Scholarships Open Doors For Smart Sisters

It's been awhile since UM student Hilary Martens took the type of class where "how I spent my summer vacation" might be assigned.

But what a tale the junior could tell. Martens spent 10 weeks over the summer working at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory in England, as the youngest person assigned to the international Cassini Mission to Saturn. Her team worked with the Cassini plasma spectrometer, which determines the density and composition of matter on Saturn.

Like her younger sister Emily, Hilary is a Presidential Scholar at UM. The Presidential Scholarships, funded by private donations, are UM's premier academic scholarships. Good for four years, they cover tuition, offer a stipend that pays for room, board, books and fees, and carry automatic admission into the Davidson Honors College.

"It basically takes care of everything," says Hilary, a physics major who minors in both math and music composition.
Emily, a freshman, is studying pre-pharmacy.

The sisters, both Missoula natives and graduates of Sentinel High School, say their success is due to parents who got them involved in a wide variety of activities when they were younger.

Their father, Roger, is the U.S. Postmaster at Clinton, Mont. Mom Barbara is special projects coordinator for Missoula County.

Hilary and Emily had academic resumes that would have gained them admission to any number of colleges. Indeed, coming out of high school Hilary believed her best option was to pursue her studies elsewhere.

"Then I realized all the same opportunities are here," she says. "You just have to take advantage of them."

There was never any doubt in Emily's mind.

"I've always loved the campus, and it's a great school," she says. "It has lots of pluses, more than any other school I looked at."

For both, the prestigious Presidential Scholarships UM was able to offer them made the decision all the easier.

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