WAUKESHA – Laura Scanlan, New Berlin, has been selected as one of eight students nationally for a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) undergraduate summer fellowship. She has completed her Associate of Arts and Science degree with honors at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha and will receive the degree on Wednesday, May 17.
The editor of and a contributor to the Windy Hill Review, the campus’ literary publication, Scanlan was nominated for the fellowship by Professor of English Margaret Rozga, who is the student publication’s faculty advisor.
Scanlan will spend the summer months in Washington, D. C., working at the NEH headquarters on a commemorative book for the Smithsonian Institution and receive a stipend of $4,000 for her expenses.
Various members of her extended family plan to visit her during the summer and bring along her two sons, ages 10 and 13. Otherwise, the boys will stay at home with her husband. “I am fortunate to have a very supportive family – who haven’t seen Washington,” she says.
A graduate of Alvernia High School, Chicago, Scanlan started college at Wilbur Wright College in 1981. Disenchanted with an environmental science major, she dropped out, returning in 1994 for another go. Then her husband was transferred, and they moved to Wisconsin. In 1997, she enrolled at UW-Waukesha.
“As an older student, I liked the environment, and I needed some attention,” she explains her choice of a small, two-year college. She intends to transfer in the fall to UW-Milwaukee to complete her degree.
In addition to her involvement with the Windy Hill Review, Scanlan serves as secretary for the campus chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges.
