First cohort of Maryville College McGill scholars reflect on the differences the program made
May 17, 2023
When Dan McGill ’40 left Maryville College 83 years ago, he went on to a life of success and service, eventually establishing a legacy that, 10 years after his death in 2013, has resulted in the first group of MC graduates whose education was made possible by his prosperity.
A native of Greenback, Tennessee, McGill majored in economics and went on to earn master’s and doctoral degrees from Vanderbilt University and the University of Pennsylvania, respectively. A longtime professor and administrator at the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania, he was considered a national expert on life insurance and pensions, and his 1964 textbook, Fundamentals of Private Pensions, remains the industry’s authoritative text.
From 1971 to 1979, McGill served on the Maryville College Board of Directors. After the death of his wife, Elaine, in 2016, the endowed scholarship program established in memory of Dan and the couple’s daughter, Melanie, became a means to memorialize McGill’s commitment and service to MC. History Professor Dr. Nancy Locklin-Sofer initially worked with the MC Office of Admissions to coordinate the program and has served as its academic coordinator ever since.
“When I was invited to help coordinate the new scholarship program, I was deeply honored,” Locklin-Sofer said. “I, myself, was a first-generation college student who was able to go to a liberal arts college because I got a full scholarship. I know what it’s like to benefit from a gift like this. There were certainly some lessons learned as we had to navigate the challenges of creating a whole program from scratch. We made it, though, and I couldn’t be more proud to watch these students graduate.”
And along the way, the first cohort of McGills has become a living embodiment of the MC mission to produce graduates destined to excel personally, professionally and civically.
“Through personal experience, the McGill family believed that an education at Maryville College would lead future graduates to lives of success and service,” said Kelly Massenzo, director of undergraduate admissions and McGill Scholarship coordinator. “Our first group of McGill graduates, I think, is proof that their beliefs have become a reality. The McGill scholarships and fellowships are investments, in a lot of ways — not just in students who choose to become Scots, but in their potential to ‘do good on the largest possible scale,’ as our founder said.
“Watching them grow into leaders, lifelong learners and individuals who are eager to make an impact wherever they go after graduation has been an honor for all of us at Maryville College.”
Creating opportunities
The Dan and Melanie Mays McGill Scholarship is awarded annually to five outstanding incoming first-year students. It covers full tuition and is renewable for up to four years of full-time study with an annual GPA of 3.25. McGill Fellowships recognize the academic accomplishments and leadership abilities of 20 incoming first-year students and are valued at $30,000 per year, renewable for up to four years of full-time study with an annual GPA of 3.0.
McGill recipients must meet certain eligibility criteria (a combined minimum 28+ ACT composite or 1390+ SAT test score, or a 92+ CLT test score; have a minimum 3.7 high school GPA; and demonstrated leadership abilities) and are required to commit to serving as academic mentors, in addition to living on campus in a community with other Scholars and Fellows. For some of this year’s graduates, the opportunity to do so led to leadership opportunities that contributed to personal growth and development.
Jonathan Meystrik ’23 and Mackenzie Lamb ’23 are two of several McGills who will follow in their scholarship namesake’s footsteps to obtain degrees that build on the foundation stones of their time as Scots. Meystrik, a computer science major from Knoxville, will continue his education at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta, where he’ll pursue a master’s degree in computer science. Lamb, a chemistry major from Powell, Tennessee, will head to Vanderbilt University to work on a Ph.D. in chemistry.
“The McGill program gave me unique experiences that certainly set me apart from other applicants applying for Ph.D. programs,” Lamb explained. “I learned about and developed my career competencies early on and made good use of them in my personal and academic lives.
“I also was involved with the medical justice initiative of the McGill scholars program, where my team developed strategies to boost engagement with the healthcare-related resources provided and supported by Maryville College,” she added. “Being in the first cohort of McGills, I also had direct experience with conflict management and inciting change where I saw inequity.”
Meystrik said his McGill experience gave him confidence throughout his four years at MC.
