Manchester, Missouri Graduate Student Heading to KU Medical School Wins Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship

The University of Kansas Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi is pleased to honor Alesssandra Jenri Ainsworth as the winner of its 2010 James Blackiston Memorial Graduate Fellowship, the chapter's nominee for a national Phi Kappa Phi fellowship, and the winner of a national fellowship from Phi Kappa Phi.

Ali is a student majoring in Dance and Human Biology from Manchester, Missouri. The Blackiston Fellowship is the latest achievement for Ali, a student in the Honors Program, a teaching assistant in Molecular & Cellular Biology and in Mammalian Physiology, and the recipient of a Phillips-Stone Dance Award, a Certificate of Excellence in French, Midwest Exchange and Dance Department Scholarships, and an Undergraduate Research Award. In addition to Phi Kappa Phi, Ali's achievements have been recognized throughout her career at KU by her election to the Lambda Sigma, Owl Society, and Mortar Board honor societies. Ali has performed twice each year in the University Dance Company and the New Dance Performance, as well as twice in the Kansas Dance Festival. Ali has been named to the Dean's list every semester while at KU. Ali recently received the Mary Love Collin's national Chi Omega Scholarship.

In addition to her outstanding scholarship, Ali has been involved in a variety of other activities at KU and in the community. She has appeared in the Rock Caulk Revue and served on the Advisory Board for the Revue, and served as a research assistant, as a representative to the Dean of the School of Fine Arts, as the Financial Director for the Center for Community Outreach, and as a member and as the treasurer for the University Dance Company.

Ali also serves as a volunteer at the Jubilee Cafe, preparing and serving breakfast to the homeless, Lawrence Memorial Hospital, the Heart of America Hospice, and Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital.

After graduation this May, Ali, who was initiated in Phi Kappa Phi in the Fall of 2008, plans to pursue an MD degree at the University of Kansas School of Medicine.