Student Excellence Times Two
By Eva Emerson
David M. Chacko and Nilay U. Vora, both seniors in USC College, have been selected as 2004 Marshall Scholars.
The prestigious scholarships fund two years of graduate education at a
British university. Each year, the program selects 40 U.S. students
based on academic achievement, leadership skills and interest in
international issues.
Winning is an honor, especially considering the caliber of the many
students who apply each year, says Chacko, a student in the
Baccalaureate/MD Program at the College and in business administration
at the USC Marshall School of Business. David’s older brother Jacob won
the same award four years ago.
Chacko, who will attend the University of Oxford, wants to become a
leader in health policy and a physician to the medically underserved.
At Oxford next fall he will study health care systems and policies from
around the world in a comparative social policy master’s program.
Chacko’s long list of achievements and honors include a 4.0 GPA,
membership in the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society and being named a USC
Trustee Scholar. He also plays on the men’s soccer team, has done
biomedical research and is the co-founder and program manager of the
Collegiate Med Volunteers program.
“David is one of the most amazing all-around students I’ve ever had,”
says Catherine Sugar, an assistant professor in the business school.
“He is like three star students rolled into one.” Fellow winner Nilay
Vora “exemplifies the best of USC,” says Alison Dundes Renteln,
associate professor of political science. She calls Vora “an
intellectual gem and a natural leader.”
As a Marshall Scholar Vora will study human rights at the London School
of Economics and Politics and, in his second year, at Queen’s
University in Belfast, Ireland. After that, he plans to go to law
school and specialize in international human rights law.
Vora came to USC as a pre-medical student, but switched to a double
major in statistics and the interdisciplinary study of human rights and
non-violence.
Vora’s commitment to social justice has led him to organize workers in
India, Sri Lanka and Mexico on labor rights. With the support of the
AFL-CIO, Vora spearheaded a student group’s filing of a complaint about
conditions at certain Mexican factories. The complaint was filed under
the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
The Marshall Scholar program began in 1953 as a gesture of thanks from
the British government for U.S. assistance after World War II. The
scholarships are named after George C. Marshall, the late U.S. general
and former secretary of state.
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