Auburn Opens Doors to Prestigious Scholarships for All

Auburn University is on a mission to help more students discover scholarships that can literally change their lives.

Benjamin Fagan, the university's new assistant director for National Prestigious Scholarships, has spent his first six months visiting departments and student groups with one clear message: these transformative opportunities are for everyone, not just honors students. "There's absolutely no requirement or expectation that you have to be involved with the Honors College to apply," Fagan said.

The scholarships fund everything from study abroad programs to graduate degrees at world-renowned institutions like Cambridge and MIT. Auburn students have won several in the past, but Fagan believes many more are within reach if students from all backgrounds know they can apply.

Maggie Nelson proves just how far these scholarships can take you. Before graduating in 2024 with a degree in aerospace engineering, she became Auburn's first Winston Churchill Scholarship recipient and earned five total prestigious awards, breaking the university record for any undergraduate.

Those wins took her from an internship in Germany to a master's degree at Cambridge. Today she's pursuing her PhD at MIT, calling the scholarships "truly life-changing."

Why This Inspires

The transformation started before Nelson won anything. The application process itself forced her to dig deep and articulate her passions, experiences, and dreams in ways she never had before.

"You have to sit down and craft a coherent vision or story of what you have done and what you want to do," Nelson said. "This ultimately helped me figure out where I truly wanted to go, rather than simply following the path of inertia."

John Murray, Auburn's most recent winner of the Humanities at Hertog Fellowship, felt the same way. "You just learn a lot about yourself going through the process, whether or not you get the scholarship," the political science student said.

That self-discovery might be just as valuable as the funding itself. Students gain clarity about their goals, practice articulating their vision, and build confidence in their potential.

Auburn's commitment means more students from diverse backgrounds will get that chance to dream bigger and reach further than they thought possible.