Improving the quality of life in Arizona to benefit future generations.
Already, a record-setting 650+ applications for the 2013 Flinn Scholarship have been winnowed to the final 72. Now comes the really exciting part: on January 4 and 5, the semifinalists for one of the most prestigious merit-based scholarships in the nation will gather at the Flinn Foundation for interviews.
Each year, Flinn scholars write letters of encouragement to students completing the scholarship application. Here is what Stephen has to say.
Hey there,
My name is Stephen Bergauer, and I am from the Flinn Scholar Class of 2012 (and a 2016 Sun Devil, majoring in Math and Finance). At this point, it’s hard for me to believe that, just one year ago, I was sitting in exactly the same position you were in, reading a similar email encouraging me to finish my application, largely blank at the time. Growing up in Chandler, I had heard of the Flinn Scholars program in somewhat mythical terms – a benefit reserved only for students curing cancer in high school while holding down multiple full-time jobs and playing in eight sports. Reading through the Foundation’s website of past scholars only confirmed my suspicions: these people were traveling to Africa and Asia and Antarctica trying to cure world hunger, third-world dysentery/malaria/measles/cholera, and sociopolitical inequality—all at the same time.
As I’m sure many of you did, I attended one of the scholarship information sessions held during the spring of my junior year; if anything, this made me even less confident in my accomplishments. I thought that there was no way that I could be part of this select group—I had already made plans to attend an out-of-state school that was offering me a substantial scholarship and just finished my application out of a chance of a dream of a hope that I could be a Flinn Scholar. Six months later, after two rounds of interviews, I received that phone call in mid-March informing me that I was a scholar; I’m sure I wasn’t the first to laugh, cry, run laps around my house, and immediately accept all at the same time.
When you look over the Flinn program benefits, I’m sure you noticed the full-ride scholarship value, the extensive travel opportunities, and the networking events sponsored by the Foundation. While all of these are fantastic benefits, I want to stress one that can often be overlooked: the idea of a “community of scholars.” In high school, I was a complete and total nerd – president and state champion in Academic Decathlon, leader of my school’s We the People team, member of the Knowledge Masters club. Despite this, I had always felt like “the smartest man in the room” in my high school classes, like I could never truly fit in because I always seemed to know more than most of the people around me. As aspiring Flinn Scholars and excellent students, I’m sure some of you have felt a similar way and are afraid that you might face a similar situation at an Arizona university – still being the smartest person in the room, alone at the top, in a sense. Even though I’ve only been part of this program for a few months, I have already met more people that are not only dedicated to their studies but are also actively involved in issues that matter to them – whether on a global, national, or local scale. I’m not ashamed to admit that many of my fellow scholars are much smarter than I am and that I can only hope to equal their accomplishments. By being part of this “community of scholars,” you already have an established group of intelligent, dedicated individuals from day one on campus—an experience that no Ivy League or “better” school could ever match. Choosing to stay in-state and take the Flinn was probably the best decision I have ever made.
I’d like to close with a few pieces of advice, some specific, some general, about the application process. On the paper application itself, don’t hesitate to brag about yourself. If you’re applying for this scholarship, then you have obviously excelled in your classes and are involved in leadership activities both on- and off-campus; however, all the other applicants also have these same traits. What makes you different? What can you use the scholarship for that nobody else can? On the essays, try to think outside-the-box. Brainstorm a list of ideas about the essay, then cross off the first five; somebody else is already using them. To paraphrase my favorite physics teacher in high school, you need to “rise above the masses”—don’t be afraid to take a chance! The scholarship committee is reading hundreds of essays, and yours needs to literally jump off the page.
As far as the interviews are concerned, the best advice I can give you is to be authentic and passionate. The questions will range from your resume and accomplishments to interesting ideas presented in your application essays to your thoughts on current social, political, or economic issues, on scales ranging from global to local. Because this range is so wide, there’s simply no way that you can adequately prepare for them, so beyond learning about the world around you and current hot-button events (read a newspaper!), there’s not much you can do to prepare. What I think the committee is really looking for is passion and authenticity – two qualities that are fairly difficult to fake. You’ve been involved in many activities throughout high school; what drove you to choose those? What did you hope to get out of them? What did you get out of them? What issues are you passionate about, and how do you think the Flinn can help you achieve your goals? If you can answer these questions, I think you’ll be an excellent candidate for the scholarship.
I wish you all the best, and I hope to see you join our newest class of scholars next year! If you have any questions about ASU, business majors, the Scholars program, or transitioning to college in general, please don’t hesitate to email me.
