In the eight years since its inception, the Brazeal scholarship has expanded the opportunities for its recipients and fine-tuned the definition of what it means to be a Brazeal scholar.
James and Catherine Brazeal donated $300,000 to MU to create the scholarship in the summer of 2004. The scholarship was formed to provide a wholesome learning experience and to promote diversity at MU by attracting high-achieving minority students nationwide.
“They feel very strongly that students from underrepresented groups should be given a fair chance and until the field is a level playing field, they want to help all that they can,” Honors College Director Nancy West said.
The scholarship now entitles its recipients to at least $12,500 a year that is renewable for a total of four years, a waiver of out-of-state tuition, an additional $6,000 to cover the cost of studying abroad and a $1,700 stipend for freshman year participation in the MU Discovery Fellows research program. The study abroad and undergraduate research opportunities were not part of the scholarship package initially,
“At the beginning, the Brazeals gave enough money that there would be one of this scholarship every four years so that there would only be one Brazeal scholar on campus at any one time,” Honors College associate director Julie Melnyk said. “But after we selected the first Brazeal scholar, they were so pleased with the person we selected and with the selection process that they gave us additional money that allows us to choose one every year.”
Done in conjunction with the administration office, candidates are selected from the pool of applicants for MU’s George C. Brooks Scholarship, also designed for high-achieving minority students.
Using academic achievements as a starting point, Melnyk said the selection process has become slightly more formal over the years. Candidates are now required to submit a recommendation letter from a faculty member and a list of accomplishments after the first interview.
“What we are looking for in them is to some extent, what we look for in students in the Honors College ideally, which is that we don’t want just somebody who gets good grades but we want somebody who has this broad intellectual curiosity, who is passionate about learning and who has an active mind and who has a sense of wanting to be a role model in academic excellence and engaging the university and getting its benefits,” West said.
Beyond academic credentials, Melnyk said she is always looking for individuals who have taken full advantage of their opportunities.
“Not everyone has the same opportunities, as we have some students who have been able to attend magnet school or boarding schools, and they are not disadvantaged, but there are also students who, though, they do not have that kind of opportunities, nevertheless whatever opportunities they have had, they’d taken,” Melnyk said.
Both West and Melnyk said the scholarship is a huge recruitment tool, citing these scholars have chosen MU over other prestigious universities nationwide.
“Northwestern has always been my first choice because they have a good journalism program and it was closer to home, but when I got the scholarship to come to Mizzou, I didn’t even wait to get my letter from Northwestern,” Brazeal scholar Catherine Newhouse said. Newhouse is a former Maneater staff member.
Newhouse spent last summer working on journalism and peace studies research in Rwanda.
Scholar Jennifer Wesley said the scholarship has led to many opportunities for her, including participation in neuroscience research since her freshman year.
“I’ve learned so much about the process of research and how to put together formal presentations, and the best part is that I’m truly involved in some of the projects, not just watching from the sidelines,” Wesley said.