Johnson Fellowship Attracts Student

Chicago native Lisa Peterson wants to be a FEMA director someday. But for now, she’s busy completing two degrees at the University of Kentucky: a Masters in Public Administration from the Martin School and a Masters in Public Health from the College of Public Health.

As an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, she was completing the common public health application for graduate school when she found that she had space to apply to one more school: UK. “I had decided I was going to stay at my undergraduate institution,” recalls Ms. Peterson. “Then on the Tuesday before graduation on Sunday, I got a letter from UK about receiving the Lyman T. Johnson Fellowship.” Soon afterwards, she and her mother made a trip to Lexington for a campus visit and decided that this was the place to be.

She’s been pleased with her decision. Ms. Peterson finds the faculty she works with to be very helpful and attentive. “The teachers know who works with whom,” she says. But even more importantly, Ms. Peterson’s presence adds to the quality of education offered by this new college. As a high school senior, Ms. Peterson graduated in the top 10% of her class. The Lyman T. Johnson Fellowship made it possible for UK to recruit a student of her caliber and promise.