Ohio University junior Allison Norwood of Bridgeport recently was named one of 309 undergraduate students nationwide to receive a prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for the 2000-01 academic year. Norwood, daughter of Diana and Jerry Norwood, is a 1997 graduate of Bridgeport High School.

A pre-med major at Ohio University, Norwood applied for the Goldwater Award fall quarter. The scholarship program, honoring the late Sen. Barry M. Goldwater, is designed to encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in math, the natural sciences or engineering. It is considered the premiere undergraduate award of its type, and covers the cost of tuition, fees, books and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.

Finalists were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,176 mathematics, science and engineering students nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide.

"Allison is an outstanding candidate who prepared an excellent application," said Ann Brown, director of the university's Office of Nationally Competitive Awards. "She has strong academic credentials and impressive research skills."

Norwood expects to graduate in spring 2001 and begin pursuing a medical degree.

"I am very honored to have been selected to receive the Goldwater Award," Norwood said. "This distinction is not only a recognition of my personal accomplishments, but a reflection of the positive life experiences that I have gained from Ohio University, my professors, my hometown and my parents."

Norwood also is one of 21 students involved in the university's highly selective Cutler Scholars program. Modeled after the Rhodes Scholars program of Oxford University, the Cutler Scholars program emphasizes the development of leadership potential and the reinforcement of civic responsibility. The scholarships are renewable for four years and provide full tuition and room and board. Each scholarship includes a stipend to cover structured summer internships and study abroad. Norwood's scholarship was made possible by Alan and Ruby Riedel, who made the financial award available to students from Belmont County.