Thanks,
Stephen Bergauer
Each year, scholars write letters of encouragement to students applying for the Flinn scholarship. Here's what Annie Carson has to say.
Hello hello hello!
I am so excited to be writing you this email. If I knew all your addresses and had a reel of stamps I would write this letter to each of you by hand just to express the degree of my happiness for you as you apply for the Flinn Scholarship. Only a year ago I was right where you were, on the receiving end of this email, wanting so desperately to be the one writing next year’s. And here I am, a few weeks into my first year of college, loving life more than I ever expected. In between here and there, of course, there were hours of writing and revising, waiting-waiting-waiting, practicing interview questions with my parents in the long car rides to Central Phoenix, and one very happy phone call.
It.is.so.completely.worth.it.
If you are overwhelmed right now, that means you’re doing it right. You are ready for this – entirely ready for the Flinn. Now your biggest task is to direct that brilliance. I’m sure that space to list activities and involvement on your application has you wondering what level of impressive they are looking for because you can only fill up half the spaces. To attack some of those blank spots on my application, I included “making claymations in high school” in my activities list. During my interview this came up and I got to spend 4 of my 20 minutes explaining the creative process of fashioning figures out of clay, the patience of taking 1,500 photos for a 5 minute clip, and my craziness to do this process multiple times. The moral of this vignette is not only that claymation movies are awesome and worth their time, but that Flinn cares about what makes you tick, what has you staying up till 3 am to get just-a-little-farther. You are not made up of the long list of activities you’ve ever considered, but the few interests you really care about.
That’s why I chose to study in Arizona as a Flinn scholar – this community invests in the interests I really care about. Before Flinn I wanted to go to the out of state liberal arts colleges: I was sure my heart belonged to Scripps or Kenyon College. But for me to study creative writing at these colleges, I would be accumulating a serious amount of debt before even embarking on my planned journey to medical school. With the Flinn, I can study creative writing while I prepare for med school, consider adding a double major in Global Health or Chinese, and hopefully spend a semester in Africa. The possibilities here are endless, being part of a community designed to fan your spark of passion into the brightest flame it can be.
As you embark on this long and rigorous and rather scary application process, let that flame of passion guide you. Focus your brilliance. You got this.
I can’t wait to write these letters with you next year. If not by hand, let’s track down a typewriter.
Best,
Annie Carson
Scholar Jeannie Wilkening reassures us that radioactive spiders aren't necessary to become a Flinn.
Dear Flinn Applicants,
My name is Jeannie Wilkening and I am a freshman Flinn Scholar majoring in Chemical Engineering. Just one year ago, I never would have imagined myself writing that sentence. For a number of reasons, I was convinced that the Flinn was not for me. My only real motivation for even finishing the application was just to make my parents stop bothering me about it. Since you are all undoubtedly intelligent people, I am sure that you can tell things have changed since I submitted that application.
Coming from a high school without many Flinns, I was sure that Flinn Scholars were all mythical super humans who were pretty much the closest thing to a real world Justice League. Feeling that I was more ordinary than extraordinary, I didn’t think I stood a chance. After actually meeting Flinn Scholars, however, I can tell you that my original idea is only partially true. Yes, all the Flinn Scholars I have met are awesome people who do incredible things. They are, however, still human. All Flinns have awkward moments, make mistakes, and possess their fair share of faults. So if you are still looking for that radioactive spider to give you an edge in the application process, you can stop. We aren’t perfect. We aren’t good at everything. And we definitely would not be able to pull off all that spandex. Don’t worry about not having some fantastical achievement on your application. Just let them get to know the real you.
The other main reason that I discounted the Flinn initially was that I was sure I did not want to stay in Arizona. I knew I wanted research experiences, access to faculty, and a challenging and stimulating academic environment. I thought the only way I could get that was to go out of state. As I went through the application process, however, I learned more about both myself and the opportunities available to me in Arizona. I could not be happier with my choice to stay. After only being on campus for six weeks, I have already discussed environmental issues with award-winning faculty, analyzed trace contaminants in water samples in a research lab I work in, and met countless other students who share my passion for learning. I have truly found everything I wanted and more right here in Arizona.
For me, the Flinn application process was really about discovering more about myself, the Flinn community, and Arizona as a whole. I know the same will be true for you. Even if you aren’t sure the Flinn is right for you, I encourage you to finish the application. Write the essays. Fill out the forms. Think about what you really want from your college experience and where you can find that. You might not change your mind, or you may be like me and realize what an incredible opportunity the Flinn Scholar program is. Either way, just do it and give yourself the opportunity to find out.
