Deseret News | BYU grad wins $320K scholarship to Columbia

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BYU grad wins $320K scholarship to Columbia

well done | 6:20 a.m. April 23, 2009

well done. stay focused. Dream and scheme.

You go girl!!!

gpd | 6:38 a.m. April 23, 2009

Congratulations to Steffanie Kuehn. What a fantastic opportunity. I hope your research will benefit the many amputees who will benefit from bionic limbs, especially those brave Wounded Warriors who have served, continue to serve, and will serve in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Anonymous | 7:14 a.m. April 23, 2009

Way cool!

Comments continue below

mary | 7:42 a.m. April 23, 2009

steff is my niece and will help lead the way to break through technology that will make a difference in the lives of many people! she has earned this scholarship!

jim | 7:51 a.m. April 23, 2009

"To actually see the path before me," she said of the scholarship, "was a moment of clarity."

Good luck with that! As a Ph.D. student myself, it'll probably be the last one for a long time....:)

George | 9:03 a.m. April 23, 2009

Eh, good for her. However, BYU has sent lots of graduate students to the Ivy League, and though 320 K sounds like a lot, it's a pretty standard package for a five-year PhD program at any of those schools (I am not saying that all their programs are as well funded, but I've seen enough of them myself that are to know that it's not that remarkable). Off the top of my head, I can think if seven fairly close friends from BYU that have comparable scholarships, not to mention acquaintances. So, though this is great for Steffanie and I congratulate her, I'm not really sure why this is such big news.

And I'll echo the sentiment that the clarity doesn't last long.

P.S. Working on bionic limbs is way cool; best of luck with that.

simply answered | 9:34 a.m. April 23, 2009

In answer to George - Most of us do not have your personal arsenal of friends with this kind of success. It is interesting to many of us and probably inspiring and motivating to others.

To George | 9:35 a.m. April 23, 2009

Sounds like sour grapes to me that you didn't get your name in the paper!

I would guess she didn't ask for the publicity.

Good luck to you, Steff. What a great accomplishment.

To George | 11:28 a.m. April 23, 2009

Do all of you friends have the ability to work on artificial limbs? Wow what a group of friends.

BYU grad on fellowship | 11:40 a.m. April 23, 2009

George is right though. It's not sour grapes and his post wasn't meant to take away anything from this girl's accomplishments. There are plenty of us BYU grads who have "full rides" to major institutions that are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars (the "worth" of the fellowship or scholarship depends on the tuition costs of the university; my particular university is a lot cheaper than Columbia so my fellowship is worth "less"). His point is that there are a lot of people (well, a lot is relative) who are in the same situation as Steffanie. We're not all at Columbia but many of us are at top universities and programs for our fields.

George's point is that there are a lot more BYU students in a similar situation. My point is that BYU produces generally very excellent students who are respected around the country and world. That doesn't take anything away from Steffanie. It's nice that we get to read such positive news stories like this from time to time; it's very inspiring. :)

None better than Columbia! | 12:03 p.m. April 23, 2009

Good show,

Steff will be surrounded by the world's best and brightest neurologists and neuro-surgeons at Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons. Local girl makes good!

roger | 12:14 p.m. April 23, 2009

congrats to this lady!

George is right | 1:31 p.m. April 23, 2009

George and BYU grad are right. I don't see sour grapes, this just isn't that uncommon. Most of that money goes to tuition and while the living stipend is adequate for a single person, it just won't be the sort of luxury that throwing a figure like $320,000 implies (especially in Manhattan). I have two personal friends in Ivy League grad programs that, despite similar "scholarships," still have to take on extra teaching to make ends meet because they have families.

Anyway, the only reason that Steffanie is in the paper and other people in similar circumstances aren't is only because somehow a reporter heard about her case. Sure, this might be interesting news to some, and Steffanie certainly deserves our congratulations, but the reporter sensationalizes everything a bit in making it seem so out of the ordinary. It really isn't. You could do fifty of these stories every year.

RR | 2:30 p.m. April 23, 2009

Way to go out into the world and make a difference, just like we're taught to do at that great university!

George | 4:39 p.m. April 23, 2009

Pssh, calling "sour grapes" is just a lazy ad hominem. So predictable. For the record, I would have been mortified to have had a similar article published about me. Talk about pressure!

Way to go, Steffanie! | 10:41 p.m. April 23, 2009

RE George and others:

Yah, no problem, this is nothing out of the ordinary for the typical BYU grad. They leap tall buildings in a single bound every day. Sheesh! Light'n up.

I'm a meer mortal and am impressed. Congratulations and good luck, Steffanie!

Henry Drummond | 12:49 a.m. April 24, 2009

Wow she has great looks, a great brain, and a $320,000 dollar scholarship. I think I'm in love. I'll overlook the BYU diploma. I'm sure it was just a youthful indiscretion.
:-)
Good Luck to Steffanie from a non-BYU professor. :-)

Leaping | 5:10 a.m. April 24, 2009

Re way to go: Now that's just being silly. We BYU grads only jump medium height buildings in a single bound every day, not tall ones. ;)

I don't understand... | 11:06 p.m. April 24, 2009

If BYU was a great as it's supporters like to think it is, why is everyone on this board talking like going to Columbia is better? Hmmmmm??

Re: I don't understand... | 11:0 | 11:51 a.m. April 25, 2009

I understand where you are coming from but when it comes to technical sciences and health sciences in general, BYU is severely lacking. Plus, BYU is NOT as great as their supporters like to think it is. When you live in a world where you truly believe that the world is your campus, one's perspective becomes terribly distorted.

Be Nice | 9:15 p.m. April 29, 2009

"I don't understand" why some are always looking for something to be ignorant about. All universities/colleges have their specialities.

No One university could be the Best at Everything??

Silly "i don't knows", GROW UP!!

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