Sixth Class of George J. Mitchell Scholars Arrive in Ireland

September 23, 2005

The sixth class of George J. Mitchell Scholars arrived in Ireland last week to begin a year a post-graduate study at universities throughout the island. (see more photos here)

The Mitchell Scholarship program was established by the US-Ireland Alliance in 1999 and has quickly become one of the most prestigious scholarships sought by young Americans. Applicants must have outstanding academic credentials as well as a record of service and leadership. The program intends to engage the next generation of American leaders with the island of Ireland. Many of the recipients have dropped out of the Rhodes and Marshall programs to pursue the Mitchell. Trina Vargo, President of the US-Ireland Alliance, attributes the program's popularity to the strong support from the universities, sponsors and many people in Ireland and Northern Ireland who provide the Scholars with unique opportunities and internships: "It is the generous support of so many people on this island that truly sets this scholarship program apart from the others."

Diageo hosted a welcoming reception for the Scholars at the Guinness Storehouse, which was attended by a cross section of Ireland's business, education, political and journalistic communities. The Westin Hotel also supported the arrival program. The Scholars began their year with visits to Kilmainham Jail and the Chester Beatty Library. Ken Francis of BT Ireland, hosted a series of introductory briefings for the Scholars and the company's headquarters, that included Danny McCoy of IBEC on the economy; Hugo MacNeill of Goldman Sachs on what it means to be Irish; Seamus Mulconry of the Progressive Democrats on Irish politics; Brian O'Gorman of Arthur Cox on the legal system; and Siobahn Lapetina of the UCD Smurfit Business School talked about the experience of being an American in Ireland. The Scholars also attended a performance of the Importance of Being Earnest at the Abbey and hiked in the Wicklow Mountains before heading off to their various universities.

Liza Anderson (Swarthmore) will study Ecumenics and Trinity. Melissa Boteach (University of Maryland) will be part of the Equality Studies program at UCD. Ben Cote (Georgetown) will attend UU in the Peace and Conflict Studies program. Lily Jeng (North Carolina State) will study Biomedical Engineering at UL. Aaron Rabinowitz (Haverford) will study Economics and NUIG. Brittany Schick (University of California, Irvine) will study International Security and Conflict Studies at DCU. Mike Solomon (Stanford) will study Music Composition at Queen's. Geoffrey Swenson (Grinnell) will study Comparative Ethnic Conflict at Queen's. Richard Waters (University of North Carolina) will study Applied Science at UCC. Markus Weisner (University of Virginia) will study Engineering at Trinity. Carie Windham (North Carolina State) will study History and Politics at UU.

Support for the program is provided by the Irish Government, the US Department of State, the Northern Ireland Department of Employment and Learning, Cross Atlantic Capital Partners, Bombardier Aerospace (NI) Foundation, Becton, Dickinson and Company and the McDonnell Charitable Foundation. CRH, IONA and the Jurys Doyle Hotel Group are corporate sponsors of the Alliance.