Good luck,
Jeannie Wilkening
We say this over and over again for a reason: The essays on the Flinn Scholarship application are well worth every second you spend on them.
There's nowhere else in the application that you can do more to show reviewers who you really are. And believe me--the selection committee is not going to choose a Flinn Scholar designate whose personality and intellect remain opaque to them.
What's the formula for writing a perfect essay? I can't tell you, because there's no such formula. There's no most appropriate structure, no ideal tone, no preferred focus. Unlike some of your assignments at school, you won't be able to earn a top score if you cover all the points I'm expecting you to cover with minimal spelling errors. We like accurate spelling, but we're not expecting that you cover any particular points.
What are we looking for, then?
Thoughtfulness.
Honesty.
A unique perspective.
A memorable voice.
A story so compelling that reviewers will say, "We have to meet this student."
All in 200 words? Sure. You can do it. Write a couple of drafts of each of your essays, without worrying about the length. If you have 400 or 500 words, you're in a wonderful position--you get to trim out the throat-clearing introduction, the irrelevant vignettes, the least-resonant lines. What will be left, I hope, is a great story. Depending on the essay prompt, it may be a story about you, or a story about something in the world that matters to you.
There was a great blog post in the Times this morning that you should read. It's "The Yellow Test," by Lee Gutkind, who lovers of good writing know as one of our foremost practitioners of narrative nonfiction. His post offers excellent advice about scenemaking in nonfiction writing. This is just what you want to be doing in your application essays.
From Gutkind's post:
Notice — and this is critical — that something happens, no matter how trivial, in each scene excerpted here. The beginning engages a reader, makes a promise. The end of the scene fulfills the promise and makes the audience want to know what will happen next, moving the action forward, ideally to another scene, another block of yellow, until the whole story is told and your point is established.
Do you know how much I'm looking forward to reading your essays? I'm really, really looking forward to it.
(On a side note: You'll notice that Gutkind is right under your nose--teaching at Arizona State University. And one of the stories he excerpts is about the extraordinary clinical oncologist Daniel Von Hoff, previously director of the University of Arizona Cancer Center and now physician-in-chief at the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix. Like we always say, Arizona's universities possess some of the most amazing faculty talent in the world.)
Each summer an entire class of Flinn Scholars engages in a group study-travel seminar. This year’s seminar, held in Hungary and western Romania, runs from late in May to mid-June. Here’s a day-by-day account.
Olivia Marie Valencia (’11)
Sunday, the final 24 hours of our nearly month-long trip, served as the last ditch effort day for all the Budapest activities that we had talked about but still hadn't gotten around to. The morning started with the usual rummage for clean-enough clothes and a trip to the Hotel Medosz breakfast buffet. Groups then splintered off and ventured here and there in the hot and humid weather: some hunted for last minute souvenirs, some relished gelato molded in the shape of roses, and some took one last sight-seeing lap around the city.
After an afternoon of hitting the pavement, we traded tank tops and gym shorts for dresses and slacks and attended our farewell dinner. We were hosted in a local art gallery and treated to live Hungarian-Spanish flamenco music and tasty appetizers and entrées (buttered dough balls and ginger ale, anyone?). As is tradition, Ben and Aubri then presented us with our personalized certificates which ranged from the “first-world daddy” award (Paul) to the “most unlikely to like rap music but actually does” award (myself, as many of my fellow Flinns were surprised to learn).
Those who avoided a crème brûlée coma (or those who succumbed and woke up) wrapped up the night a “Fleepover” (a sleepover Flinn-style, meaning polishing off the remaining cheese-flavored Lays chips and Nutella in our pajamas). Conversations revolved around a month’s worth of YouTube jokes (“put the team on your back!”) and the incredibly fast pace of the trip. We mapped out the various post-Hungaromania travel plans (train trips to Prague and flights to London and Benin) and began our bittersweet goodbyes with those not leaving for Phoenix with the group. One by one, we reluctantly trudged back to our rooms for a final Battle of the Bulge with our overstuffed duffel bags. Although our hotel departure was only two or three hours away, we set our alarms and took a short nap before loading the bus for the last time.
Each summer an entire class of Flinn Scholars engages in a group study-travel seminar. This year’s seminar, held in Hungary and western Romania, runs from late in May to mid-June. Here’s a day-by-day account.
