Cambridge program draws big crowd including Stillwater residents

Thursday, August 10, 2006

(LEFT): OSU students joined in congratulating Ashleigh Hildebrand (middle in gown) upon her graduation from Trinity College, Cambridge with a degree in Land Management. Pictured, from left: Kara Cook, program graduate assistant from Stillwater and undergraduates Cole Reynolds (also a punter on OSU football team), Kalyn McAlister and Kelsey Williams from Stillwater. (RIGHT): From left: Stillwater residents Mike Warren and Edy El Rassi take time for a chat with Bryan McLaughlin and Louis Blair while at Cambridge. McLaughlin, a Marshall scholar, is finishing his Ph.D. there. Blair, formerly with the Harry Truman Scholarship Foundation, was among 40 individuals who traveled to Cambridge from OSU this summer.

Fifteen Oklahoma State University students earned a trip to Cambridge University this summer, and five of them were from Stillwater, which is part of an annual program that continues to grow.

“When you consider that the Cambridge program was open to every high-achieving undergraduate student on campus, it’s really quite an accomplishment to have a third of the group come from Stillwater,” said Bob Graalman, director of OSU Scholar Development and Recognition. “The students receive several benefits, including being able to list their participation in the program, which often helps if they enter scholarship competitions.

The five Stillwater residents included Kelsey Williams, Emilee Lehenbauer, Mike Warner, Edy El Rassi, and graduate assistant Kara Cook, a veteran of past Cambridge programs. They spent two weeks studying at Cambridge and used the weekends to visit sites in Europe.

They were in the classroom at Magdalene College most days learning from Dr. Edward Jones, an OSU English instructor, who taught them about 17th-century newsbooks, a type of early newspaper published by those on both sides of the Civil War in England.

“Our students have different majors, so I tried to pick a topic everyone might find somewhat interesting since they’re all familiar with newspapers,” Jones said. “Newsbooks were published by either the king or the Parliament to represent their specific view on issues of the day, from politics to odd occurrences. One even included a rundown on the beheading of the king.”

While learning in a historic setting such as Cambridge is an experience, Graalman suggests it’s the chance to join top faculty and other students in a setting that everyone seems to appreciate most.

“For me, the most fulfilling part is to watch the students open up, communicate and thrive. They come back here and talk about the program and what they experienced at Cambridge, and that’s why I expect it to just get bigger and bigger."

This year, the trip across the sea included more people from OSU than ever — 40. For the first time, alumni and donors were invited to Cambridge for a unique three-day program. OSU System CEO and President David Schmidly lectured on Charles Darwin and led a tour of the Darwin home.

Retiring Executive Secretary of the Truman Foundation Louis Blair also conducted a leadership seminar with Schmidly and alumnus Bryan Begley. OSU Arts and Sciences Dean Peter Sherwood, who earned his Ph.D. at Magdalene College, lectured on Cambridge history and conducted a walking tour of Cambridge and a bus tour of the area churches for all the students and guests.

The entourage had plenty to be proud of at Cambridge; three OSU graduate scholars had finished the year with high marks. Joel Halcomb finished first in his class of graduate historians at Selwyn College, Ashleigh Hildebrand graduated with a degree in land economy from Trinity College, earning one of the highest dissertation scores ever awarded, and Bryan McLaughlin is on his way to a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Kings College with high-level work in medical instruments that he designed himself.

Graalman credits OSU’s first Rhodes Scholar, Blaine Greteman, with planting the seed to start the annual study program in England.

“About six years ago, when Blaine was at Oxford, he called us and offered to teach a class on Oxford literature to our best undergraduate students in gratitude for his education at OSU," Graalman said. "It was so successful in broadening our students’ perspective that we’ve been going to different locations at Oxford and Cambridge for the last five years.”

Of course, Graalman is already planning for next year’s trip.

“Every year, we do something a little different. This year, we added the alumni component and offered a new course," he said. "Next year, we’re going to study 19th-century science at Cambridge and move on to Dublin for two weeks to study James Joyce. As always, it will be a trip that will ultimately benefit the students and be a learning experience for everyone involved.”