Jackson native and LSU senior Logan de La Barre-Hays has been named a finalist for two of the world's most prestigious international scholarships, the Rhodes Scholarship and the Marshall Scholarship. De La Barre-Hays is a double major in international studies and political science with minors in Arabic, religious studies and history.
De La Barre-Hays has already made quite an impact on the LSU community, where she is a resident assistant, Honors College peer leader, Honors College advocate, vice president of service for the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society and a representative on the Vice Chancellor's Advisory Board for Student Life & Enrollment, among numerous other activities.
"We look forward to watching her continue her studies," LSU President and Chancellor F. King Alexander said in a press release from LSU. "Her future work will undoubtedly be a force for positive change and cultural understanding in the Arab world."
The college previously awarded de La Barre-Hays the Honors College Outstanding Junior Award and the James Blonner Outstanding Student Award for Undergraduate Majors in Political Science in May.
De La Barre-Hays hasn't been content with just making mark on her campus. She has also studied abroad. She spent last summer immersed in Moroccan culture while studying Arabic in Tangier. For her next step, she has set her sights on the United Kingdom. If she receives the Marshall Scholarship, de La Barre-Hays will attend the London School of Economics and Political Science to study history and the theory of international relations. If she receives the Rhodes Scholarship, she will go to Oxford, England, to earn a master's in philosophy.
In her personal statement, de La Barre-Hays emphasizes how she plans on using her studies to ensure a better quality of life for refuges, a cause she first became interested through the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
"Writing a thesis and engaging with other researchers through the Oxford Centre for International Studies will enhance my ability to reform international policies towards refugees and ensure more equitable access to basic services, housing, education and political representation," de La Barre-Hays said in the LSU press release.
"The College of Humanities & Social Sciences is enormously proud of Ms. de La Barre-Hays—no matter what happens in the final selection," Gaines Foster, dean of the LSU College of Humanities & Social Sciences, said in a press release.
De La Barre-Hays interviewed for the Marshall Scholarship on Tuesday, Nov. 14, in Houston and will interview for the Rhodes Scholarship on Friday, Nov. 22, in St. Louis.
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