Last year, senior Leah Fleming, a behavioral neuroscience major, was the recipient of The Goldwater Scholarship. According to the Connecticut College website, The Goldwater Scholarship, authorized by the United States Congress in 1986 in honor of Senator Barry M. Goldwater, encourages outstanding students to pursue careers in science, mathematics or engineering. Scholars are selected on the basis of academic merit to receive a one-year scholarship of up to $7,500.
Fleming applied for the Goldwater Scholarship in the fall of her junior year. The application required her to write a personal statement about what she had done. “They were looking for people pursuing serious PhD programs, someone who is interested in the world around them and have a project in mind,” said Fleming.
Fleming’s career advisor Julia Brown recommended the scholarship to her and helped her with the application. Professor of chemistry, Marc Zimmer also helped Fleming. “He helped me so much. It was an amazing experience,” said Fleming. She also found that the application process was good practice for future applications, including graduate school.
When Fleming was notified about receiving the scholarship in March, she had forgotten about the application. She figured that since she was coming from a liberal arts school instead of a large research institution, her chances of receiving the scholarship would be slim. In late March, however, Fleming received an e-mail from Dr. Zimmer that read: “You are a superstar!” Shortly thereafter, she was notified that she had received the scholarship.
In addition to receiving the Goldwater Scholarship, last summer, Fleming also did a CELs funded internship at psychiatric hospital, McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. She had heard about the opportunity through a student who studied there as well.
Because she received the Goldwater Scholarship, Fleming was taken seriously throughout the application process. She sent a cover letter to the head of the lab and shortly thereafter, they set up an interview. She hoped to continue her research on learning and memory, specifically focusing on schizophrenia.
Because Conn was funding her internship, the hospital could be sure that Fleming would be a good student and work hard. Her internship ran from early June through the middle of August.
Fleming was a little surprised about receiving the Goldwater Scholarship and enjoying such a high-level internship. “Coming into Conn, I would have never guessed that I would be applying for these kind of scholarships [and internships],” she reflected.
She enjoys the freedom that Conn gives her in her research. She also finds the professors extremely supportive. “I’ve been doing a lot of work on the mechanism of memory formation,” she said. Fleming is also interested in studying schizophrenia, depression and Alzheimer’s disease. She would love to help people with those diseases. “I’ve always been a change the world kind of person,” she said. •
