Two seniors win Marshall Scholarships

Brown University seniors Kingston Reif and Ryan Roark are among the 43 young Americans to receive prestigious Marshall Scholarships to study at a university in Britain next year.

Reif, an international relations concentrator from Kingston, Wisc., will continue his studies at the London School of Economics. He represented Brown at Occidental College's student conference on U.S. foreign policy, and has been a contributing editorial writer for the Brown Daily Herald. His summer internships included one with Wisconsin's Sen. Russ Feingold. He plays intramural basketball, ice hockey and flag football, and enjoys skiing.

Roark, of Austin, Texas, is concentrating in biology, math and comparative literature. She is writing a thesis about work she has done during the past two summers to develop a drug to combat bladder cancer. Roark is editor-in-chief of Brown's undergraduate science magazine and has served as president of the French House. She recently co-founded a nonprofit cosmetics line called Zuleika to raise money for pediatric oncology research. She plans to earn a Ph.D. in oncology at the University of Cambridge.

The Marshall Scholarships were established in 1953 as a British gesture of thanks to the people of the United States for the assistance received after World War II under the Marshall Plan. Financed by the British government, the highly competitive scholarships provide an opportunity for American students who have demonstrated academic excellence to continue their studies for two to three years at the British university of their choice. The scholarships are worth about $60,000 each. In addition to intellectual distinction, Marshall selectors look for individuals who are likely to become leaders in their field and make a contribution to society.