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Connecticut College student receives prestigious undergraduate fellowship

June 18, 2008

Caitlin K. Scott, a rising junior a Connecticut College, has been selected to receive a 2008 Fund for Theological Education (FTE) Undergraduate Fellowship, which recognizes students with a gift for leadership who are considering ministry as a vocation.

As an FTE fellow, Scott will receive $2,000 for tuition, other educational expenses or for a self-designed experience related to ministry.

The Rev. Dr. Claudia A. Highbaugh, dean of religious and spiritual life at Connecticut College, nominated Scott for the fellowship. Highbaugh said that Scott, who is considering the Episcopalian priesthood, seeks out people of all faiths and believes in ministering to the wider world rather than to a single congregation.

"She is growing into a wonderful young woman," said Highbaugh. "She knows who she wants to be. Her understanding of ministry is very broad."

A national committee of theological educators and church leaders selected Scott from a pool of applicants across the U.S. and Canada.

"The church needs the energy, intellect and idealism that these candidates bring - to be the bright and compassionate leaders our world needs, servant leaders of integrity and character," said the Rev. Ellen Echols Purdum, director of FTE Ministry Fellowships.

Scott, a history major, has traveled to Honduras, Mississippi and recently to Israel to volunteer her time with youth and college ministries. She said she is considering using her fellowship at Connecticut College to create interfaith dialogue and a place where all students can come to ask questions.

"The more I study religion," Scott said, "the more I feel that we're all trying to get at this one thing and really articulating it differently."

Among the most selective private liberal arts colleges in the nation, Connecticut College enrolls 1,900 men and women from 41 states, the District of Columbia and 71 countries. The college is known for putting the liberal arts into action through interdisciplinary studies, international programs, funded internships, student-faculty research and service learning. Founded in 1911, the college operates under an 86-year-old honor code. The college is located at 270 Mohegan Ave, New London, about two hours by car from Boston and New York. The 750-acre campus is an arboretum overlooking Long Island Sound. For more information, visit www.connecticutcollege.edu.

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For more information contact: Amy Martin (860) 439-2526; a.martin@conncoll.edu