For many University students, maintaining a scholarship throughout a four-year degree program is an achievement in itself.
For Logan de La Barre-Hays, interviewing for one of the most prestigious scholarship programs in the world is just another day.
De La Barre-Hays, an international studies and political science senior, was named a finalist for both the Rhodes Scholarship and the Marshall Scholarship. Winning either one would allow her to attend graduate school at a prestigious English university.
“If I got to choose, that would be an extremely fortunate set of circumstances,” de La Barre-Hays said.
If she wins the Rhodes Scholarship, de La Barre-Hays said she intends to enroll at Oxford University, while the Marshall Scholarship would allow her to attend the London School of Economics and Political Science.
As an Honors College and College of Humanities and Social Sciences student, de La Barre-Hays has thrown herself into community and volunteer work. She has worked with the humanitarian group International Relief and Development to rebuild houses in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, and she helped rebuild houses in Nicaragua that were destroyed by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
De La Barre-Hays said her volunteer work and her experience being displaced by Hurricane Katrina for several months have driven her passion for helping those affected by natural and political disasters.
“Katrina really piqued my interest, living through that brief but impactful refugee experience,” de La Barre-Hays said. “My ultimate goal is to work with political refugees, but obviously there’s not much you can do with that in Baton Rouge.”
De La Barre-Hays said if she wins one of the scholarships, she plans to conduct research on how refugee aid can be better
coordinated to quickly help people in these situations.
“I want some time to really think about it in depth,” de La Barre-Hays said. “Refugee policy needs to be reformed, better funded, and we need to see more intent from international governments.”
De La Barre-Hays interviews for the Rhodes Scholarship later this month, and winners will be announced shortly after. She interviewed for the Marshall Scholarship, and winners will be announced this week.