Campbell Students earn Marshall Scholarship

     Julia Cava and Ryan Thompson are this year’s Campbell University’s Marshall Scholarship recipients. Cava is a senior, International Relations, government concentration major with a biology minor from Clinton, N.C. Thompson is a senior government, history major from Maiden, N.C.
     The Marshall Scholarship program gives undergraduate students an opportunity to do research and write using primary materials.
     “I will be researching the arguments behind the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, rather than invasion,” said Cava. “I will be referring to revisionist arguments, as well, in order to assess what was truly behind the decision. I will specifically be using primary documents such as letters, notes and public statements between President Truman, George C. Marshall, military advisors and diplomats.”
     Thompson is writing a thesis paper on the impact of the “loss” of China to Communism and the American political and social culture of the mid 20th century, specifically McCarthyism and the persecution of the China Hands.
     The students recently took a trip to Lexington, Va. to acquaint them with the Marshall Library, secondary sources and primary source documents.
     “The orientation at the Marshall Library was very helpful. Being able to participate in the Marshall Scholarship program is such an honor, and the opportunity to include in my paper a first-hand look at the primary source documents the library has to offer will be a great experience,” said Cava.
     Thompson said the trip was relatively short but, overall, it was very edifying.
     “I was able to nail down the exact nature of my topic and get a start on my research,” said Thompson. “I plan on returning sometime during the winter to seek new resources and touch base with my supervisors at the Foundation.”
     As part of the Marshal Scholarship program, the Scholar may choose any subject involving Twentieth Century diplomatic and military history or political affairs from 1898 to 1960--the approximate dates of George C. Marshall's public service. Recipients of the Marshall Scholarship must write a 40-page research paper based primarily on the actual primary source manuscripts found in the Marshall Library and other repositories. The papers are written under the supervision of Rorin Platt, associate professor of history at Campbell, and Steven Guerrier, an associate professor of history at James Madison University. Unlike other scholarships, the Marshall requires its scholars to work under the supervision of a faculty director expert in diplomatic, military, political and intelligence history and requires months of revisions and re-writings. Completed paper submissions are granted a $250 scholarship at the end of the contest period. An additional $500 is awarded to the paper voted the best.