Clemson National Scholars named Rhodes and Marshall scholarship finalists

A Clemson University student and recent alumnus are finalists for the most prestigious and selective major fellowships available to American college students.

Elizabeth Caldwell from Hendersonville, Tennessee, is a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship, recognized worldwide as the oldest and most well-known for academic excellence. Recently announced as Clemson’s 5^th Truman Scholar, Caldwell, a senior genetics major, researches rare diseases and advocates for the disability community.

Carson Colenbaugh from Kennesaw, Georgia, is a finalist for the Marshall Scholarship, which supports graduate study in any field at any British institution. A 2021 Udall Scholar, Colenbaugh graduated from Clemson in 2022 with a horticulture degree. He is currently completing an MFA at Vanderbilt University.

Both finalists are part of the National Scholars Program, Clemson’s most selective university-wide merit scholarship program. Scholars are selected through a rigorous process that identifies students with the highest levels of intellectual vision and community engagement.

“Congratulations to Elizabeth and Carson on these outstanding achievements. Their selection as finalists for the Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships underscores their accomplishments as exceptional scholars, and we are incredibly proud to see how they positively impact the lives of those around them through their research, advocacy and commitment to excellence,” EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS AND PROVOST ROBERT H. JONES.

Elizabeth Caldwell, Rhodes Scholarship Finalist

Elizabeth Caldwell is Clemson’s seventh Rhodes Scholarship finalist since 2006. If she is selected, she will be the University’s second Rhodes Scholar following Louise Franke’s selection in 2021.

The Rhodes Scholarship provides financial support for students as they complete a graduate degree at the University of Oxford. Scholars demonstrate academic excellence, the energy to use their talents to the fullest, and attributes such as truth, courage, kindness, devotion to duty, moral force of character and instincts to lead.

If chosen, Caldwell will pursue a master’s program focused on genomic medicine, followed by a master’s degree in global health and epidemiology.

“A brilliant scientist and determined advocate, Elizabeth’s remarkable accomplishments are eclipsed only by her steadfast and inspirational commitment to making our campus, community, and society more welcoming and accessible,” said Sarah Winslow, inaugural dean of the Clemson University Honors College.

As a teenager, Caldwell was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, an understudied disorder that affects the connective tissue in her body. Her disability has since become a driving motivation for research and advocacy in disability policy, medical research and patient care standards.

During her first semester at Clemson, Caldwell joined Associate Professor of Genetics and Biochemistry Michael Sehorn’s lab, which explores DNA repair pathways. Since then, she’s interned at the Medical University of South Carolina and in the highly selective Pediatric Oncology Education Program at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Her research at St. Jude led to a publication in Leukemia.

Caldwell is also actively engaged on campus and in the community, serving as the only undergraduate student on Clemson’s Accessibility Commission. With her National Scholars Program cohort she founded Tigers 4 Accessibility, Clemson’s first and only student organization dedicated to creating a more inclusive and accessible campus culture and physical environment.

As a volunteer at the Clemson Free Clinic, a local medical center that provides health care to the area’s low-income population, Caldwell created a Mobility Aid Program that raised $3,000 to offset medical equipment costs for patients.

She was also recently part of a webinar hosted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) about finding professional fulfillment while living with a rare disease. Her co-panelists included faculty from Johns Hopkins University and the Virginia Institute of Technology, and a James Beard Award-winning chef, entrepreneur and advocate.

Caldwell is one of approximately 800 students nominated nationwide for the Rhodes Scholarship, competing for 32 spots. She is one of 15 finalists from the district representing South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina. She interviews for the award on November 15 and 16.

Carson Colenbaugh, Marshall Scholarship Finalist

Carson Colenbaugh is Clemson’s fourth Marshall Scholarship finalist since 2006. If he is selected, he would be Clemson’s first recipient.

The Marshall Scholarship is an expression of the United Kingdom’s gratitude to the U.S. for their assistance with post-World War II economic recovery through the Marshall Plan. Scholars are chosen based on academic merit, leadership potential and ambassadorial potential to support the relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States.

If chosen, Colenbaugh plans to pursue degrees in global health at Royal Holloway, University of London, and biodiversity and conservation at Queen Mary, University of London.

“Carson is a model of how one combines two seemingly disparate fields into a sum that is greater than its parts,” said Dean Winslow. “Brilliantly integrating his love of nature with his passion for the written and spoken word, his work introduces both poetry and environmentalism to new and different audiences.”

Colenbaugh graduated from Clemson in 2022 with a degree in horticulture. He is also a published poet whose work bridges the ecological and the cultural.

Through his forestry management and horticulture studies, Carson learned about fire ecology and prescribed burns, which are essential for ecosystem health and wildfire management in the southeast. That led to research projects with the Faust Floriculture Lab and Hagan Forest Ecology Lab, through which he worked with the United States Forest Service and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

Colenbaugh also volunteers as a prescribed fire technician with The Nature Conservancy, continuing the experience he gained with Clemson’s Fire Tigers and giving him on-the-ground experience in managing and executing prescribed burns.

At the same time, Colenbaugh was taking anthropology and creative writing classes, exploring poetry as a form of scientific communication.

He applied his writing skills to a self-designed Honors interdisciplinary research program in anthropology and forest resource management. His thesis, which explored the impacts of fire exclusion policies on the cultural sovereignty of the Eastern Cherokee people, started as a poem about his experience working a prescribed fire. With the help of his mentor, Clemson faculty member Donald Hagan, the paper was later published in the journal Human Ecology.

Last year, Colenbaugh’s achievements secured him a coveted and highly selective summer internship at Fondation Claude Monet, where he cultivated ornamental landscapes, practiced propagation techniques and maintained the pond that inspired Monet’s famous water lily paintings.

At Vanderbilt, Colenbaugh is studying the craft of writing and continuing environmental coursework. His poems about southeastern ecology appear in both top literary journals and science-oriented publications.

Colenbaugh is one of approximately 1,000 students nominated nationwide for the Marshall Scholarship, competing for about 50 scholarships. He is one of 22 finalists in the Atlanta region, which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Finalists will be interviewed on November 19 and 20.

Major Fellowships

Students interested in the Rhodes Scholarship, Marshall Scholarship or other nationally competitive programs should contact the Office of Major Fellowships at 864-656-9704 or [email protected].