Tufts student receives scholarship from Astronaut Scholarship Foundation

Tufts senior Summer Morrill was awarded a $10,000 scholarship from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation by astronaut Kathyrn Thornton in an official ceremony on Oct. 17.

The Astronaut Scholarship is a tuition grant that was started by the Mercury 7 astronauts, a group of astronauts who strive to fund college students interested in fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), according to Morrill.

“They really want to give [the scholarship] to people who are going to have long-term careers in research, which is what I plan to do after college,” she said.

Morrill explained that she thought she was going to have to graduate early, but the scholarship will give her the opportunity to finish off her senior year at Tufts.

According to Anne Moore, program specialist in scholar development at Tufts, Morrillwas one of four Tufts applicants for the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, which is another prestigious STEM scholarship. As a Goldwater applicant, she, along with one other applicant, was then nominated by the Tufts scholarship committee for the Astronaut Scholarship. The two candidates then submitted an additional essay.

“[Morrill’s] grades were off the charts," Moore explained. "She had really innovative research. Her recommendations were like no other recommendations. She’s really made her value as a scientist colleague here clear."

Morrill, who is a biology major and has been doing independent research in the Fuchs Lab since sophomore year, explained that she does molecular research and is currently doing an honors thesis in the lab. She is looking at characterizing large representative protein regions.

On campus, she is both a group and a one-on-one tutor for the Academic Resource Center, and is an executive board member on the planning committee for Relay for Life, Morrill added.

At the ceremony to present Morrill with the award, Interim Dean of the School Arts and Schools James Glaser gave an introduction, and Thornton, who has been to space on four occasions, presented the check to Morrill, according to Moore.

“Thornton focused on her own experience of space travel and shared what it was like to be hurled into space,” she said.

Morrill explained that Thornton's story resonated with her.

“I think the most meaningful part for me was hearing her story," she said. "[Thornton] is the second woman ever to be admitted into the space program, which just blows my mind. She never intended to go into the space program, which is kind of how I feel about research. I didn’t think I was going to go into it, but applying to so many labs and scholarships has given me so many different opportunities."

Moore underscored the importance of having female participation in this kind of research.

“For it to be a female astronaut presenting the award and to have Morrill winning it is such an exciting thing to see," she said. "It is so exciting seeing innovative research being done by women.”

Morrill explained that she is interested in studying genetics and molecular biology, particularly as it applies to human disease, and that she is currently applying to graduate programs in molecular and cancer biology.

“The reason why I chose [those graduate studies] is because I am really interested in cancer research," she said. "My mom is actually a breast cancer survivor."

Morrill highlighted Moore's role in helping her throughout the process.

"[Moore] is amazing, and has helped me through all of this," she said. "She listened to my essay and gave me advice. She is a great resource.”

A student from Tufts has won the Astronaut Scholarship every year since 1994, according to Moore, who added that Tufts arranges many other prestigious scholarships such as the Rhodes Scholarship, the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, the Udall Scholarship and the Harry S. Truman Scholarship. 

“The way I think about it is that if you are interested in a career in academia, my job is to help you find ways to get there faster and more successfully,” she said.