Four Jayhawks will compete for Rhodes and Marshall scholarships
LAWRENCE — Three alumnae and one senior have been endorsed for prestigious fellowships for study in the United Kingdom with the support of the University of Kansas Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships.
The alumnae, consisting of Allison Bell, Irene Caracioni and Rita Pham, and current senior Maizie Ferguson, have been endorsed for the Rhodes Scholarship and Marshall Scholarship. The Rhodes Scholarship provides expenses for 1-3 years of study at the University of Oxford in England. The Marshall Scholarship provides funding for 1-2 years of graduate study at any university in the United Kingdom.
Regional panels review applications for both the Rhodes and Marshall scholarship programs. In November, finalists for the Rhodes and Marshall competitions are invited to participate in interviews in Chicago. Only U.S. citizens can apply for the Marshall Scholarship, while the Rhodes Scholarship has 20 constituencies around the world, including the United States and Canada, as well as a Global Rhodes Scholarship program. KU students have previously won nine Marshall Scholarships and 27 Rhodes Scholarships.
The Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships, a unit of Undergraduate Education in Academic Affairs, coordinates KU's endorsement process and supports candidates as they work through applications. Students interested in applying for these awards are encouraged to contact the office by email at curf@ku.edu. Depending on other eligibility requirements, students may apply for these awards as graduating seniors or recent graduates. The next application deadline for these awards is May 18, 2026.
Faculty Fellows Phillip Drake, Jonathan Lamb and Stacey Vanderhurst worked with nominees in advising them on their applications. Read more about the applicants:
Allison Bell, from Lawrence, is the daughter of Julie and Steed Bell and a graduate of Lawrence High School. Graduating from KU in May 2025, Bell received bachelor’s degrees in linguistics and German studies. Through her scholarship, Bell plans to pursue the Applied Linguistics MSc at the University of Edinburgh. During her time at KU, she was involved in the Table Tennis Club and the KU Libraries Student Ambassador Program (KULSAP), and she worked as a student supervisor at the Watson Library Circulation Desk. Bell also served on the 2024 KU Common Book selection committee and participated in the pilot program for a student-led curation project for KU Libraries. She plans to pursue a career in the field of library and information science with the goal of making information more accessible.
Irene Caracioni, from Topeka, is the daughter of Stefania Caracioni and a graduate of Topeka High School. Caracioni received bachelor’s degrees in economics, mathematics and Spanish at KU. Through the scholarship, Caracioni plans to pursue the Economics DPhil at the London School of Economics and Political Science. While at KU, Caracioni conducted extensive research on a food waste reduction strategy and the Safe Drinking Water Act, presenting her joint research at multiple conferences. She served as president of the Economics Club, undergraduate representative in the KU Department of Economics Undergraduate Committee and a member of the U.S.-China Trade War Lab. Caracioni spent a year studying abroad in Madrid, Spain, and attended a doctoral-level summer course in corporate finance at Università della Svizzera italiana in Lugano, Switzerland. Caracioni received several campus awards, including the Economics Department John Ise Award for seniors with exceptional academic achievements, and was selected as commencement speaker for the department’s graduation. She graduated with university and departmental honors. Caracioni currently works as a research assistant at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, D.C.
Maizie Ferguson, from Olathe, is the daughter of Aaron and Jennifer Ferguson and a graduate of Ferguson Academy. As a senior at KU, she is pursuing a degree in English with departmental honors and a minor in violin. Through her scholarship, she plans to pursue the Digital Scholarship MSc at the University of Oxford. She hopes to obtain her master’s degree in the United Kingdom and enter the flourishing field of digital humanities. Other academic interests include literary preservation, 18th-19th century British literature, Jane Austen and editing. She is an office assistant in the Department of English and is currently interning for Jonathan Lamb, KU professor of English, aiding in the creation of his scholarly edition of “Love’s Labour’s Lost.” Maizie has long been involved with the Jane Austen Collaborative and is technical director for its Jane Austen & Co. programming, as well as registrar for the Jane Austen Summer Program. She recently joined the team for the digital humanities operative Jane Austen’s Desk as an intern and head of publicity & educational outreach. She is also a student in the University Honors Program and a member of the KU Symphony Orchestra.
Rita Pham, from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, is the daughter of Kim and Henry Liu and a graduate of Lee’s Summit West High School. She received bachelor’s degrees in political science and East Asian languages & cultures, with a concentration in Chinese. Through the Marshall Scholarship, Pham would pursue the MSc International Migration and Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her honors include receiving a three-year scholarship for incoming 1L students as an American Bar Association Legal Opportunity Scholar and joining Phi Kappa Phi’s 2025 Walter and Adelheid Hohenstein Fellowship for Graduate Studies. She was named a 2024-2025 Chinese Fellow of the Foreign Language and Area Studies program under the U.S. Department of Education as well as a 2024 C.E.D.A. Debate Academic All-American. She participated in a 2024 study abroad program in Scandinavia as a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholar under the U.S. Department of State. Pham is also a former KU honors college student, former social chair and debater for the KU Policy Team (2022–2025), a policy intern for the KU Office of Audit, Risk & Compliance and a 2025 research assistant for Najarian Peters, KU associate professor of law, at the Center for Cyber-Social Dynamics over topics in algorithmic bias, racial relations and artificial intelligence governance. She is currently a law student pursuing a juris doctor at Georgetown Law in Washington, D.C.