Two Kemper Scholars Selected from W&L This Year
Christopher Curfman, of Altoona, Pa., and Edward Stroud of Shreveport, La., first-year students at Washington and Lee University, have been selected from a group of finalists for the incoming class of the prestigious Kemper Scholars Program.
The program has been sponsored by the James S. Kemper Foundation of Chicago, Illinois, since 1948. W&L is assured one position in the program each year and it is rare for participating schools to have more than one student per year selected. This, however, marks four of the last five years in which two W&L first-year students have been chosen.
The Kemper Scholars Program’s mission is preparing students for leadership and service, especially in the fields of organizational administration and business. The Foundation believes that undergraduate study of the liberal arts represents the best preparation for life and career. The program aims to promote education in the liberal arts while providing students opportunities for career exploration and practical experience.
Curfman, an economics and mathematics double major, is co-president of the Quiz Bowl, officer of the Deutsch Club and made the Dean’s List both fall and winter terms of his freshman year. He is an ACT/SAT tutor, an after-school tutor and assistant treasurer of Sigma Nu fraternity.
Stroud, an economics and global politics double major with poverty minor, is a volunteer recruiter for Habitat for Humanity and belongs to Community Financial Freedom. He is a member of W&L’s Engineers Without Borders, Beta Theta Pi fraternity, the Outing Club, Fly Fishing Club and the Reformed University Fellowship.
“We had a very competitive pool of applicants at W&L, which a selection committee including the current Kemper Scholars narrowed down to three finalists,” said John Jensen III, director of Career Development and associate dean of students. “All of the finalists were interviewed by Dr. LaHurd. I’m very proud of Chris and Edward; they will be wonderful Kemper Scholars.”
“Kemper Scholars represent the best undergraduates from a group of sixteen exemplary liberal arts colleges around the country,” explained Dr. Ryan LaHurd, president and executive director 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.”
Curfman and Stroud will receive annual scholarships up to $10,000 based on need during their sophomore, junior and senior years of college. They will also receive stipends to cover the costs of their work as interns in major non-profit organizations in Chicago during the summer following their sophomore year.
During the summer following their junior year, scholars are eligible for summer stipends to cover the costs of a learning opportunity in an internship in a for-profit corporation.