Amy Umaretiya (’11)
Today started with a "find your own way" to the Széchenyi Baths for our first lecture. We heard about the magical healing powers of the thermal water used in a lot of the baths in Hungary. Unfortunately, I sat right in front of Aubri, who handed me the wonderful signed picture of our class and the musical video postcard of Arizona that we had been thanking all of our lecturers with, and my streak of avoiding being the person who had to awkwardly present these gifts at the end of the lecture finally ended.
After the lecture we had free time, which most of us used to explore the baths. Highlight: going into the 80-100 degree Celcius sauna room with Julia and Van and then jumping into the 16 degree Celcius pool. After making our way through the saunas, steam rooms, whirpools, and pools of every temperature we left the bath house to go our separate ways before the architecture tour we had later that day.
That tour was by far the best one we had all trip. Our guide fully explained the significance of the buildings and streets he took us to see, but what's more is that he tied them all into our theme of conflicts and resolutions. What stuck out the most to me was when we came up to his favorite street in Budapest and he said, "Every building on this street represents a different chapter in history." From baroque to gothic to communist to art noveau, every style of architecture spoke of a different mindset, time period, and story. That is a rare sight to see where I'm from in Chandler, Arizona. Though I'm sure the Bashas', Starbucks, and Wells Fargo buildings next to my house have some pretty interesting stories behind them too.
We ended up having dinner at an amazing restaurant after the tour was over. Cary and I went on missions to hoard cherries from the bowl they had on display and Olivia, Julia, Katherine and I had a great time looking at the intricate cabinets. And then finally, at the end of the night, Paul, Jacqui, and Patrick won the trip. Paul for his ability to multitask, Jacqui for her ability to be flexible, and Patrick for his ability to communicate with the group. All in all, a very good day!
Each summer an entire class of Flinn Scholars engages in a group study-travel seminar. This year’s seminar, held in Hungary and western Romania, runs from late in May to mid-June. Here’s a day-by-day account.
Paul Thomson (’11)
You know, it's one of those things where you hear everyone say, "The time flies by!" and, "It'll be over before you know it!" and you never really believe them until you wake up one morning to sunshine streaming through your window and the sound of a car alarm just outside and you realize, "Hey! It's my blog day!" and then, "But I'm at the end of the list!" and then, "Oh my gosh, we only have three days left." But, time stops for no one on the Central European Seminar, and so it was with this stunning realization that I greeted the day. Good morning!
I am pleased to say that we are (finally!) back in Budapest at the Medosz Hotel. This place, with its high pressure showers (except on floor three...sorry, floor three) and its complimentary towels/soap/shampoos/biscuits/fluffed pillows and its continental breakfast to end all continental breakfasts, has become a sort of home away from home on this trip. It's foreign, for sure, but a familiar kind of foreign and I couldn't be happier about spending our last days here.
Today was a "back to business" day after the reprieve of yesterday's transition, and when I checked my itinerary at breakfast like the resourceful boy I am, I was somewhat distressed to read that we had not one, but two lectures on MY blog day. Welcome back to Budapest! But, I am overjoyed to say that my pessimism was proved a thousand times wrong throughout the course of the day. The lectures were two of the most fascinating--if totally dissimilar--lectures we have had thus far. The first was given by Gabor Bojar, creator of a booming computer software company called Graphisoft. Not only was homeboy successful like wow, but he also knew how to give a quick, concise, and engaging lecture. The business majors ate his entrepreneurial advice up, and the rest of us were drawn into his "success is a competition" motto, too.
We then met up with Geza Kallay for a crash course in Hungarian literature, and--I have to tell you--this was one of my favorite lectures so far. Actually, it's one of the only ones I haven't slept through. No, I'm totally kidding. Kallay was not just knowledgeable, but passionate. He was the kind of speaker that really gets to know his audience and--in so doing--makes them want to listen. The fact that he joined us for dinner and led a game of blind-telephone-short story was only a testament to just how much he really cared about us as a class.
Now, I'm going to be real with you: I am not always the easiest to please. I like my lectures fast but full, my meals nutritious but delicious, and my days to be stimulating but relaxed. Well, I guess today was my lucky day, because I genuinely enjoyed everything we did. Now, I don't really know what tomorrow holds, but I know it's going to be amazing. After all, you're only in Hungary once: YOHO!
Each summer an entire class of Flinn Scholars engages in a group study-travel seminar. This year’s seminar, held in Hungary and western Romania, runs from late in May to mid-June. Here’s a day-by-day account.
