Centreville's Brendan English a Finalist for JMU Scholarship

From James Madison University:

Brendan English, a Centreville native and sophomore economics major and mathematics minor at James Madison University, was a finalist for the Hillcrest Scholarship. His proposal to study international business issues at the University College of Dublin in Ireland and intern at a leading Irish financial institution was among the seven finalists selected from 15 applicants.

The $7,500 scholarship was established this year by the Honors Advisory Council, a group comprised of JMU and Honors alumni and supporters of the Honors Program. It is awarded to an outstanding sophomore honors student selected on the basis of their proposed project, their academic achievements and intellectual promise, their leadership experience and community engagement, and their ability to make a significant contribution to society in the future. The winning scholars are provided with financial assistance which supports an off-campus summer enrichment experience undertaken in the summer between their junior and senior years. Students may use the scholarship to carry out research, participate in an internship, engage in a service-learning project, or fund language training or another training program related to the applicant’s academic goals.

English’s proposal involved spending 8 weeks in Dublin, Ireland. The first two weeks, English would study international business issues at the University College Dublin. Following the study, English would intern at a leading financial institution or within the Irish Department of Finance. While working as an intern, English also proposed that he would complete and present a research paper examining how institutional factors and private incentives influenced the decisions of business and government leaders in Ireland during the nation's sovereign debt crisis.