Allison Apland, a Michigan State University Honors College member and double-major, has been nominated for the Beinecke Scholarship.
Apland is a junior studying anthropology and history in the College of Social Science. She’s from West Des Moines, Iowa and a graduate of Valley High School.
During her time at MSU, Apland has served as a research assistant and teaching assistant. She currently serves as a research assistant in an MSU Anthropology lab, conducting research on food insecurity and coping strategies in Kenya.
“Allison has demonstrated an excitement for research, both in her current lab and in her previous work for an MSU Zoology lab,” said Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore, dean of the MSU Honors College. “Graduate school is a natural pathway for Allison to advance her expertise and we wish her the best in those endeavors.”
Apland volunteers for several activities and groups, including MSU Museum Archaeological Collections and MSU Science Fest. She’s a member of the MSU Anthropology Club. She’s receiving funding to work in Masako Fujita’s lab through the Provost Undergraduate Research Initiative. Apland is also an Alumni Distinguished Scholarship Commended Finalist and received the MSU National Merit Scholarship, Benschop International Enrichment Award and Albert E. and Audrey Vincent Gilpin Scholarship Award for Outstanding Students.
If awarded the Beinecke scholarship, Apland will receive $4,000 immediately prior to entering graduate school and an additional $30,000 while attending graduate school. She plans to earn a doctoral degree in anthropology or Near Eastern studies.
“My goal for graduate school is to study bioarchaeology in a program that focuses on Egypt of the Near East,” she said. “I am specifically interested in conducting research that brings together biological questions with information about society and culture in the archaeological record. My interest in archaeology stemmed from the way it provided an overlap between my two majors, anthropology and history.”
The Beinecke Scholarship Program was established in 1971 by the Board of Directors of The Sperry and Hutchinson Company to honor Edwin, Frederick, and Walter Beinecke. The Board created an endowment to provide substantial scholarships for the graduate education of young men and women of exceptional promise. The program seeks to encourage and enable highly motivated students to pursue opportunities available to them and to be courageous in the selection of a graduate course of study in the arts, humanities and social sciences.
MSU has produced one Beinecke Scholar since 2011, when the university was invited to be a nominating institution.
The National and International Fellowship and Scholarship (NIFS) Office at Michigan State University, administered by the Honors College, helps interested undergraduate and graduate students to pursue major national and international opportunities by providing information and direct support throughout the competitive application processes. The Honors College serves academically talented, committed students who wish to pursue and achieve academic excellence. The Honors College strives to ensure an enriched academic and social experience for our members and create an environment that fosters active, innovative learning.