Audrey Berdahl-Baldwin ’16, Duncan Hosie ’16 and Ryan Low ’16 have been awarded the Marshall Scholarship.
The scholarship funds two years of graduate study in the United Kingdom for up to 40 American college students.
Berdahl-Baldwin, a history major, said she is interested in public service.
“Long term, I hope to engage in prison reform,” she said. “I hope to work at a nonprofit that works inside prisons and eventually pursue a law degree to engage in policy work to affect change at a structural level.”
Berdahl-Baldwin said her involvement with the PACE Center for Civic Engagement as a member of the center’s council for civic values allowed her to be interested in the juvenile justice system, which has deepened her commitment to the issue.
“One of the big experiences at Princeton for me was going on a Breakout trip as a freshman to look at juvenile justice in Texas, and that really deepened my commitment to engaging with the criminal justice system, both academically and professionally,” she said.
She noted that her community work, as well as influence from many of her peers and professors, helped her to develop into the person she is now.
Hosie, a Wilson School major, said he plans to spend both years at the London School of Economics getting two master’s degrees, one in public policy and another in gender studies.
Hosie said that as a political activist, he was very involved in service works on and off campus and that he wrote regularly for media outlets.
“I write regularly for the Huffington Post, I’ve written articles that have been published in national newspapers, I’ve worked on a lot of political campaigns, and I won a minor fellowship from Yale Law School,” he said.
When asked about a defining moment in his University career, Hosie noted his mentorship of a gay teenager.
“Freshman year … I received an email from a gay teenager whose parents had kicked him out of the house,” he said. “He lived in New York and he reached out for advice. Over the past four years, I’ve been a mentor to him. I’ve been able to see someone go from really oppressing their sexuality and hating it to now being open and accepting of themselves.”
Hosie added that he would be continuing his research in LGBT homelessness at LSE, and said that he plans to go to a law school after obtaining his master’s degree.
“I want to work as a public interest lawyer for marginalized and underserved Americans. Subsequently, I want to pursue a career in public policy and potentially look into running for public office,” he said.
Low, a history major pursuing a certificate in medieval studies, said that he plans to study at the University College London pursuing a joint J.D./ Ph.D program in legal history.
He explained the high quality of medieval history program in UCL made him apply to the scholarship.
Low said that his experience in political consulting and campaigning has given him a unique perspective on medieval history, which might have made him stand out among the applicants.
“My goal is to go into academia as a professor of legal history while staying active in electoral politics,” he said.
He also noted the historic importance of the Marshall Scholarship program.
“The Marshall Scholarship is a recognition from the British government to the American government for the American government’s participation in the Marshall Plan in funding the rebuilding of Britain after World War Two,” Low noted. “To be a part of that legacy, that special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom, is very exciting.”
The Marshall Scholarship application cycle for 2016-17 opens in spring 2016.