nsp
National Scholars Program
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New professor leads book discussion series
This Fall in the NSP
Weekly news discussions
Fridays, 1:15-2:15, NSP office
StarPower simulation
Sept. 20, 8-10:30 pm, Madren
Center
September Book Discussion
The Handmaid’s Tale
by Margaret Atwood
Sept. 28, 6:30-8:30 pm, NSP
office
Myers-Briggs Workshop
Oct. 18, 8-10 pm, Michelin
Career Center
Professional Success Workshop
Oct. 25, 8-10 pm, Michelin
Career Center
October Book Discussion
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Oct. 24, 6:30-8:30 pm, NSP
office
November Book Discussion
Fugitive Days by Bill Ayers
Date and time TBD
Fall 2006
SCHOLAR STORIES
While dystopian futures do not “I wouldn’t have found it or chosen it on my own,” said
feature free pizza, the first NSP senior Scholar Laura Hart. “It’s the kind of book that really
book discussion of 2006 did. needs a discussion afterward to process everything that hap-
Several National Scholars en- pens in it.”
joyed dinner and a lively discussion While there is no single thread connecting the first three
of Margaret Atwood’s The Hand- books, Lemahieu has a goal with his selections.
maid’s Tale led by “These books ask us to rethink
English professor the way we conceive of some
Michael Lemahieu. very pressing questions,” he said.
Atwood’s 1986 nov- “With each discussion, we’ll find
el imagines a curious- the book will lead us to terrain
ly contemporary but that is familiar in one sense, but
wholly unimaginable will become more strange, hav-
America in whic h ing approached it from a differ-
women have lost all ent direction. The goal is quite sim-
Dr. Michael Lemahieu (right) leads the Sept.
rights and status. ple: to enjoy being challenged
28 book discussion.
Lemahieu is coor- intellectually, and to share that en-
dinating the NSP book discussion se- joyment through a discussion with
ries for 2006-2007. He has chosen others who enjoy being challenged intellectually.”
Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto and Bill Ay- Lemahieu said this book discussion series “exemplifies my
ers’ Fugitive Days to round out the favorite aspect of academic life: smart, thoughtful people
program for the Fall. getting together to discuss smart, thoughtful books in what we
The Scholars expressed a strong hope are smart, thoughtful ways. I consider it a privilege to
interest in these less familiar books, work in at a university that invites and rewards such behavior
especially The Handmaid’s Tale. in students.”
Scholars see the world in summer ‘06
1 From Washington, D.C., and Washington State to Germany
and Tanzania, National Scholars studied, interned, worked
and conducted research around the world during the sum-
mer of 2006. (More photos, page 3)
2
1 Ben Ward and
Suzanne Sawicki
in Berlin at the
Brandenburg
Gate during the
World Cup. 2
Chelsea Reighard
plays red rover
with students at
an HIV/AIDS
education pro-
gram in Tanzania.
 YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 3
Nine National Scholars spent one week in May in
Yellowstone National Park, exploring the geology,
botany and wildlife in the park. Biological Sciences
professor Jerry Waldvogel taught a Spring 2006
course covering the topics of the trip.
2006 Maymester Educational Enrichment Expedition

1 2

1 Ryan Spurrier and Amanda Youell use spotting

scopes to search for wolves, coyotes and bison. 2
A slightly snowy hike. 3 Jill Allen and Christen Smith
spend some time after breakfast sketching Swan
Lake Flats. 4 Welcome to Yellowstone.

BRUSSELS & BELGRADE

1 Prof. Vladimir Matic, a former diplomat from Yugoslavia, led eleven
National Scholars on a learning tour through Brussels
and Belgrade, where the students met policy makers
and university students to learn about the European Union
and the challenges facing eastern Europe.
2006 Maymester Educational Enrichment Expedition
3 5

1 The NS women meet a

rose-giving Serbian. 2 Laura
2
Hart and Chelsea Reighard
tour Le Grande Place in Brus-
sels. 3 At Temple of St. Sava
in Belgrade. 4 At an open air
market in Brussels. 5 Colleen
Gleeson, Damon Andrews
and Lauren Smith in Brussels.
4
1 STUDY ABROAD IN EUROPE
The 11 second-year Scholars spent several weeks studying
at the University of Sussex in Brighton, England, and trav-
elling throughout Europe. In small groups, they explored
NSPabroad Scotland, Germany, Italy, France, and the Netherlands,
and the whole group spent ten days travelling and learn-
ing in Wales and Ireland.

