Student Wins Fellowship, Stipend

After a college career full of offices and achievements, Anne-Marie Oreskovich '99 now has an honor that will fill up her bank account as well as her resume.

Last week, Oreskovich was announced as the winner of a Exceptional Student Fellowship given by the State Farm Companies Foundation. The award carries a $3,000 stipend to fund one year of graduate school. Oreskovich leaves Harvard with a stellar academic record, including a rank in Group One and a nomination to Phi Beta Kappa.

She has also won a place on the 1999 USA Today All-USA Academic First Team and was selected for the 1998 U.S. Renaissance Games, an academic, arts and athletic fair for college students from across the country.

To make the cut for the State Farm award, Oreskovich had to compete with 600 students for 50 fellowship slots.

"The Fellowship winners are chosen on the basis of their scholastic performance, business leadership potential, extracurricular and volunteer activities, and recommendations from the college dean and other faculty," Jill Jones, an assistant secretary of the Foundation's board of directors said in a press release.

Oreskovich cited Harvard's math department for contributing to her success, saying that it "has been extremely inspirational and supportive throughout my years here at Harvard."

Oreskovich is the president of the Women in Math Club and co-president of the Math Club. In addition, she is a founder of Sing Boston, a volunteer group that sings at hospitals and nursing homes.

Oreskovich has also been a member of the MIT math research team, has spoken about her research at several Harvard colloquia, and has served as a "Big Sib" in Women in Science at Harvard-Radcliffe. She will continue her studies at University of California--Los Angeles, where she plans to receive an M.D. and a Ph.D. in mathematics.

Otto K. Bretscher, a former Harvard math professor who is now at Colby College, was among one of Oreskovich's supporters for the award.

"In a school of great minds and ambitious spirits, this young lady remains in my memory at the top," Bretscher wrote to the fellowship's selection committee. "She is a brilliant thinker. She is a stunningly multi-talented person."