In addition to claiming seven Rhodes scholars, Yale has another prestigious award under its belt this year: One Yalie has been named one of 12 George J. Mitchell Scholars for its class of 2014.
Harold McNamara ’11 — a Yale graduate currently studying in the United Kingdom on a Gates Cambridge Scholarship — will study neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin next September under the program. Under the Mitchell Scholars Program, students spend a year of fully funded postgraduate study at an institution of higher education in either Ireland or Northern Ireland.
McNamara, who studied ethics, politics and economics as a Yale undergraduate, plans to eventually pursue a Ph.D. in physics. He has worked to help develop a new medical device that aims to transform medical imaging, and has also conducted research on meteors at Los Alamos National Laboratory. McNamara has also worked as an English tutor for an Iraqi refugee in Jordan and has served as a community liaison for an Iraqi refugee family in New Haven.
The competition attracted roughly 300 applicants this year, according to the US-Ireland Alliance, the organization that awards the scholarships. Mitchell Scholars are awarded full tuition, accommodations, and international travel and living stipends for the duration of their study. All 12 selected students of the program’s class of 2014 will begin their studies in September 2013.