Selected Scholars

Alumni Endowed Undergraduate Scholarships, sponsored by the Duke Alumni Association, have been awarded to three members of the Class of 2005. The merit-based, named scholarships, each with an annual, renewable $8,000 stipend, are presented to children of alumni who qualified for financial aid.    

Myra Elizabeth Hiott, of York, South Carolina, is the Richard E. Thigpen Scholar. Thigpen ’22, L. ’23, was the first alumni secretary of Duke’s Trinity College, serving from 1923 to 1929. He chaired the National Council in 1948 and was president of the General Alumni Association in 1952. A trustee of Duke, he served on its executive committee until being named trustee emeritus in 1973.   The daughter of John Andrew Hiott M.F. ’79, she ranked first in her graduating class. She was captain of the girls’ cross-country and track and field teams; the track team was this year’s Regional AAA champions. She was voted Hardest Worker by the girls’ team in her tenth and eleventh grades. She was a member of the student council, and its vice president her senior year. A member of the National Honor Society and a National Merit semifinalist, she placed first in the state on the National French Exam and was a member of Mu Alpha Theta, the honorary math fraternity.    

David Andrew Lewis, of Mountainhome, Pennsylvania, is the Henry Dwire Scholar. Dwire ’02 was director of public relations and alumni affairs from 1939 to 1941, and a vice president of Duke from 1941 to 1944.   The son of Jan Davis Lewis P.T. ’73, he ranked first in his graduating class. Skilled in mathematics, he took pre-calculus in the eighth grade in a class of eleventh-graders. During high school, he took additional math classes at East Stroudsburg University. Since 1997, he has placed first in county and state math tournaments and has won two essay contests. He founded and was president of the LEO Club, a community-service organization affiliated with the Lions Club. He was co-captain of the cross-country team, played basketball in a summer championship league, and plays the French horn in his community’s Trinity Centennial Band. He received a Good Citizenship Award and has been named Student of the Month by both the Rotary Club and the Exchange Club.   

Michele Eileen Pugh, of Raleigh, North Carolina, is the Fannie Mitchell Scholar. Mitchell was acting director of the placement office from 1941 until 1949, when she was appointed director. She retired in 1986.   The daughter of Michael Martin Pugh M.B.A. ’89, she ranked first in her graduating class. She was vice president of her school’s National Honor Society, received a Harvard Book Award, and has won various awards at math contests and at the annual French Festival at North Carolina State University. She was Overall Scholastics Winner this year in the Cary/Apex Junior Miss pageant. A dance student, she takes classes at a dance studio where she also teaches younger students. She has won several awards in dance competitions.    Current Alumni Endowed Undergraduate Scholars at Duke are: James A. Grant ’02, Roger L. Marshall Scholar; Jessica F. Snow ’02, Herbert J. Herring Scholar; Rachel E. Baden ’03, Anne W. Garrard Scholar; George M. Freeman ’03, Mary Grace Wilson Scholar; Cara E. Weber ’03, Frank T. deVyver Scholar; Pamela E. Leech ’04, Charles E. Jordan Scholar; Sarah A. McKeown ’04, Alan K. Manchester Scholar; and Jacob S. Usner ’04, Charles A. Dukes Scholar.