The Horton Scholarship
The Wayne and Claire Horton Scholarship provides a unique, customized educational experience abroad for undergraduate engineering students at Virginia Tech. As the 2007 Horton Scholar, I traveled to China for my Horton Experience. You can view my application portfolio as well as a full record of my blog from this trip.
My application portfolio was a work-in-progress until submission, but the trip itself was free to change and adapt as it was carried out. As such, my trip significantly changed after being given the award in 2007. I decided to travel to Dalian from June through August of 2008 to attend a language and culture immersion program at Liaoning Normal University. I then traveled to Shanghai where I interned with General Electric in their Wind Turbine Advanced Technology Operations Division.
About the Horton Scholarship:
Facilitated through the Virginia Tech University Honors Program, each year the scholarship provides assistance to outstanding honors students in the College of Engineering. The purpose of the scholarship is twofold:
The application process is rigorous. The applicants must assess the future direction of their lives and plan the events that will add significant value to their college education. This must be done with the assistance of a faculty mentor. Application is made through the development of a portfolio. The portfolio is a collection of the work and ideas of the student and, properly done, should provide the selection committees with a portrait of the applicant. The portfolio for the Horton Honors Scholars remains a work-in-progress until the Scholar graduates. In addition to other personal documents, the portfolio must include a proposal that:
The Horton Scholarship is named after its benefactors, Wayne and Claire Horton. The late Wayne Horton is a graduate of Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering. Claire Horton is an anthropology professor who taught at Marshall University. Claire currently resides in Huntington, West Virginia, and remains very active with Virginia Tech and the Honors Program.
My application portfolio was a work-in-progress until submission, but the trip itself was free to change and adapt as it was carried out. As such, my trip significantly changed after being given the award in 2007. I decided to travel to Dalian from June through August of 2008 to attend a language and culture immersion program at Liaoning Normal University. I then traveled to Shanghai where I interned with General Electric in their Wind Turbine Advanced Technology Operations Division.
About the Horton Scholarship:
Facilitated through the Virginia Tech University Honors Program, each year the scholarship provides assistance to outstanding honors students in the College of Engineering. The purpose of the scholarship is twofold:
- To provide financial assistance for tuition, room, and board for the third and fourth years of study
- To provide the students the resources to design and complete a major educational experience that gives focus and direction to their undergraduate efforts.
The application process is rigorous. The applicants must assess the future direction of their lives and plan the events that will add significant value to their college education. This must be done with the assistance of a faculty mentor. Application is made through the development of a portfolio. The portfolio is a collection of the work and ideas of the student and, properly done, should provide the selection committees with a portrait of the applicant. The portfolio for the Horton Honors Scholars remains a work-in-progress until the Scholar graduates. In addition to other personal documents, the portfolio must include a proposal that:
- Requires international travel
- Demonstrates awareness and knowledge of cultural and social differences
- Attempts a project of meaning to both the student and the host country
- Develops a program to internationalize the engineering education of the student
The Horton Scholarship is named after its benefactors, Wayne and Claire Horton. The late Wayne Horton is a graduate of Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering. Claire Horton is an anthropology professor who taught at Marshall University. Claire currently resides in Huntington, West Virginia, and remains very active with Virginia Tech and the Honors Program.
