Alumna selected as National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow
Now pursuing her Ph.D. at Northwestern University, Eden Melles continues to earn honors
Janel Shoun-Smith | 615-966-7078 |
Eden Melles during her days at Lipscomb.
Northwestern University doctoral candidate Eden Melles (BA ’20) graduated from Lipscomb with a bevy of academic honors. She continues to earn praise during her studies in political science at Northwestern’s Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences, having procured a spot in the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP).
The GRFP helps to ensure the quality, vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States through a five-year fellowship that provides three years of financial support inclusive of an annual stipend of $37,000.
Established in 1951, it is the nation’s oldest fellowship program that directly supports graduate students in various STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields.
Currently, 42 NSF fellows have gone on to become Nobel laureates, and more than 450 have become members of the National Academy of Sciences. In addition, the Graduate Research Fellowship Program has a high rate of doctorate degree completion, with more than 70 percent of students completing their doctorates within 11 years.
At Northwestern, Melles is “is deeply engaged in exploring the dynamics of race, ethnicity and identity, with a specific focus on Black immigrants and diaspora, social movements and political behavior.”
Before graduating, Melles was selected for the four-month Moore Undergraduates Research Apprenticeship Program at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and was awarded the American Political Science Association Diversity Fellowship, a $4,000 award presented to only 12 to 14 students in the nation each fall.
Learn more about Melles studies at Northwestern in this profile posted by The Graduate School at Northwestern.
Learn more about Melles’ experience at Lipscomb and how it prepared her for success in her Ph.D. studies.