Two Warwick graduates have been successful in being awarded Kennedy scholarships issued by The Kennedy Memorial Trust to study at Harvard and MIT.

Just eleven British students were selected in 2013, including Oliver Newth and Jennifer Quigley-Jones.

Jackie Labbe (Chair of the Graduate School) said:

I am extraordinarily proud of these two Warwick students for their achievement. Warwick's education is second to none, and as Jennifer and Oliver demonstrate, it prepares students to take up the strongest challenges. We wish them the best as they embark on their studies at Harvard and MIT.

Oliver Newth, 21, MIT M Eng High Performance Structures

Oliver enjoys the duality of function and form in structural engineering, with a particular interest in high-rise buildings and skyscrapers. He will be studying a Master’s course in High Performance Structures at MIT having completed his undergraduate studies in Civil Engineering at Warwick. He looks forward to the practical relevance of his chosen US course, particularly relating to research into construction materials and how findings from such research can lead to improved durability, ultimately saving lives in earthquake-prone environments.

Oliver adds:

"I was delighted to hear the news that I was selected for the Kennedy scholarship and I am excited about going to Boston to further my studies. Warwick provided me with lots of opportunities to make the most of my years there and I enjoyed it all greatly."

Oliver has run his own website development and graphic design firm over the past five years. Recently, he gained funding to develop a lecture resource management application, working with two computer scientists to produce the program over six weeks. Oliver has also given significant time to teaching mathematics in Ghana through the Warwick in Africa programme over the past two years and has recently spent four months working in Sierra Leone as a project engineer. His exposure to the poor infrastructure in these countries will also inform his studies at MIT and his future as an engineer.

Jennifer Quigley-Jones, 22, Harvard GSAS AM Regional Studies: Middle East

Jennifer read History and Politics at the University of Warwick and won the opportunity to study abroad for a year at the University of California, Los Angeles, during which she spent a term in Washington, DC. Whilst in Washington, she served as National Security Intern at the Center for American Progress, a think tank focusing on foreign, economic, and domestic policy. She has published in both international and student journals on Syria, Afghanistan, and Colombia, and presented her research at academic conferences.

In 2008, she was the first woman to win the Institute for Economic Affairs' student essay competition, and in 2010, she served as Editorial Assistant for The Economist's "The World in 2010" magazine. At Harvard University, Jennifer will complete her Master's in Regional Studies with a Middle East concentration, offering the opportunity to perfect her Arabic and engage further with the cultural and political complexities of the region. Jennifer plans to work as an academic and policy adviser on political, economic and security issues in the Middle East and internationally.