Faye Hays, a senior environmental design major at Texas A&M University, has been selected as a Marshall Scholar. Comparable to the Rhodes Scholarship, the Marshall Scholarship is highly competitive: of the 900 – 1000 applicants who are nominated for application by their respective universities each year, only 40 are selected. The scholarships are tenable for two to three years of post-baccalaureate study at any university in the United Kingdom. Ms. Hays plans to study architectural and urban design at University College London’s Bartlett School of Architecture.

Originally from Ben Wheeler, Texas, and Kionia, Greece, Hays’s design skills span beyond architecture to graphics, furniture, and fashion, and she is also an accomplished sculptor, photographer, musician, and composer. Soon after enrolling at Texas A&M, she began performing piano concerts to raise funds to help purchase a grand piano for student use the Langford Architecture Center. She has also collaborated with faculty to create visual pieces for the Brazos Symphony Orchestra and serves on several committees that advise on the development of the College of Architecture. She has traveled extensively in Greece, Italy, Spain, France, The Netherlands, England, and The Bahamas. In her career, Hays hopes to study architecture in terms of both the physical and intangible built environment, while researching the different ways that various creative media, including music, two-dimensional composition and spatial design, can improve society’s quality of life.

Hays is the fourth Aggie to receive the Marshall Scholarship. In 2004, Genetics major Joshua Siepel and English major Maya Weilundemo were selected. Texas A&M University’s first Marshall Scholar was Chemistry major Tommy Miller, in 2000.

The Marshall Scholarships began in 1953 as a gesture of thanks from the British Government for the US assistance in rebuilding Europe after World War II. Former Marshall Scholars include Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and world-renowned author and New York Times Foreign Affairs columnist Thomas Friedman. According to the Marshall Scholarship Foundation, as future leaders, Marshall Scholars are “expected to strengthen the enduring relationship between the British and American peoples, their governments and their institutions. Marshall Scholars are talented, independent and wide-ranging, and their time as Scholars enhances their intellectual and personal growth. Their direct engagement with Britain through its best academic programmes contributes to their ultimate personal success.”

Students who wish to apply to the Marshall Scholarship must first be nominated by their undergraduate institution. Nominees must show strong scholarly potential, demonstrated through their academic record and letters of recommendation from faculty, leadership ability, demonstrated through their involvement in student and civic organizations, and excellent speaking and analytical skills, as demonstrated in a series of interviews. Current or former students who wish to apply for nomination should contact Mr. Kyle Mox, National Scholarships Coordinator in the Office of Honors Programs and Academic Scholarships – (979) 845-1957 or kemox@tamu.edu.

Faye Hays (BED '07)