The Road to Prestigious Scholarships

The Honors Program welcomes Audrey Hanks as the new Prestigious Scholarships Coordinator for the Honors Program.

Audrey Hanks has always known she is good at math. She spent hours of her high school years hunched over a table with her friends, patiently explaining question after question, helping them understand. As she spent her high school career helping her friends struggling with problems she found simple, Audrey saw a need for evolution in teaching. It was this desire to help her friends succeed that propelled Audrey into a career of math education.

As a teacher, Audrey wanted students to “help others have access to something they did not normally have access to.” After completing her Bachelor’s and Master’s in Math Education, she taught Jr. High and middle school and taught for a stint at BYU. For almost 11 years, she has done substitute teaching and tutoring. Math and education are just some of Audrey’s many loves. She is married to Joseph Hanks and is the mother of six beautiful children, ranging in age from 13.5 to 5.5.

Audrey became interested in the role of Prestigious Scholarship Coordinator when she realized the opportunity to be back at BYU working alongside Honors students and explore new ideas and challenges. Audrey’s ability to evaluate ideas and problems or situations and to think about the factors that influence them sets her apart from others. She says this skill “has been important in every aspect of [her] life.”

As the Prestigious Scholarship Coordinator, Audrey focuses on five scholarships: Rhodes, Marshall, Gates Cambridge, Truman, and Fulbright. She recognizes that for many students, the scholarship process, like math, can be daunting. Audrey says the best way to start the scholarship process is as a freshman or sophomore. She encourages students to find out the requirements and participate in leadership experiences, extracurriculars, and similar activities that would make them a better candidate. Audrey says juniors and seniors hoping to apply for prestigious scholarships should contact her to see what scholarships would be a good fit.

“We’re hoping to get the word out about what the scholarships are and increase the number of applicants that are competitive,” Audrey said. Ultimately, she wants to increase the number of finalists and number of individuals who are awarded prestigious scholarships.

Audrey says scholarships have financial benefits and are a social experience. Networking and creating relationships with people who work might be leaders and are serving in the community is an invaluable experience.

If you would like assistance with an application, want to know if you are a likely candidate, or want to chat about prestigious scholarships call, email, or meet with Audrey at 801-422-0590 or national.scholarships@byu.edu. See our website for more information: https://ue.byu.edu/scholarships