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Release date: updated May 12, 2008 Ethical Leadership, Journalistic Talent Define 2008 McMullan Winner
Emory University senior Rachel Zelkowitz knows a little something about how to meet deadlines. During her four years at Emory, she took on numerous positions with the award-winning Emory Wheel, an independent student newspaper, and earned a reputation for grace under fire, high ethical standards and warm support of her colleagues.
These attributes led to her winning the 2008 Lucius Lamar McMullan Award, one of Emory's highest student honors which also comes with $25,000 -- no strings attached. Zelkowitz was cited by several nominators, representing a cross section of peers, staff and faculty, for her service, ethical leadership and academic rigor that have defined her career at Emory. "Winning the McMullan was truly stunning. There are so many tremendously talented people in my class doing extraordinary things, so this is not something I would ever expect to receive. It's truly an honor," Zelkowitz says. McMullan Award Given for Citizenship, Leadership The Lucius Lamar McMullan Award, endowed by Emory alumnus William L. Matheson in honor of his uncle, is given to a graduating senior who exhibits "outstanding citizenship, exceptional leadership and potential for service to his or her community, the nation and the world." The donor's intention is to allow a student to do something he or she wouldn't otherwise be able to do. Zelkowitz is a Phi Beta Kappa political science and journalism major from Longwood, Fla., and a Robert W. Woodruff Scholar at Emory. She recently completed an honors thesis in political science and will graduate with highest honors. Zelkowitz says she plans to give a gift to the Emory Counseling Center and set aside the rest of the award for graduate school and savings. "The counseling center performs a tremendous service to campus and has been a great source of support for me personally the past three years so I want to give back," Zelkowitz says. "I hope to see the center take a more prominent role in students' lives, and that the stigma associated with seeking help reduced." Passion for Science Led to Career Choice While in high school, she was a three-time winner of the Intel International Science Fair and intended to study science while at Emory. Joining the Wheel her freshman year changed her path. After graduation, she will head to a six-month internship with Science magazine, the premier publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and then seek a position as a science writer. "Science has always been a passion of mine. I plan to combine that with my love of writing and communicating, and hopefully provide a service that will benefit the public by increasing people's understanding of the importance of science in our lives. My training at Emory gave me a fantastic foundation to do this," she says. Zelkowitz Took on Executive Editor, Other Leadership Roles at Emory Zelkowitz recently served as executive editor of The Wheel while also taking on other leadership roles around campus. Zelkowitz was a member appeals board of the Emory College Honor Council, handling the challenging position of judging honor code violations by her peers and assessing sanctions. She served in a similar role for her sorority. She chaired the senior class day committee, which is deeply involved in preparations for the celebration and selection of the senior class day speaker. She also was a member of the team that selects Emory's commencement speaker. She was a student representative on the President's Commission on the Status of Women at Emory and used her musical talents in the Emory Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra as a French horn section co-leader. In addition to her work at Emory, she completed a medical news internship with CNN last summer, and in 2005 worked as an intern for the DeKalb County Child Advocacy Center. Zelkowitz is the daughter of Michael and Deborah Zelkowitz of Longwood, and a graduate of Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs, Fla. ### Emory University (www.emory.edu) is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate experience, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. Perennially ranked as one of the country's top 20 national universities by U.S. News & World Report, Emory encompasses nine academic divisions as well as the Carlos Museum, The Carter Center, the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, Georgia’s largest and most comprehensive health care system. Subscribe to News@Emory RSS feeds for automatic updates of the latest news at Emory. |
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