Meet Leah, one of the recipients of the Bobby Jones Scholarship, a university-wide scholarship that grants students the paid opportunity to at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland for a year. Join HC in congratulating Leah and check out below for more about her experience with winning and at Emory!
Name: Leah Neiman
Year: Senior
Major: Ancient Mediterranean Studies & Classics
Hometown: Port Jefferson, NY
Extracurricular Activities: Tap That, Intern at the Carlos Museum, Student Guides, and Archeological Research
Tameka: What are five words describe you?
Leah: Enthusiastic, Invested, Loyal, Creative, Goofy
T: What has been you greatest memory at Emory?
L:The night before Valentines day my freshman year my friend went all out on making valentines treats for everyone in our dorm. We water-colored hearts with everyone’s name on them and baked 100+ cookies. We made and made little bags with the hearts, m&ms, and cookies and pinned them up outside everyone’s room. It took us until 5am, but it was really fun and other people would wander in and help with different parts of the project. The next day she and I went on a picnic in Lullwater, and I just remember feeling like it was the first time I felt really comfortable and happy at Emory.
T: What made you apply for the Bobby Jones Scholarship?
L: I had originally planned on taking a gap year after senior year before applying to grad school, but then my research advisor, Bonna Wescoat, suggested that I look into the programs at St. Andrews and the Bobby Jones scholarship. I immediately fell in love with the Museum and Gallery Studies program, which is really dedicated to experiential learning, and there is a lot of really interesting ancient Mediterranean going on at St. Andrews, as well. I decided to apply to the scholarship because I felt really strongly that St. Andrews was the best place for me to be next year.
T: What was your initial reaction when you found out you had been awarded the scholarship?
L:It was a completely surreal moment. I starting reading the letter, and got about four words in before I started crying. I think I might have reread that first sentence 3 or 4 times before it really sank in. I immediately called my parent and even as I was reading the letter to them I was pretty much in disbelief.
T: Where do you see yourself in five years?
L:I think that I will probably still be in school, or just enrolling again. I will get my Master from St. Andrews, and then hopefully work for a few years in a museum, but ultimately I plan to earn a PhD in Archeology. However, I still hope to be really involved in museum education, especially working with children, while in graduate school.