Flinn ScholarsScholars Profiles

Flinn Scholars

The application period for the 2012 Flinn Scholarship has closed. All applicants will be notified of their status in mid-December. Semifinalist interviews will take place Jan. 6-7, 2012; finalist interviews will be March 2-3, 2012.

Flinn Scholars

BusinessWeek, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News... As global economic turmoil has continued in the second half of 2011, one news outlet after another has turned to Flinn Scholar alumna Sara Zervos ('87).

Flinn Scholars

After Scholar alumnus Jeremy Babendure ('97) graduated from ASU, he headed to the University of California at San Diego to work with recent Nobel laureate Roger Tsien and earn a doctorate in biomedical sciences. Upon finishing his Ph.D., Jeremy dedicated his professional energies to science education, establishing with Dr. Tsien an educational outreach program called ScienceBridge.

Now Jeremy has returned home to Arizona, as director of the Arizona Science and Technology Festival, a new initiative spearheaded by the Arizona Technology Council Foundation, ASU, and the Arizona Science Center. The inaugural Festival will occur during February 2012 with events at sites across the state.

What are the aims of the Festival, and how big an undertaking will it be? Here's what Jeremy has to say:

The Arizona Science and Technology will be 6-week statewide celebration involving 200+ orgs in industry, education and community to inspire Arizonans about how STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) will drive the future of Arizona.

Through a series of hands-on activities and workshops, discussions, exhibitions, concerts, and tours centered during the month of February 2012, the First Annual Arizona SciTech Festival’s goals are to (1) brand Arizona as a leader in science and technology; (2) inform/inspire our future workforce about opportunities in AZ; and (3) serve as a focal point to bring diverse stakeholders in workforce, education and community together.

We anticipate the festival will reach 100,000+ Arizonans through 300+ activities that take place in diverse neighborhoods throughout the state with: signature events highlighting the innovative character of each region (aerospace, technology, bioscience) with high energy exhibitions and shows; 20+ neighborhood hubs providing workshop and discussion opportunities at accessible locations such as libraries and community centers; tours of science/technology facilities statewide; and activities, talks and challenges in-schools to get kids engaged before, during and post festival.

Something this big doesn't happen without energetic support from a lot of people. Individuals and organizations wishing to participate in and support this unique opportunity to showcase Arizona's scientific strength and potential should contact Jeremy--today.

Flinn Scholars

Halfway through her studies at one of the nation's premier medical schools, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minn., Nicole Person-Rennell has passed her Step 1 board exams and is nearing the end of a summertime surgery rotation at Mayo Clinic's Scottsdale campus. But her time in her home state is short; in September, the 2005 Flinn Scholar will step away from medical school for a year to complete a master's degree in public health at Cambridge University in England. Funding her studies is one of the world's most prestigious post-graduate prizes, the Gates Cambridge Scholarship.

Flinn Scholars

In Sunday's print edition, the New York Times will examine an audacious experiment in training teachers, the Relay Graduate School of Education, which opens this summer in New York City.

One of the primary leaders of Relay is our own Brent Maddin ('94), who was snatched from the Harvard Graduate School of Education even before he could finish his dissertation. Good thing he wrapped up that Ph.D. this spring--the Times piece notes that he will soon become Relay's provost.

What kind of teacher is Relay trying to produce? I'd be willing to bet they'd be thrilled to have their graduates lead careers something like that of Becki Norris ('95). After several years of teaching junior-high science and math as a founding faculty member at the Community Charter School of Cambridge, this month the Harvard and MIT grad began a new post: principal of CCSC's lower school.

Congratulations, Brent, and congratulations, Becki.

Talk about a bunch of lucky kids.

Flinn Scholars

In late May, the Flinn Scholars Program made its annual pilgrimage across the Atlantic for the Central European Seminar. A cornerstone of the program, the seminar inserted the entire 2010 class--Scholars who had just completed their first year of college--into Hungary and Serbia for three weeks of--

Actually, let's hear from them in their own words. Read on...

Flinn Scholars

Each summer the Flinn Scholars Program takes an entire class of Scholars to Budapest, Hungary, and neighboring Slovakia and Serbia for a three-week seminar on the emerging democracies of Eastern Europe. Here’s a day-by-day account.

John Ernzen ('10)

Veni, Vidi, Vici.

