Linfield College sophomores Cody Purchase of Boise, Idaho, and Terran Sobel-Smith of Canby have been selected for the prestigious Kemper Scholars Program.
Purchase, a Japanese and international relations major, is the son of Dee and Bee Purchase of Boise. He is a member of the Hawaiian, Outdoor and International clubs and also participates in intramural sports. Purchase has multiple academic interests including the sciences and inter-cultural communication, traditions, customs and history. His career goal is to work to facilitate international learning among youth.
Purchase was previously involved with the Youth Leading Environmental Activism through Democracy program, which allowed him to travel to Jordan during the Arab Spring and participate in human rights education.
Sobel-Smith, a biology and environmental studies major, is the son of Robert Smith and Veronica Sobel of Canby. He is a member of the Circle K and Greenfield clubs and also competes on the speech and debate team.
After graduating from Linfield, Sobel-Smith hopes to attend graduate school at Yale’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. His career goals include managing an environmental consulting firm and working with major cities as a plant ecologist to increase green space.
The mission of the Kemper Scholars Program is to prepare students for leadership and service, especially in the fields of organizational administration and business.
Kemper scholars receive annual scholarships up to $10,000 based on need during their sophomore, junior and senior years of college. They also receive stipends to cover the costs of their work as interns in major non-profit organizations in Chicago during the summer following their sophomore year. Scholars work in positions where they can learn about such things as financial management, organizational strategy, fundraising and non-profit administration.
During the summer following their junior year, scholars receive summer stipends to cover the costs of a learning opportunity in an internship in a for-profit corporation. Kemper scholars attend a national conference to discuss summer projects, meet with former Kemper scholars, and consider topics in administration, leadership and business. They periodically read and discuss major works on leadership, service, ethics, or business; and they have frequent contact with Kemper Foundation staff to discuss the scholars’ academic and professional goals, as well as their hopes for future careers and learning opportunities.
The scholarship program has been sponsored by the James S. Kemper Foundation of Chicago, Ill., since 1948.
