Mia de los Reyes, a senior studying physics and mathematics, earned the title of first Churchill Scholar from NC State Tuesday and became one of only 15 students from across the country to earn the prestigious scholarship in 2016.
The scholarship will fully fund de los Reyes’ educational and travel expenses in order for her to pursue a one-year master’s degree in astronomy at the University of Cambridge beginning fall 2016. The scholarship includes university tuition and fees, cost-of-living expenses, travel to-and-from the United Kingdom, as well as a reimbursement of the scholarship’s application fee.
De los Reyes first joined the Wolfpack as a Park Scholar — NC State’s most prestigious merit-based scholarship — in the fall of 2012 after graduating from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. She is also an active participant in the Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi and Sigma Pi Sigma academic honor societies.
For the past two summers, de los Reyes interned at the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Geneva, Switzerland. In 2013, she studied galaxy evolution and formation at the Space Telescope Science Institute at John Hopkins University and became first author of a paper that was published in The Astronomical Journal, NC State News reported.
After her year in the United Kingdom, de los Reyes plans to continue her education and earn a Ph.D. in astronomy before securing a position at an observatory or national institute, according to NC State News.
De los Reyes’ prior scholarship achievements include the Goldwater Scholarship and the Astronaut Scholarship, both prominent scholarships awarded to students in STEM fields.
Each year, more than 100 institutions are invited to submit two applicants for the Churchill Scholarship. NC State’s UK Campus Committee submitted de los Reyes’ application. The committee handles prestigious United Kingdom-based scholarship submissions.
The Churchill Scholarship, named after Winston Churchill, gives a small number of recent college graduates the opportunity to study engineering, mathematics or biological sciences at Cambridge University expense-free.
