Sadie Creemer, Dante' James, and Paige Martin are members of the Stamps Scholars co-hort 2021/22.
Sadie Creemer stands in Autzen Stadium, clutching her tenor saxophone, watching as the crowd unites to scream the words of “Shout.” For Creemer, a freshman who comes from a suburb outside of Kansas City, Missouri, the best part about college is being able to watch people come together on campus, especially on beautiful days. Attending the University of Oregon has always been a dream of hers, and now thanks to the Stamps Scholarship, she’s been able to make it a reality.
“When all those stars aligned, I was like ‘Oregon is the place and it’s always been my dream to come here,’ and now it’s working out,” Creemer said. “I literally wake up every day and am like ‘oh my goodness, I live in Oregon.’ That’s so cool.”
Each year, the university awards approximately 10 Stamps Scholarships that cover the price of tuition, room and board and any fees, according to the university’s website. The recipients also receive money for an enrichment fund to study abroad or pursue an internship, and they’re also admitted into Clark Honors College.
The honors college was a big draw for another Stamps Scholar, freshman Dante' James from Myrtle Creek, Oregon. After meeting with Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies Daphne Gallagher, James was convinced that she had found a supportive community where she could take classes that challenged her. One class that she said was extremely thought provoking was her 101 course about malaria.
“It provided a unique perspective on how, while we may have good intentions to try and combat malaria, it may cause harm to the people that we are helping,” James said. “That class just provided a unique perspective and as a global health advocate and minor, and that class definitely challenged me in many ways.”
Along with the community of the honors college, Paige Martin, another Stamps Scholar who is a freshman from Happy Valley, Oregon, said she appreciates the community of other Stamps Scholars. She explained how they’ve been trying to meet up together, outside of events planned by the university.
“Last month we had a little pizza night,” Martin said. “Hopefully sometime this week we are all going to get ice cream at Prince Puckler’s together. It feels like a community, and I'm excited to do our community service projects together. I'm just really excited for the next couple of years here.”
All three recipients mentioned they were interested in getting involved with research during their time as an undergraduate student. Creemer, a public planning and management major, also hopes to get more involved with the SAIL team and OSPIRG. James, who is majoring in human physiology and minoring in anthropology and global health, wants to continue to work with ASUO and the SCORE[CS1] research group. And Martin, a psychology major minoring in creative writing, wants to start up her nonprofit Hands for Hearts at the university where she can provide the community free CPR training.
“It just seems like Stamps Scholars, all of them are just so sweet and passionate and all they want to do is make the world a better place,” James said. “That's what I really like about the Stamps Scholarship.”