Spectrum - Volume 18 Issue 07 October 5, 1995 - Two earn competitive fellowships

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including The Conductor , a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

Two earn competitive fellowships

By Susan Trulove

Spectrum Volume 18 Issue 07 - October 5, 1995

In recognition of the excellence of their academic careers, Felicia Ricks Doswell and Rosalyn Swiggett have each earned a fellowship to attend Virginia Tech.

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia selects outstanding graduate students for State Graduate Deans' Fellowships from nominations by university academic deans statewide.

Virginia Tech tried to recruit Doswell to do master's work in computer science when she graduated from Norfolk State with a bachelor's degree in computer science in 1990. But she chose to go to work as a software engineer for AT&T Bell Laboratories, where she had interned for three summers.

Now, after four years of experiences as a software engineer with three firms, gaining experience in telecommunications and a master's degree in computer science from Virginia Tech, Doswell will do her doctoral studies at Virginia Tech. Her research focus will be software engineering, which, she points out "is necessary for any type of computer software development."

Her goal is teach at the university level. "I want to prepare others for rewarding careers in a computer-oriented society."

As an undergraduate, she had a perfect grade average in her major, was on the National Dean's List and Who's Who Among American Colleges and Universities , and earned a scholarship for minorities in science. AT &T funded her graduate education on the condition that she complete it in one year, which she did.

Swiggett was nominated for the graduate dean's fellowship by Virginia Tech to be a doctoral student in mathematics. "I appreciate the mental discipline of mathematics. You can apply the benefits of that type of thinking to your life."

She also says math has applications in many areas. "That gives me the most flexibility to explore different areas of interest-and through a long life, maybe even different careers."

Swiggett says she is interested in applications in computer networking and may do her research in graph theory or combinatorics.

She earned her bachelor's degree in math from Cheyney State College in 1994 and has been named to the Alpha Phi Sigma national honorary scholastic fraternity and the national mathematics honor society, Pi Mu Epsilon. At Virginia Tech, she is a member of the Black Graduate Student Organization, and represents the College of Arts and Sciences on the Graduate Student Assembly's regranting budget board.