University of Pennsylvania senior GJ Melendez-Torres is the first-ever nursing student to win a Marshall Scholarship. The scholarship entitles him to study in the United Kingdom at any university he chooses.
 
The Marshall Scholarships were established by the British government in 1953. As many as 40 scholarships are offered each year, five for each of eight regions of the United States.
 
Melendez-Torres is a student in the joint Nursing and Health Care Program. He will graduate in 2011 with a B.S. in economics in health-care management and policy from the Wharton School and a B.S. from the School of Nursing.
 
During his two-year stay in the UK, Melendez-Torres plans to attend Oxford to obtain a research master’s degree in Evidence-Based Social Intervention.
 
He chose Oxford because he said it has “the only program in the world in this field.”
 
Melendez-Torres is interested in eventually making an impact on research surrounding mental
health issues in disadvantaged older adults.
 
After Oxford, he intends to return to Penn to pursue a master’s degree in Advanced Practice Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing with funding from the Truman Scholarship he won last spring.
 
At Penn, Melendez-Torres is the chairman of the United Minorities Council, speaker of the
Undergraduate Assembly, member of the Sphinx Senior Society and a residential adviser.
 
The Marshall Scholarship, which pays overseas transportation and all tuition and fees plus a personal allowance, can be used for two years and in some cases can be renewed for a third year.
 
“The application process was very rewarding,” he said. “By answering lots and lots of essays, I
learned about myself and what I want to do.”