MAKING AN IMPACT:
STUDENTS DISCUSS HOW SCHOLARSHIPS
AFFECT THEIR COLLEGE CAREERS
Meghan Ward is a Tennessee native and a
junior majoring in chemistry. She is a member of
Professor Chris Goldsmith’s synthetic inorganic
chemistry laboratory where she is experimenting
with the anti-oxidant potentials of MRI contrast
agents previously developed in the lab, for which
she received a Cellular and Molecular Biology
Summer Research Scholarship. She is a three-time
member of the dean’s list, former member of the
Auburn University Marching Band, and recipient
of scholarship support by 1951 physics graduate
and inventor C. Harry Knowles and his wife,
Dr. Lucy B. Rorke-Adams Knowles, a worldrenowned neuropathologist.
“When I was a kid, my dad was a Vols fan, my
brother rooted for the Gators, and my mom’s
loyalty followed football coach Randy Sanders,
the husband of her best friend, Cathy. I decided
I wanted to be like everyone else and support a
team, so at age 10, I acquired my first Auburn hat,
and became a ‘fan.’ I don’t remember why I chose
Auburn, but my bout of fandom didn’t last long.
Yet when it came time to apply for college, I saw
that old hat, did some searching into Auburn’s
programs, and added it to my ‘must visit’ list.
“After my first visit, Auburn easily slid to the top
of my list for where I wanted to attend college.
It was the first school I applied to, and the first
school that sent me a letter of acceptance. Months
later, two weeks before national decision day to
be exact, I sat down with my acceptance letter to
Auburn, thought it through one last time, and
with a smile, submitted it as a member of the 2017
graduating class.
14
Journey/Fall: 2015