Two University of Arkansas Students to Interview for Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships

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Mike Norton and Rachael Pelligrino.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Two University of Arkansas students have been selected as finalists for the world’s two most competitive scholarships — the Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships. U of A graduate Mike Norton of Lincoln has been invited to interview for both scholarships, and Rachel Pellegrino, a senior from Hot Springs, has been invited to interview for the Rhodes Scholarship.

Mike Norton is a 2013 Honors College graduate who majored in both poultry science and agricultural business in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. He plans to pursue an Master of Philosophy in politics at Oxford University if selected to receive either of the two scholarships. He is the son of Sonja Barton of Prairie Grove and Kevin Norton of Lincoln.

Rachael Pellegrino is a Bodenhamer Fellow and Honors College student majoring in anthropology and biochemistry in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. If she receives a Rhodes Scholarship she plans to pursue an Master of Science in global health science at Oxford. She is the daughter of Richard and Rita Pellegrino of Hot Springs.

“Having two University of Arkansas students interview for these competitive scholarships says a lot about the quality of our students and the incredible support they receive from faculty,” said U of A Chancellor G. David Gearhart. “The Marshall and Rhodes Scholarships are highly competitive of awards. More than 1,000 apply for each one every year. The applicants, who must have the full support of their universities just to apply, are some of the best students in this country. That Mike Norton is being interviewed for both the Rhodes and the Marshall is an incredible testament to his academic and leadership abilities. Rachael Pellegrino is also a terrific student who has made a major contribution on our campus with the Full Circle Campus Food Pantry and much more. The University of Arkansas is very proud to celebrate the accomplishments of Mike and Rachael, and we wish them the best of luck in the coming weeks.”

The Rhodes Scholarship is the oldest international fellowship and was initiated after the death of Cecil Rhodes in 1902. The scholarship is intended to bring outstanding students from many countries around the world to the University of Oxford. Only 32 U.S. Rhodes Scholars are selected each year. Pellegrino and Norton will interview for the Rhodes on Nov. 22 in St. Louis, Mo.

The Marshall Scholarship is also one of the most prestigious postgraduate scholarships available to an American. Scholars may study at any university in the United Kingdom. The scholarships recognize the work of U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall and are an expression of the U.K.’s gratitude for economic assistance received through the Marshall Plan after World War II. Marshall Scholarship winners are selected for their potential to excel as scholars, leaders, and contributors to improved understanding between the U.S. and the U.K. Forty are selected each year. Norton will interview for the Marshall on Nov. 12 at the British Consulate in Houston, Texas.

Mike Norton

In the spring of 2012, Norton was selected as a Harry S. Truman Scholar, a $30,000 scholarship to assist paying for graduate school in the U.S. Norton is the former president of both the Arkansas Future Farmers of America Association and the University of Arkansas Collegiate Farm Bureau. In summer 2011, Norton interned with the World Cocoa Foundation in Accra, Ghana, where he gathered primary data and met with the farmers to assess the program’s success. 

Norton was also responsible for securing the necessary funding so the University of Arkansas Full Circle Campus Food Pantry could purchase refrigeration units. Since graduating in May, Norton has worked in Washington, D.C., as an intern for the White House, the Delta Regional Authority, and the office of Arkansas Congressman Steve Womack.

“I am very excited to be invited to interview for these two prestigious awards to study at Oxford for graduate school,” said Norton. “Since studying abroad at the London School of Economics, I have been in love with the U.K., and I knew I wanted to find a way to return. Ultimately, my finalist status is a reflection of University of Arkansas’ emphasis on academic rigor and on the personal student-faculty relationship that Bumpers College affords. I look forward to the interviews and know I owe a debt to the many faculty, staff and students who supported me during my time in Fayetteville.”

Rachael Pellegrino

The recipient of many campus awards, Rachael Pellegrino spent a summer in Limpopo, South Africa, working with patients suffering from tuberculosis and HIV. She also participated in the Belize Community Development Program, where she worked in a local school in Bullet Tree Falls. She is conducting research on the stability of human fibroblast growth factor-1, a protein that increases the formation of new blood vessels and promotes healing. Her study could have implications for diabetics who suffer from chronic wounds. This summer she was an intern for the National Institutes of Health Common Fund.

Pellegrino is the current chair of the Full Circle Campus Food Pantry at the University of Arkansas. She works with retail chains to increase supplies in the pantry and to address food security issues among campus staff and students. She represented the pantry at the Clinton Global Initiative University last spring. 

“I am deeply honored to be selected as a Rhodes finalist,” said Pellegrino. “I am especially interested in the intersection of science, anthropology and clinical medicine. Working at Oxford, with its rich history of public health, would be an amazing opportunity to develop the skills that will help me make an impact on the health of patients in underserved areas.”

The University of Arkansas has had 10 Rhodes Scholars and six Marshall Scholars. Previous Rhodes Scholars include Anna Terry (2001), Eric Wear (1985), William Huff (1957), Gaston Williamson (1935), J. William Fulbright (1925), Phillip Brodie (1913), John Shipley (1911), Morris Cleveland (1908), Charles A. Keith (1907), and Neil Carothers (1904). Previous Marshall Scholars include Ben Hood (2002), Megan Ceronsky (2001), Warwick Sabin (1998), Charles King (1990), Lisa Pruitt (1989), and John Edie (1960).