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Wyoming's Jessica Mellinger Named One of 32 Rhodes Scholars Senior golfer is first Mountain West Conference Student-Athlete to Receive Honor.
Dec. 8, 1999
Laramie, Wyo. (Dec. 8, 1999) -- University of Wyoming senior Jessica Mellinger of Sheridan, a member of the University of Wyoming women's golf team, was chosen this week as one of 32 college students in the nation to receive a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University in England. Mellinger plans on pursuing a career in medicine. She is currently completing a double major in English and molecular biology at UW. Mellinger has been a member of the University of Wyoming women's golf team all four years she has attended UW. She is the daughter of Leslie and Ken Mellinger of Sheridan, Wyo. "This is an overwhelming honor," said Jessica Mellinger. "I am looking forward to studying English at Oxford beginning next fall. I still plan to become a doctor, but I think it is important to study a balance of science and humanities. By studying English, I believe it will help me become a more empathetic physician someday. "Jill (Johnson) always set academics as a priority for us as student-athletes," added Mellinger. "Hopefully, I'll be able to fulfill a golf dream of mine while I'm in England -- that is to play St. Andrews golf course in Scotland." "We are extremely proud of Jessica," said University of Wyoming Athletics Director Lee Moon. "Of all the outstanding college students nationally to apply for this honor, she was one of only 32 to be selected. It is extremely difficult to manage the demands of being a student-athlete at the collegiate level, and for her to succeed at such a high level is a credit to her. We congratulate her and her family for this honor. We are also proud that Jessica earns the distinction of being the first student-athlete in Mountain West Conference history to earn a Rhodes Scholarship." "We are so happy for Jessica," said UW women's golf coach Jill Johnson. "She has worked extremely hard, both academically and as a member of our golf team, throughout her time at the University. To see her awarded a Rhodes Scholarship is just unbelievable. To earn such a distinction is something I know she is excited about, and our entire team is excited for her." Mellinger is a member of Alpha Epsilon Delta, the pre-professional honor society for students planning a career in medicine. She is also a UW Honors Program participant, and holds a Trustee's Superior Student Scholarship. As a sophomore, Mellinger earned membership in Spurs, the sophomore honor society.
This year's class of applicants for the Rhodes Scholarship included 930 students from 323 colleges and universities across the United States. The University of Wyoming was one of only 26 colleges and universities to have a student chosen for the honor. Rhodes Scholars are chosen from United States citizens ages 18-24 who have completed or will soon complete a bachelor's degree. Candidates must display a "proven intellectual and academic achievement of a high standard, integrity of character, interest in and respect for fellow human beings, the ability to lead and the energy to use their talents to the fullest." Cecil J. Rhodes (1853-1902) established the Rhodes Scholarship program for candidates from the British Commonwealth and the United States to study at Oxford University. Rhodes was a British business leader in the late 1800s.
Mellinger becomes the first UW Rhodes Scholar since Geraldine Wright
of Casper, Wyo., who received the honor in 1994. Wright was a botany major
who graduated from UW in the spring of 1994. She began her studies at
Oxford University in the fall of '94.
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