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Three Washington and Lee Students Named Kemper Scholars

Yo Han (John) Ahn, of St. Louis, Missouri; Josie Anker, of Sparta, New Jersey; and Skyler Zunk, of Moseley, Virginia, all first-year students at Washington and Lee University, have been selected as Kemper Scholars.

Recipients are selected from a national applicant pool of first-year college students and receive scholarship assistance for three years based on financial need. Each also receives summer project stipends for two years, attends the annual Kemper Scholars Conference and performs a summer internship at a Chicago-area major non-profit organization after their sophomore year.

Following the junior year, scholars are placed in paid summer internships throughout the U.S. with the Kemper Corp., to gain experience and skills in the insurance industry.

Ahn, a Gates Millennium Scholar, anticipates majoring in business administration and European history. He is a member of the First Year Leadership Council, the Youth Literacy Project and Campus Kitchen leadership team. He is on the leadership team for SPEAK and on the videos committee for the First Year Orientation Committee.

Anker is a member of Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society, the First Year Leadership Council, SPEAK, Chi Omega Sorority, Lifestyle Information for Everyone, Relay for Life and the Red Cross Club. She was in the musical production of “Legally Blonde,” is a volunteer for Nabors Service Day and on the Dean’s List and Honor Roll.

Zunk is a long-distance runner on the varsity cross country and track team and a member of Contact Committee, the First Year Leadership Council and was a member of the 2016 Mock Convention Platform Committee. In 2016-2017, Zunk will be a community assistant in the upper division residence halls.

The James S. Kemper Foundation, which funds the program, supports undergraduate study of the liberal arts as the best preparation for life and career, while providing opportunities for career exploration, practical experience and professional growth. It fosters potential leaders who pursue a broad undergraduate education, while participating in community service, campus activities and vocational exploration outside the classroom.

“Kemper Scholars represent a select group of undergraduates from a group of exemplary liberal arts colleges around the country,” said Dr. Ryan LaHurd, president of the James S. Kemper Foundation. “They are selected because they are committed to their studies and service in their communities and because they have exhibited leadership and well-rounded, ethical character. Throughout the over six decades of the program, scholars have gone on to make outstanding contributions as leaders in organizations around the country.”