Pair of Baylor students earn major national academic honors
While most Baylor students were wrapping up finals and planning their Christmas break last month, two Bears were earning major national awards for their academic accomplishments.
Lawson Sadler, a senior University Scholar from San Antonio, is one of just 46 American college students to earn a prestigious 2020 Marshall Scholarship. The honor annually brings American students to the United Kingdom to study; thanks to the award, Sadler (pictured above left) will continue her studies after Baylor at the University of Sussex, where she will pursue a master’s in migration and global development. Upon completion of that degree, she plans to return to the U.S. for law school and a career in public service.
“Lawson is one of the most impressive people I have met — someone of keen intellect, deep compassion for displaced and marginalized neighbors, and clear resolve to use her gifts for the good of others,” says Dr. Andrew Hogue, MA ’05, PhD ’09, associate dean for engaged learning in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences. “She is, in short, the kind of person who is admired by anyone who knows her, and it is thrilling that the Marshall Commission has seen what many of us around here knew already.”
“The common thread of all Baylor professors and faculty I have studied under and worked with over the years is their infallible dedication to the intellectual and character development of their students,” Sadler says. “I count myself lucky and blessed to attend a university that fosters impactful relationships between students and mentors.”
Senior political science major Gabbi Mucerino was awarded a 2020 Charles B. Rangel Graduate Fellowship, which is funded by the U.S. Department of State and supports top students pursuing a career in foreign service. The Lakewood, Colo., native is the first Baylor student ever to receive this highly competitive national award, which will fund her graduate studies at a school yet to be determined.
“Gabbi has interned with the Department of State, a U.S. Senator, and a law firm that proposes policy ideas to legislators in areas of health care, technology and education,” says Dr. Ivy Hamerly, director of Baylor’s international studies program. “All of these experiences have confirmed for her that the place where the world’s needs and her joy intersect is in public service. She has the courage, resourcefulness and integrity that the Department of State looks for in foreign service officers.”
“I am a more open-minded, intellectually challenged, cultured and respectful person because of my time in the BIC [Baylor Interdisciplinary Core] and the Honors College,” says Mucerino (pictured above right). “I have been so blessed to develop so many mentors through the BIC Mentorship Program and with the professors. Baylor should be proud to have such a wonderful program on campus.”
Sic ’em, Lawson and Gabbi!