Gemstone Academic Affairs Committee: Scholarship Forum with Dr. Duvinage

On April 12, the Gemstone Academic Affairs Committee presented their Scholarship Forum in the Multipurpose Room in La Plata with speaker Dr. Duvinage, who is the director of the National Scholarships Office at the University of Maryland. Dr. Duvinage prepared an entire presentation about what these national scholarships were about, what you could do to apply for these scholarships, and where you can look for more information. With the help of free Rita’s, there was a full crowd in attendance at this event.

Dr. Duvinage started with some basic information that applies for any scholarship, and later talked about some specific internships. There are over 100 different national scholarships that are available to students and even recent graduates, and many of these scholarships will be ones that you will have never heard of. Each scholarship usually has a very specific goal and is looking for students who meet specific requirements. It’s important that you look into what these are. There are so many out there, and if some of them would fit you perfectly but you don’t find out about it in time, you would never have the chance to apply for them. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t think your grades aren’t good enough, as grades are just a small portion of what these scholarships are looking at. There are plenty of students with a 4.0 GPA that cannot find a scholarship that’s a good fit, and there are plenty of students with much lower GPAs that will find scholarships that fit them.

If you want more information, you should check out the National Scholarships Office’s website at www.scholarships.umd.edu.  Here, you can look for scholarships based on year or interests, and you can also request appointments so that you can talk one-on-one with an expert who can help you find exactly what you need.

-Felix Lee: Class of 2016: Team Haptic