Today began just like any other day on the Central European Seminar: with an early alarm that came far too soon and some sliced bread, meat, and cheese for breakfast at our beloved Radio Inn. However, even as we gathered downstairs talking about the various shenanigans that went on last night, hurriedly finishing our paper evaluation packets, and remembering what souvenirs or gifts we had left to buy, inside we were all thinking the same thing–that this was our final day together. With that in mind, while no one would say it out loud, we agreed to make it count.

And so we set off, embarking on our final “Find your own way!”--not to our rooms (thank you, Alan, for that) but to the IIE (Institute of International Education) office for our final trip evaluation. It felt fitting, realizing that we had gathered here on Day 1 of the seminar to go over our expectations and hopes for the trip, that we would now reconvene to share our reflections on what we had learned and gained from the entire experience. And while regrettably I don’t have the room or the memory to include some of the insights shared, it was absolutely surreal listening to my fliblings reveal how much we’ve all grown in the past three and a half weeks.

Following this, we had a brief recommendation section where we went over what worked and what could possibly be improved or revised for the coming years, led by the one and only Kata, of course. Even with all the different opinions and suggestions though, each one of us could agree that the week in Serbia was phenomenal and provided some excellent contrast and insight with our Hungarian adventures.

As morning turned to afternoon and our stomachs started grumbling, we wrapped up our evaluation session, said goodbye to most of the IIE staff, and went our separate ways to savor the final hours of free time.

Some of us struck out to grab a final lunch at the beloved hummus bar; others headed back to the Radio Inn to finish packing or catch up on some much needed sleep for tonight; still others (myself included) journeyed to the Great Market Hall and Váci utca to finish finding gifts for chaperones, coordinators, and loved ones. But no matter how we each chose to spend the afternoon, eventually seven o’ clock rolled around and with that came a massive migration to the nearby Kogart House for our seminar’s closing reception.

Enormous and situated right along Andrássy utca, even as we approached the Kogart House looked promising as the setting of our itinerary’s final activity. And once inside the reception hall, surrounded by IIE staff and past presenters and lecturers alike, we all realized that Kata and Michael had ensured our seminar would go out with a bang.

Before dinner, this bang (quite literally) sounded with a surprise concert of classically-trained guitarist Robert Sinha, along with fellow guitarist Róbert Vidák and the stunning Szilvia Péter Szabó on vocals. Demonstrating a blend of Spanish flamenco and Hungarian folk music, with a few traditional gypsy pieces as well, the concert was beautiful, and it was an honor to experience the music in such an intimate setting.

Even more than the numbers themselves though, what I loved most was hearing Robert’s explanation of how all three musicians came from separate styles and backgrounds so that together they could create this hybrid harmony that reached beyond their guitars to tug at our heartstrings.

Just after their final number, we were all surprised when our very own Savannah rose and explained that she was going to sing a number that she and Robert had (secretly) planned out a few days prior. Before beginning, Savannah beamingly addressed our class saying “This performance isn’t about me, because tonight isn’t about me. Tonight is about all of us, and so I need you all to sing along.”

It took me a few seconds to recognize the chords on the guitar, and then Savannah was belting out the opening verse of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” bringing home what had become our class’ adopted anthem for the past three weeks.

As cameras flashed and tears fell, our class put up a resounding chorus of “Don’t Stop” for the final time, realizing that we didn’t want to stop believing–not in this trip, but in each other and in ourselves. Each of us understood how much we’d grown and what a close family we had become in the past month, and we wanted to ensure that the end of this trip wouldn’t mean the end of that bond.

And so as the final applause died down, it was now time for Michael, Kata, and Agi (the former program coordinator from years past, and now director of IIE Europe) to take the stage and share some of their thoughts about what the trip had meant to them. What I loved most was hearing Agi, whom we had only met that night, address us saying “I feel like I know you all, because I can see in your faces the same thing that I’ve seen in all Flinns–passion.”

Following these three touching presentations, dinner was served, and I very gratefully grabbed my plate and hurried to get in line. During the meal we enjoyed (in addition to the food) last-minute discussions with some of our past presenters and IIE staff, all the while reminiscing about favorite memories and moments with each other.

After finishing dessert, it was finally time for the much anticipated Scholar awards, and with that our two amazing chaperones, Amy and Alan, took the stage to commend each of us in a very ‘personal’ way. I took home the “Ninja of Help” award and laughed uncontrollably as my classmates were honored with their own occasionally-serious, mostly-hilarious titles. Then it was finally time for our class to present our gifts and our gratitude to our chaperones, to Kata, and especially to Michael, all of whom had guided us so well on this journey.