1 At Dun Aengus,
3 5 Aran Islands,
Ireland. 2 Atop a
mountain in
Wales, with
Caernarfon Castle
in background. 3
Aboard the Lon-
don Eye. 4 After
hiking Snowdon
2 Mountain, the
highest point in
4 6 England and
Wales. 5 At Wim-
bledon. 6 Visiting
Napoleon’s tomb
at Les Invalides in
Paris

A selection of Scholars summer 2006 experiences

Damon Andrews: Interned at an intellectual property law firm.
John Dixon: REU in materials science at Washington State U.
2 4
Rob Dixon: REU in computer science at Iowa State U.
Laura Hart: Interned at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
Kate Hicks: REU in neuroscience at U. of Minnesota.
Nathan Kwan: Interned with Duke Energy, Charlotte, N.C.
Stephen Lareau: Interned with Progress and Freedom Foundation, Washington, D.C.
Christen Smith: Interned with United States Agency for International
Development, Washington, D.C.
Lauren Smith: Interned with GE Transportation in a financial management
program; named 2006 Student Intern/Co-op Contribution Award recipient.
Amanda Youell: Interned with the Department of Defense, conducting
cryptanalysis with a focus on security, Washington, D.C.
1 Ryan Spurrier visits Chicago during a
1 3 break from his REU in math and statistics at
Valparaiso University. 2 Chelsea Reighard
administers a tetanus vaccine during a
public health internship in Tanzania. 3
Suzanne Weaver conducts pediatric
oncology research at St. Jude’s Medical
Center in Memphis. 3 Jill Allen visits
Washington, D.C., during the American
Institute for Architecture Students
Grassroots Leadership conference.
 12
NEW SCHOLARS RETREAT
The first class of National Scholars to represent majors in all five
colleges were welcomed to Clemson and the NSP in August with
a three-day retreat planned and executed by a team of
upperclass Scholars. The new Scholars completed several
intellectual and physical challenges, including a climbing tower,
book discussion, crisis simulation exercise and a full-day rafting
trip.

THE 2006 SCHOLARS

Ali Barkett Lucas Hurd Erica Morrison
Lawrenceville, GA Surgoinsville, TN Jacksonville, FL
Brent Berkompas Donovan Jones Meredith Myers
Franklin, TN Sumter, SC Concord, NC
Elizabeth Billheimer Rahul Loungani Jennifer Rahn
Summerfield, NC Columbia, SC Ehrhardt, SC
Paul Blichmann Bethany Moore Lillie Stewart
Monroe, NC Columbia, SC Marietta, GA
Allison Foreman
Columbia, SC

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT ALUMNI UPDATES

Katherine Chisholm, ’05 Amanda Cheung, ’06 Ahmed Mohiuddin, ’06
Pursuing an M.P.H. in Global Health Began USC medical Began MUSC medical
at Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health school school
Brian Eyink, ’06 Clarice Seifert, ’05
I interned in Dhaka, Bangladesh, at the Centre for Health Began Duke law school Elected to serve on the
and Population Research, an international research center Jamie Kearns, ’06 curriculum committee at
where I worked in the Programme on Infectious Disease Began Columbia (NY) MUSC and represent
and Vaccine Sciences, a centre-wide programme that con- medical school the school at the
ducts epidemiologic studies, clinical and labo- Matt Kerr, ’04 American Association of
ratory research, community surveillance and After completing an Medical Colleges.
vaccine evaluation. One of my main responsi- advanced mathematics
bilities was developing a protocol for national program at Cambridge,
influenza surveillance in Bangladesh. My job
Matt recently began a
was to translate the vague idea of “hospital-
based surveillance throughout PhD in physics at the
Bangladesh” into a specific University of Washington.
protocol document that de-
tailed what would be done and how it Clemson University
would be done to address an outbreak. NATIONAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM
To accomplish this goal, I visited hospitals
around the country to determine their ca- Director: Dr. William Lasser
pacity for surveillance activities, and I met lasser@clemson.edu
with government officials, hospital administrators, medical Associate Director: Jamie Williams
school directors, medical officers and research investiga- jamwill@clemson.edu
tors from other studies. In the end, I produced a working Graduate Assistant: Kristine Hoke
protocol that will be the guide for national influenza sur- khoke@clemson.edu
veillance when it begins in October.