Published on April 25, 2019
Despite high school tennis tournaments, Future Business Leaders of America events, St. Louis Crisis Nursery volunteer engagements and general scholastic excellence competing for his time, Aravind Kalathil maintains a remarkably stress-free state of mind.
“So many of my friends are freaking out, worrying about all the things and all the activities they have to do, and I don’t like to see my friends stressed like that,” says Kalathil of O’Fallon, Missouri. “Personally, I believe that if you can change it, why stress because you can change it. And if you can’t change it, why stress because you can’t change it.”
It’s this serenity-plus-altruism equation that is inspiring Kalathil to pursue behavioral psychology research at the University of Missouri. He is one of seven Stamps Scholars starting as freshmen in Fall 2019, making Mizzou a perfect seven for seven among students to whom the prestigious scholarship was offered.
The other students who chose Mizzou are Abigail Blenk (Cincinnati); Morgan Erutti (Valley Park, Missouri); Kathryn Gluesenkamp (Wildwood, Missouri); Leyton Rebori (Kansas City, Missouri); Kamilla Sarvestani (Fayetteville, Arkansas); and Calvin Winkler (Overland Park, Kansas).
“Mizzou is the perfect school,” Kalathil says. “I looked at schools near me — Washington University and St. Louis University — but I wanted top academics and I wanted to enjoy my time in college. Mizzou is a top-tier research school, they have great athletics, and the community and school spirit is amazing.”
Stamps Scholars must have at least a 32 ACT (or 1420 SAT) and a 3.5 core GPA. The program is open to students of any nationality who are enrolled in an accredited U.S. or international high school.
Stamps Scholars at MU receive a four-year full scholarship (covering up to the total estimated cost of attendance). Students also have access to an additional $16,000 fund to be used to enhance their intellectual, critical-thinking, engagement and leadership skills development. Stamps Scholars also enroll in the MU Honors College for all four years.
“I only seriously looked at three schools: Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois; Webster University in St. Louis; and Mizzou, ” says Erutti, an art student who works mostly in acrylic and oil paint. “I chose Mizzou because not only is the campus pretty, but the staff are so supportive, dedicated and willing to help.”