UofL graduate named Rhodes Scholar

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A 2009 University of Louisville graduate has won a Rhodes Scholarship, the oldest and most prestigious award in academia.

As a Rhodes Scholar, Monica Marks will spend two years at the University of Oxford in England pursuing a master’s of philosophy degree in modern Middle Eastern culture.

Marks blazed new trails at UofL. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, she traveled the world, mastered new languages, founded and coached the university’s Intercollegiate Quiz Bowl Team and won highly coveted awards and scholarships, including a Fulbright Award, a Critical Language Scholarship from the State Department and the Mary Churchill Humphrey Scholarship from the UofL College of Arts and Sciences. She graduated May, 2009 with a combined major in political science, women’s and gender studies and philosophy.

UofL President James Ramsey called Marks a “rock star,” and said her accomplishments were “a reaffirmation of our ability to recruit the best students from across Kentucky.”

Marks grew up in Rush — a small town near Ashland-and comes from a humble family background. Her father owns a small business that sells janitorial products. Neither of her parents graduated from high school and her family's religious beliefs discouraged pursuit of a college degree.

After graduating from Russell Independent High School in 2004, Marks applied to several colleges and admits that UofL was her “back-up plan.” She now says choosing UofL was “the best decision she ever made.”

Marks said she hoped her story would inspire other first generation college students and especially women from eastern Kentucky.

“You can do it — you can make your dreams come true,” said Marks.