April 21, 2010
Jennifer Ghandhi. Download image.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) senior Jennifer Ghandhi, a 22-year-old from Huntsville, has earned a $5,000 fellowship from the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi for the academic year that begins in fall 2010.
Ghandhi is an economics major in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences with a concentration in Philosophy and Political Economy, a program that is jointly sponsored by the Department of Philosophy and the School of Business Department of Marketing Industrial Distribution and Economics.
Ghandhi, who is a member of the University Honors Program, was awarded the fellowship for her academic performance, strong standardized test scores and volunteerism. She also has been active in undergraduate research, including a successful 2009 investigation into correlations between debilitating health conditions and levels of happiness that led to an invitation to present a co-authored paper at the annual Conference of the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies in Europe.
Every U.S. university Phi Kappa Phi chapter is allowed a single applicant for the annual fellowships but only 57 awards are granted each year. The fellowships cover the costs related to a recipient's first year of graduate or professional study. Ghandhi's fellowship will support her plan to attend the University of Chicago to pursue doctorates in medicine and public policy.
"My early ambitions were to pursue medicine and benefit people's lives as a physician," Ghandhi says. "My interdisciplinary studies and research experience at UAB have taught me that I have the chance for an even greater impact by also earning a Ph.D. in public policy and pursuing research that leads to improvements in the delivery of medicine."
Ghandhi, who will graduate UAB in May, has a 4.0 grade-point average. Her parents are Phil and Juliet Ghandhi of Huntsville.
About the UAB College of Arts and Sciences
The UAB College of Arts and Sciences is home to academic disciplines that include the arts, humanities, sciences and the School of Education. The college's unique structure advances research and learning in both K-12 and higher education, and its courses are taught by a world-class faculty. Committed to the UAB spirit of independence and innovation, the college enables students to design their own majors, participate in undergraduate research or complete graduate degrees on a five-year fast track. Through productive partnerships, flexible curricula and a bold, interdisciplinary approach to learning and teaching, the college is preparing students for success in the ever-changing global marketplace of commerce and ideas.