While our presentations marked the end of the reception dinner and the end of our itinerary, our class decided that we weren’t ready for that to be our final moment together. Instead, during and shortly after dinner we came together and agreed that we would all head to Heroes’ Square–where we had ventured the first night in Budapest after our midnight arrival–for one final memory with one another.

As I walked back to the hotel with my fliblings to change from our formal attire, I realized that (since not all of our class would even be flying home tomorrow) this would indeed be a final moment for us, and so all bets were off.

After arriving there together and setting up camp at the square’s center (meanwhile asking a random stranger to take a picture of us for hopefully the last time), we voluntarily went around one by one and just opened up: Be it insecurities or reflections, memories or confessions, we each spoke about what this trip had meant to us and, even more importantly, what this class now meant to us.

As we watched a central lunar eclipse happen before our very eyes (the only one since 2007), we all knew that this memory and this moment were meant to be. We were truly a family now and, after agreeing to attend a whole lot of weddings, we promised each other that, even without future seminars, that fact would never change.

After a fresh set of tears and countless hugs, we all left Heroes’ Square for the last time and returned to the Radio Inn to finish packing and try and catch what little sleep we could before our early flight tomorrow.

So as I finish this terribly long final entry to our phenomenal journey, I feel that I must say thank you to the Flinn Foundation for allowing me to be part of such an amazing trip and providing the means through which this family could come together. Even more, though, I’d like to say thank you to all of my fliblings as well, for showing me just how blessed I am to be a member of such a family.

And so, as I close I have to apologize to Nikil for once more borrowing his talents in saying:

We came, we saw…

Boom, conquered!

Flinn Scholars

Each summer the Flinn Scholars Program takes an entire class of Scholars to Budapest, Hungary, and neighboring Slovakia and Serbia for a three-week seminar on the emerging democracies of Eastern Europe. Here’s a day-by-day account.

Julie Lyon ('10)

As our trip begins to wind down, I think about how much we have experienced, how many people we’ve met and all the amazing times shared as fliblings. We have reached our last day of lecture; the day was a summation of the diversity of our trip. We have been exposed to art, literature, the Danube Strategy and abundance of European Union politics throughout, and this day did not disappoint.  

We started with a presentation from Gabor Kittley, the Managing Director of Geonardo Ltd., a research company that works with the European Union constructing and engaging different environmental strategies throughout the Union. We were able to see the funding strategies of the EU and the many sustainable projects involving renewable energy and natural-resource management. 

The diversity of our day continued with a lecture about entrepreneurial opportunities and strategies through computer software and technology from Graphisoft’s founder, Gabor Bojar. He exposed us to the passion of competition and the necessity of global understanding to improve and survive within the world of business.

Given our rumbling stomachs, a pizza break was a nice treat before we were given a walking tour of the surrounding Graphisoft Park. After hearing Mr. Bojar’s journey from the ground up, we were able to visualize his immense success with Graphisoft Park's impressive expanse. The company first broke ground on the Danube site in 1998, and shortly after several more companies joined the park. With its continuing growth, Graphisoft was driven to establish two separate entities, one company for software and the other managing the park. Today the park houses 40 companies, including Microsoft, Canon, and Gabor Kittley’s Geonardo Ltd.

Rain began as we reached the Danube side of the property. Even though our exploration of the park was cut short, it was easy to see the grandeur of the company and its promising future. With that, we departed onto the city bus for a little break before our afternoon session began, a lecture by the immensely talented composer Gyula Fekete.

Hungary is in the middle of a bicentennial celebration of the famous Hungarian composer Franz Liszt. We were given a unique opportunity to hear about the composer from a true expert: Dr. Fekete had recently composed an opera loosely based on Liszt's life and music. Beyond Liszt, Dr. Fekete also took us through the history of Hungarian music, highlighting composers like Bartok and Petrovics.

Dr. Fekete also arranged live performances for us from two young artists. The first was a young singer from Dr. Fekete’s opera, who performed a number from the show with Dr. Fekete’s accompaniment. Following this act, a student from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music performed traditional Hungarian folk music with an intricate Hungarian string instrument. We were exceedingly impressed.

From sustainability politics to music, the day, like our entire trip, gave us a taste of so many different aspects of Hungarian culture. We ended our lectures on a high note, and I for one found a new appreciation for Central Europe as a whole.

