“It's a tremendous honor and a dream come true,” said Wellkamp. “The chance to study at Oxford will be exciting, challenging and intellectually enriching. I feel incredibly blessed to get an opportunity like this.”

Wellkamp says he’s eager to pursue a world-class education in economics and already realizes how the degree can help him with his long-term goals.

“Given the economic challenges our country and our world are facing right now, and looking forward to our long-term challenges such as energy, climate change and sustainable economic development, I think we need more leaders who are well-versed in economics,” said Wellkamp.  “I am also excited to gain a global outlook on the challenges facing humanity through exposure to British, European and other international perspectives.”

Wellkamp, who was awarded the Harry S. Truman Scholarship in 2009, graduated from Georgia Tech last year with a double major in industrial and systems engineering and public policy. 

As a student, Wellkamp was elected Undergraduate Student Government Association President for 2008-09, during which time he led initiatives to promote campus sustainability and reform the Institute’s policies regarding football ticketing, campus e-mails and final exam preparation. In addition, he served on the Georgia Tech Presidential Search Committee and was a member of the Student Advisory Committee to the Board of Regents.

Wellkamp was also active in politics and public policy outside of campus, spending one summer working in the Office of Science and Technology Policy at the White House and another summer with a political consulting firm in Atlanta. Wellkamp is not resting on his past success and hopes to pursue his passions relating to clean energy.

According to Wellkamp, he began contemplating whether to apply for the Marshall Scholarship more than a year and half ago.

“It's an intense and highly reflective process,” said Wellkamp. “The application itself involves a 1,000-word personal statement, two more 500-word essays about your proposed program of study and why you want to study in the UK, and several other smaller essays as well. I also had to get four letters of recommendation (a of mix academic and professional references) and an institutional endorsement from Georgia Tech.”

After being selected as a finalist, Wellkamp had a 30-minute interview with a six-member panel in Atlanta, where they asked him questions ranging from subjects in economics to solar panel technologies to the British prime minister candidate debates this past April.