so far has been packed with physics classes, track practices and student council meetings, but she still finds time to visit the Miller Observatory and ponder the beauty of the universe.
Kate Nickley '16
Kate came to Kenyon from Medina, Ohio, and found her niche at the Brown Family Environmental Center. Her favorite Kenyon memory is gardening at BFEC last summer, she is the student manager at Kenyon’s greenhouse and her anthropology major has an environmental studies concentration. Like any good student of the liberal arts, Kate’s interests reach many other corners of campus: she is minoring in Chinese, plays violin in the Knox County Symphony Orchestra, volunteers at Wiggin Street Elementary School and enjoys painting. Her favorite class at Kenyon has been “Race and Ethnicity in American Anthropology.”
Han Zaw '16
Han came from Yangon, Myanmar, to Kenyon for its strong academic programs, supportive community, small classes — and generous financial aid. “Without it, I would not able to experience all the amazing things I have had throughout these years, and I am forever grateful for that,” Han said. The political science major with an environmental studies concentration loves to visit the Kenyon Athletic Center between his classes and his involvement in Alumni Leader of Tomorrow and the Asia Society at Kenyon. His favorite Kenyon tradition is Late Night Breakfast, which is usually held on the Sunday before finals begin and features faculty and staff serving unusual fare to students.
Baltimore Scholar
Created and supported by the Baltimore Regional Alumni Association, this operating scholarship is awarded to a current student from Baltimore, “The Monumental City.” These gifts connect Kenyon to one of the most historic cities in America, where “The Star-Spangled Banner” was penned and Frederick Douglass learned to read. The scholarship also allows Kenyon to hold firm to its fundamental commitment that qualified students can attend the College regardless of their family finances.