SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. — Shippensburg University student and mathematics major Tristan Phillips recently received a Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation Scholarship.
Phillips, a sophomore in the honors program, is the university’s first Goldwater recipient.
The federally endowed scholarship program honors Sen. Barry Goldwater, and was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering.
Goldwater scholars are selected based on academic merit and are nominated by campus representatives from 2,000 colleges and universities nationwide. Phillips was one of 240 sophomore and junior scholars selected.
He credited his mentor, Lenny Jones, professor of mathematics; the university’s Goldwater faculty representative, John Richardson, professor of chemistry; and Kim Klein, director of the SU honors program, for assisting him with his successful application.
“We are enormously proud of Tristan’s success in this highly competitive national scholarship program. An important key to Tristan’s achievement was his engagement in undergraduate research projects beginning in his freshman year,” Klein said in a news release.
Klein also recognized the research opportunities provided by Shippensburg University and its honors program as key components in preparing students to successfully compete for major scholarships.
Phillips is a member of SU’s Chess Club, and a volunteer assistant for the cross-country and track-and-field teams. He hopes to become a mathematics researcher and professor.