“For me personally, the recognition of my achievement through selection into the McGill program gave me the motivation to continue being a high-achieving student through college as well,” he said.
Parker Owens ’23, a health and wellness promotion major from Caryville, Tennessee, said meeting and working with other McGill scholarship recipients who were highly engaged and academically motivated pushed him to excel.
“Our first (First Year Seminar) and Indigenous cultures class opened my eyes to new concepts and really redefined what it truly means to be a leader,” he said. “This program challenged us to look not only at ways we can develop ourselves professionally, but ways in which we can improve our personal selves through self-reflection and having us take part in creating change on campus. I even got to take part in helping the new generations of McGills by serving briefly as their resident advisor.”
Emily Christian ’23, a management major from Church Hill, Tennessee, agreed that the leadership opportunities given to McGills — and preparation for them — greatly impacted her college experience and her post-MC plans.
“The McGill program helped to foster amazing connections with my peers, professors and campus community,” she said. “I have had the ability to take on projects and leadership roles that have impacted my career decisions. I am so thankful for my time in this program!”
Christian landed a job as a talent acquisition specialist for the Knoxville, Tennessee-based Phillips and Jordan construction company. Owens, like many of his peers, still is weighing his post-Commencement options.
“I would like to gain experience in the public health world and have been looking into jobs with both AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps,” he said.
Opening doors and illuminating paths
After graduation, Katie Leming ’23 hopes to work for the National Park Service in either education or interpretation. The history major from Seymour, Tennessee, was passionate and engaged before coming to Maryville College, but the McGill scholars program and the broader MC community helped her refine that passion and focus it in ways she couldn’t have foreseen four years ago.
“It definitely reformed my worldview, helped me figure out my values, and refocus what I want to do with my life and who I was,” she said. “I remember that during my high school graduation, I gave a speech about climate justice, and I was really passionate, but I was also kind of angry and pessimistic. The cornerstones of the program led me to educate myself a little more and kind of figure out how to look for solutions, what my place might be in all of that, and how I can use my education from Maryville College for the actual greatest good.
“It helped me acknowledge the areas in which I was lacking, the ones I could further develop and opened me up to a lot of different perspectives. I thought I had an open mind before, but part of this journey has been figuring out how much you don’t know, and how you can learn it.”
For some McGills scholars — like Rebecca Raney ’23, a writing communication major from Knoxville — receiving the scholarship literally made the difference in her ability to obtain a higher education.
“There was no way I would have been able to go to college without the opportunities afforded by the McGill Scholarship,” said Raney, who hopes to go to work in community engagement or management at a video game production company. “I didn’t even know community management was a possibility pre-college.
“MC has helped me take something that I always thought of as a passion and turn it into a viable career potential. I can never fully express my gratitude to the McGill family for helping me as a first-generation college student. I’m struck by how perfectly my internship (in the MC Office of Marketing and Communications) has aided in my development as a writer and professional, and by how much I would have lacked at another institution without this opportunity.”
Other 2023 McGill scholars who graduated May 6 from MC include Delaney Redden, an English (literature) major from Lafayette, Louisiana; Elaina Hudolin, a mathematics major from Maryville; Chloe Parris, a finance/accounting major from Canton, North Carolina; Kordell Kah, a neuroscience major from Knoxville; Danielle Abell, a history (with licensure) major from Maryville; Maddie Taylor, a political science major from Arlington, Tennessee; Lilly Daffron, an environmental studies major from McKenzie, Tennessee; Robin Bannow, an exercise science major from Knoxville; Anna Kate Bechman, a biology major from Thompsons Station, Tennessee; Emily Bridges, a marketing major from Knoxville; Haly Scott, a psychology and sociology double major from Cookeville, Tennessee; Gigi Walker, a Spanish major from Johnson City, Tennessee; Samantha Stacey, a biology major from Springfield, Tennessee; Will Stallions, an engineering major from Townsend, Tennessee; and Sara Skibbie, a psychology major from Nashville, Tennessee.
For more information about the McGill Scholarship Program, call the Maryville College Office of Admissions at 865-981-8092.