Nick Synodis (’11)
As I write this, the musical stylings of the Dresch Dudás Mihály Quartett jazz up the confines of my comfy and cozy room at Hotel Medosz in Budapest, thanks to my stop earlier today at the Great Hall, where I picked up a metric megszentségteleníthetetlenségeskedéseitekért*-ton of souvenirs (including this CD) for myself and others. Today was a day of transition: Traveling from Romania to Hungary, converting from RON (Romanian New Lei) to Magnum Ice Cream (the official currency of Hungary), and transferring hours on a bus to hours upon hours of sleeping, eating Paprika-flavored Lay's potato chips, and playing "Who's Your Daddy?".
That's right, today we left Romania. Mixed feelings there. On one hand, Romanian currency looks fancy and Romanian restaurants serve copious amounts of delicious mushrooms and veggies for us vegetarians; on the other hand, everyone we met in Romania spoke Hungarian anyway (a side-effect of being in Transylvania, known to Hungarians as "East Hungary"), so it really wasn't much of a change. Nevertheless, it still feels surreal** to only have 4 days left in Budapest. As we discussed in our reflection session on the bus ride home (featuring questions such as "What is your one traveler's 'bucket list' item you need to fulfill before we return home?", "What do you plan to do with your free time in Budapest?", and "What was the biggest surprise of this trip?"), there simply are not enough hours left in the coming days to do everything we want to do, yet, somehow, we have done more in the last 19 days than any of us thought possible. Oh, and by the way, the "biggest surprise" of the trip goes to the van on the highway earlier today that attempted a U-turn (only to realize that the highway--surprise surprise--was split by a median) and was almost demolished by our bus.
Transitions aside, today was also a day of dirt cheap falafel, a day of picnicking on top of Gellért Hill, a day of Julia cutting her hand open with a multi-tool, and a day of late night*** shenanigans out on the town. And on that note, I bid ye "sziasztok," as I just heard a nasty high note on the CD I'm listening to, and it made me a bit queasy (or maybe that's just the falafel).
*Hungarian for "due to your continuous pretending to be indesecratable," but feel free to use your favorite four-letter word to fill in the blank
**Hungarian for "kinda sad"
***Hungarian for "ending before 12:45 a.m."
Each summer an entire class of Flinn Scholars engages in a group study-travel seminar. This year’s seminar, held in Hungary and western Romania, runs from late in May to mid-June. Here’s a day-by-day account.
Katherine Richard (’11)
June 13th began with a truly atrocious breakfast. Who would have thought that eggplant paste, white bread, and cold slabs of butter would not have been a mouth-watering hit?
The day improved - I promise.
Bogdan Radu (arguably the most unanimously adored speaker of this trip) began the day with a lecture about Religion and Democracy in Central Europe, moving from a discussion of transitional democratic states, to one concerning the effects of religion on political participation. Following him, Cosmina Paul presented topics of the Romanian Holocaust, the Romanian dissidence under communism, and the Romanian Roma minority.
Where Bogdan's lecture was a fascinating investigation of a region that we still know so little about, Cosmina spoke about sensitive issues that have been greatly overlooked in our time here. She spoke of the ways in which Romania has avoided blame for their massacre of Jewish individuals, failing to admit to their true involvement independent of the Nazi Party's well-known practices. She spoke of the ways in which the Romanian people failed to revolt against communist governments unless under the wing of another people's instigation. She spoke of the forced relocation of hundreds of Roma people to a town built on top of a garbage dump just eighteen months ago.
In the afternoon, we followed these lectures with a discussion about minority issues with local Romanian students. This two hour conversation/debate/misunderstanding was, in many ways, a sobering experience, demonstrating potential for vastly distinct world views. Many of us were made uncomfortable and made others equally so. But being able to interact with our lecture material in such a personal way was invaluable - one of my favorite parts of this trip so far.
[These intense portions of the day were followed by some time spent drinking coffee on a terrace and eating together at the Romania farewell dinner. These were both great things, especially since no fried cheese was served.]
June 13th was not an easy day. It was a challenging day and a humbling day. What I write here does not adequately explain this day, maybe because our last full day in Romania was a sobering confrontation of injustice that remains ignored. I wish that we could have learned about these things earlier, just as I wish that we could have discussed them in more depth. But I am grateful that we were able to listen to such educated speakers, and I am thankful that I could experience this day with such an excellent group of people.
For information about Flinn Scholars, please contact:
flinnscholars@flinn.org or (602) 744-6802
