Poughkeepsie's Holzmann named UD Plastino Scholar

2016 Jul 25

Alexis Holzmann, an Honors student majoring in international relations with minors in urban educational studies, sociology and French at the University of Delaware, has been named one of six David A. Plastino Scholars for "exhibiting extraordinary talent, promise and imagination."

Through the Plastino Scholars program, Holzmann, a senior from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., will spend the summer in Australia. She will be observing the Koonwarra Village School, an alternative primary school that practices a holistic, child-centric approach to education.

Holzmann and her fellow scholars were welcomed to the program at this year's annual dinner, held May 4 on UD's campus. At that celebration, the program's 2015 scholars gave presentations describing their own now-completed projects.

Established in 2007 by a generous gift from Plastino, a 1978 graduate of UD's College of Arts and Sciences, the Plastino Scholars Program awards grants to undergraduates to support self-designed, off-campus projects reflecting their passion. The awards give students a chance to discover and follow their interests, with projects that might involve research, community service or any other form of personal growth and enrichment.

The amount of each award will depend on the nature of the experience proposed. Except in unusual circumstances, the maximum individual award will be $6,000.