Grad student wins Horatio Alger Scholarship

By Karen Plant
J-School Web reporter

Laura Barnes

A lunch of grilled salmon, tossed salad and fruit kabobs at the old Northern Pacific Railroad Depot was only a small portion of the generosity recently awarded to two UM students, one a journalism graduate student, by businessman Dennis Washington.

Laura Barnes and Lillian Latshaw, the first two recipients of the Dennis R. Washington Horatio Alger Graduate Scholarship, lunched recently with Washington’s top executives, who welcomed the students to Montana with congratulations and offers of continued support.

“Stay in touch,” said Mike Halligan, executive director of the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation, assuring the students of the foundation’s desire to nurture them as scholars.

Since 2004, the Washington Foundation has partnered with the University of Montana, providing $2 million to help undergraduates through the Horatio Alger Montana Scholarship Program. However, this is the first year graduate students have benefited as well.

As graduate recipients, Barnes and Latshaw each received a one-time stipend of $25,000, plus $3,000 for meals and lodging, a teaching or research assistant position and a waiver of their out-of-state tuition.

Barnes, from Delaware, plans to pursue a two-year master’s degree in print journalism at UM.  Latshaw, from Pennsylvania, will study counselor education.

Barnes said she had planned to apply for a position with The Associated Press in New York after earning a bachelor’s degree from Wesley College, but changed her mind after learning about the graduate scholarship.

“I always wanted to get my master’s someday,” Barnes said.

Her biggest challenge now is time management. “I’m trying to see that everything gets done,” she said.  “Money-wise, I’m pretty well set.”

The scholarship program is aimed at helping students who have confronted and overcome adversity. Barnes’ mother moved often, taking Barnes and her younger sister from state to state, trying to “start over” again and again.

“I was homeless a couple of times,” Barnes said. “But I made a decision when I was very young that I wanted to earn a college degree.”

Barnes considers Dover, Del., home, having spent more time there than anywhere else. She arrived in Missoula in early summer and is enjoying Montana. 

“This is the 10th state that I have lived in,” she said.

The graduate scholarship is available to students who have previously received a Horatio Alger scholarship as an undergraduate, and “who have demonstrated extraordinary intellectual ability, integrity and leadership potential,” according to the foundation. In 2003, Barnes was awarded a Horatio Alger undergraduate scholarship to attend Wesley College.

Her classes at UM are going well so far, she said.

“I am just so glad to be here,” she said.  “It is an amazing opportunity.”

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