George Washington University, expected 2019
Orono High School, Class of 2015
This year, the Hawkinson Foundation designated two scholarships for outstanding high school students. Mallory is one of those students.
“Girls’ equality in developing countries is extremely important to me because if these areas don’t utilize the mindpower of half of their population, there is no way they will successfully integrate themselves into the global economy.”
Mallory Dudra, 19, has devoted significant time and energy to helping underrepresented populations in her home community of Medina and beyond, volunteering in India, Ecuador, and Jamaica.
A 2015 graduate of Orono High School, Mallory participated in National Honor Society, was a Minnesota State Speech Finalist and captain of her speech team, Spanish club president and leader in the Wind Ensemble. As a part of her Girl Scouts Gold Award, she tackled the problem of a lack of volunteerism among her classmates head on.
In 2014, she traveled to Pune, India, an area of conflict, to help create equality for women by teaching young girls subjects that they couldn’t learn in traditional schools because of their gender. “I met a group of sisters who, instead of attending school with their brothers, were forced to stay and sit on the dirt floor of their clapboard home because the long trek to their school was too treacherous.”
Mallory will use her Hawkinson Foundation scholarship to help fund her undergraduate education at George Washington University in Washington, DC where she plans to double-major in Arabic and International Affairs with a concentration in the Middle East. Her ultimate goal is a career in international politics where she can change not only the policies, but also the social norms in countries where women’s rights are being abused.
“I have no doubt Mallory Dudra will make significant contributions to our world. She will prove herself to be an asset wherever she goes.” — Dr. Kirsten C. Pardun-Johannsen, District Performing Arts Specialist, Orono Public Schools