OXFORD,
Miss. – Students from all walks of life come through Debra Young’s
office, and it’s her job to help guide them through the application
process for national scholarships. Some are winners, some are not, but
each student benefits from the experience.
Young, associate dean
of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, advises students who
apply for scholarships such as the Rhodes, Truman and Fulbright.
Although the Office of National Scholarship Advisement is housed in the
Honors College, any student in any major on campus is welcome to apply.
“It
always seems as though this job must be about helping students win, but
that’s not it,” Young said. “It’s an outcome we hope for, but it’s not
the purpose. There is very little ‘packaging’ in a successful
applicant, a person who has researched and takes questions seriously.”
Winning the national awards may not be everything, but this has been a
stellar year for Ole Miss winners, with Honors College students Sam
Watson winning a Gates Cambridge Scholarship and a National Science
Foundation Graduate Fellowship, Jake McGraw winning a Truman and Shad
White winning a Rhodes, as well as Honors College alumni Adel ElSoholy
winning a Soros and Kenneth Jones winning a Fulbright.
Twenty-one UM students have won awards over the nine years that Young has been the coordinator.
“The university puts time and resources toward this in order to help students articulate the forces that have shaped them,” Young said. “I may work with students who decide not to apply (for a national award). If what we do helps a bright, young leader find a path, even if she walks away from the award, if the student says ‘I’m glad I went through a valuable experience,’ then I have done my job.”
Scholarship Winner videos
Young was previously chair of the English department at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, N.Y., but decided to return to her hometown of Oxford in 1995. After first working in UM’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, she became the scholarship coordinator in 2000.
“At the beginning, I honestly assumed I would find type-A, self-serving students, but I haven’t found them yet,” she said. “These students are deeply committed to the community and are aware of their surroundings.”
Young’s first success came with Keyana Mitchell, who won a Truman Scholarship in 2001.
“I assumed I would have to help her polish her responses, and instead she came in with these on-target answers,” Young said. “To her core, she was what they were looking for. She was a remarkable woman, and I thought, oh, they will all be this easy.”
Douglass Sullivan-Gonzalez, Honors College dean, said Young goes the extra mile.
“She makes sure that this university provides an opportunity to any student – not just Honors College students – to enjoy the possible reach of a national scholarship,” he said. “Debra is both the gifted academic who understands the driving questions in the sciences and humanities, and she is the unwavering administrator who pushes students and faculty and staff to get the job done right. Simply put, Debra is a remarkable asset to this university.”
At his reception after learning he had become a Gates scholar, Sam Watson thanked Young for helping him become aware of national scholarship opportunities.
“She’s been there every step of the way, organizing everything and giving me advice on all my essays and interviews; she’s been absolutely fantastic,” Watson said.
Part of Young’s advice is to encourage students to have a Plan B. This is as important as the work on the application itself, and sometimes, the alternative plan becomes more attractive, she said.
“I have a good ear, I think, for what comes from the heart,” she said. “I look at first drafts or listen to conversations, and I’ll say, ‘I’m not buying it.’
“What I do early on is try to help students cut away barriers and get to honest answers to a tough question. An honest answer is tough.”
Young credits the university with having the foresight to create her position.
“Ole Miss put my position in place some years before most public universities were putting resources in student development, so it was insightful and innovative, and it’s why we aren’t playing catch-up like some other universities our size. I give credit to Chancellor Khayat and the Barksdales for that.” (The Honors College was established in 1997 through a gift from alumni Jim and Sally Barksdale. Jim Barksdale has made several major gifts since then to support and enrich the college’s educational opportunities.)
Tyler Craft of Laurel, a rising senior, said Young is one of the most dedicated people at Ole Miss. He worked with Young in applying for both the Barksdale Award, which he won, and the Truman Scholarship, for which he received a nomination from the university.
“Throughout both experiences, Dr. Young was encouraging as well as constructively critical,” Craft said. “She was always available to meet and talk with me about the progress of my application as well as the things I should be doing to prepare for essays and interviews. She was integral to my success in both of those experiences.”
Young knows Ole Miss students will continue their winning streak and hopes some scholarships will even be won in double-digits.
“My job is to see to it that someday winning a Rhodes, Truman and Gates in one year will be ho-hum and no news story will be necessary, but some of the fun will go out of it when that happens,” she said with a laugh.
As for the future, Young said that one of the greatest benefits of winning these awards is it helps UM students improve their self-perception.
“My goodness, we’re world quality,” she said. “Even when you think you are good, it’s wonderful to have the world say you are. UM attracts and supports world-class student leaders. People who will be shaping the world are sitting next to you in class. It’s good for morale, and it’s nice to know we can stand up tall for academics, research and civic leadership.”
For more information visit the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College Web site .