Student aided by fellowship, able to continue study of humanities

This past year more and more undergraduates have turned to graduate school. But with extra schooling comes added costs. Graduate school can be expensive. Recent IU graduate Michael Marlo has a solution to any monetary problems he might face this fall, when he starts a Linguistics PhD program at the University of Michigan. Marlo has received an Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship in Humanistic Studies. \n"If I didn't have (the fellowship) I probably wouldn't be able to be going," Marlo said. "It's 36,000 a year tuition plus living expenses. Now I can devote all my time to my studies."\nThe prestigious fellowship will cover all of Marlo's tuition for his first year and reward him with a stipend of $17,500. Marlo also has a five-year all expenses paid fellowship from the school, according to a recent press release. Out of 753 applicants, 85 people received a fellowship. Marlo said the competition was tough. \n"Speaking in general terms, they're all wonderful," said Teresa Stevens of the Wilson Fellowship Foundation. "We find that the people who win generally exhibit excellent scholarship but also a passion for what they want to do and eagerness to communicate that passion to their students."\nThough Marlo's list of accomplishments includes two scholarships from the College of Arts and Sciences, Outstanding Student and Most Valuable Senior awards from the Department of Linguistics and membership in Phi Beta Kappa, the national undergraduate honor society, Marlo did not think he would receive the fellowship.\n"You can't predict that you're going to get one," Marlo said. "The competition is so strong."\nMarlo graduated from IU on May 4 with a degree in linguistics and French. He said his experiences at IU helped prepare him for graduate school. \n"No one ever said 'I don't think you can do that' or 'You shouldn't do that,'" Marlo said. "My advisor showed me different opportunities for scholarships and said I would be a good candidate for this. 'Would you like me to write a recommendation for you?' (his advisor said). I said 'okay'."\nMarlo took many of the 500 and 600 level linguistics graduate courses as an undergraduate, and said his advisor allowed him to substitute graduate courses for required courses. Marlo is particularly interested in phonology.\n"There's a grammar to the way we speak," Marlo said. "I think it's really interesting that you can make generalizations about the sound patterns of all languages. Language behaves in a rule-governed way. It's not anything we think about; we just do it."\nMarlo stumbled onto linguistics when he registered freshman year. Marlo's affinity for languages led an advisor to suggest linguistics.\n"Everything that I've done at (IU) has been helpful," Marlo said. "I was really happy with the personal nature of the linguistics program, and the care I got from the faculty there."\nThe Mellon Fellowship is unique because it is awarded only to students who plan to study the humanities.\n"Generally, there are a lot of students who would like to continue their education and need this support," Stevens said. "The Mellon Fellowship is the only fellowship of this sort for the humanities. It says we still value the humanities."\nThough Marlo recognizes the prestigious nature of the award, he also appreciates its practicality.\n"I was more interested in the money," Marlo said. "It's a nice thing to put on my resume, but it's really functional too"