Our last day of lectures was followed by our last night out on the town. For our last free dinner, many of us headed to the much-loved Hummus Bar one last time. Of course, for Lindsey or me, even this would not be our last visit; our addiction to hummus and falafel would keep bringing us here until we left Budapest a final time. Later, with full happy stomachs, we ventured to Morrison’s for a night of endless dancing and a few good rounds of karaoke. And with that, as a newly solidified member of the Spice Girls (Flinn Edition), “I’ll say goodbye.”

Flinn Scholars

Each summer the Flinn Scholars Program takes an entire class of Scholars to Budapest, Hungary, and neighboring Slovakia and Serbia for a three-week seminar on the emerging democracies of Eastern Europe. Here’s a day-by-day account.

Tina Cai ('10)

Back in Budapest, today was our first free morning to explore the city that we have come to consider our own. Last night, one of our first speakers, Ferenc Zsigó, offered to have coffee with anybody interested in continuing the discussion on the Roma and minorities in Hungary. So, at 10am, about half of us sacrificed the rare chance to sleep in for the chance to learn more about issues that many of us had become passionate about.

Ferenc, who has been a part of the Flinn family for years, shared with us his knowledge on everything from human trafficking, Roma women, the prospect of a Roma nation, segregation among the Roma, identity politics, homelessness, and the status of the disabled in Hungary. As you can tell, we’re a curious bunch with diverse interests and passions that make for some of the most stimulating conversations I have ever had the good fortune to participate in.

After coffee, our group had an incredibly satisfying meal at the one and the only Hummus Bar. That falafel hummus plate is even more delicious the third time. Then, we split up to either do some shopping or rest at the Radio Inn. I picked the latter. And before I knew it, it was time for the fanciest part of our itinerary – the opera.

For most of us, this was our very first opera experience. The opera was Rossini’s renowned comedy, The Barber of Seville. Not only was the plot filled with characters in disguise plotting an intricate plot of deceit, but the opera was performed in Italian with Hungarian subtitles. So, most of us were unaware of the jokes and the subplots and even which character was who. But in the end, I think I can say that all of us acutely felt the beauty of the music, a universal language that transcends borders and unites us all.

It’s funny, because less than two years ago, I was writing an essay on the power of music to unite people, to be submitted for my application for the Flinn Scholarship. And looking back on our trip, music and art have forged pathways to deep connections both within and outside of our group.

Some of our fondest memories include listening to Bob Cohen’s fusion of Roma, Jewish, and American music and dancing to traditional Hungarian music in a field by the Danube. And following Flinn tradition, our introduction to the Roma students of Ghandi high school formed through music. All 20 of us were joined by the Ghandi students as we sang and clapped to Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’. And in return, the students treated us to a beautiful Roma musical performance followed by a rendition Feliz Navidad on the guitar, to which all the Flinns sang along. Despite differences in language, nationality, ethnicity, social class, economic status, education, and lifestyle, we all clapped to the same beat, we all sang the same words, and we shared a bond that was stronger than those things that might divide us.

In my last Flinn essay, I wrote, “People can communicate through music when they fail to communicate through language.” Those words ring truer than ever.

As much as this trip has been about discovering the differences in culture and life between Americans and Central Europeans, I have found that it is the similarities that have allowed us to connect with our hosts and our friends in ways that I never could have imagined. I have found families with warmth, openness, and love that remind me of my own family. I have met youth who are passionate and curious about the world who remind me of my Flinn family. I have befriended individuals who share the same fears, insecurities, and hopes who remind me of myself.

And we are all tied together by this common thread of humanity and this common fate. Sometimes, we forget that. But tonight, after witnessing the way that music was able to touch each and every one of us, uniting us in a common passion, I remembered.

For me, the most salient issues we have discussed have been cooperation among the Central European nations and the future of minorities in Central Europe. If politicians and citizens would just remember that as people, we are connected by this common thread, then maybe governments would care more about people and less about petty political arguments. Maybe the Roma and other minorities would be viewed as equal people and not be treated as scapegoats or second-class citizens. Maybe extreme nationalism would give way to international cooperation. Maybe….

But I do know that while we were savoring our ice cream sundaes in the cool night breeze just across the street from the opera house, our Flinn class bond was strengthened by a renewed appreciation for European culture and art. Together, we opened our minds and our hearts, united by a shared experience and touched by a language we could all understand. And that, to me, is what this adventure is all about.