Galbreth Wins Marshall Scholarship

While three Harvard students won Rhodes Scholarships this year, Lowell House resident Megan E. Galbreth ’08 is the only Harvard undergraduate to have bagged the prestigious Marshall Scholarship.

Galbreth, who is interested in the poet Geoffrey Chaucer and will use the funds to study medieval literature at Oxford, said in an interview that she was “overjoyed” when she heard the news on Monday.

“I am so excited to live in England—to experience a new culture and a different atmosphere,” she said.

Galbreth, who studies French literature and linguistics, recounted the frantic moments before discovering that she had won the scholarship.

“My computer froze right when I tried to open the attachment,” she said. “I had to run to my roommate’s computer to read the message. The whole process took about 10 minutes, so it was tense—but also pretty funny.”

She added that she had little time to celebrate her success, because she had a midterm the next day.

Galbreth, a native of Signal Mountain, Tenn., said she discovered her interest in Medieval literature during her time at Harvard.

“I liked that the Middle Ages felt foreign,” she said. “Reading the texts can be a bit like traveling because you step into a different world, a different time and place.”

Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures Virginie Greene, who taught Galbreth in French language and Medieval literature courses during her freshman year, said that she immediately recognized Galbreth’s talent and initiative.

“She was an impressive student from freshman year,” Greene said. “She did very well.”

Greene also praised Galbreth’s versatility as a student.

“She looks at language from both a linguistic perspective and a literature perspective, which is not very easy to do,” said Greene, who is also co-directing Galbreth’s honors thesis. “Working with her feels more like collaborating than teaching.”

Galbreth said that after finishing her scholarship, she hopes to make her career as a professor.

“I expect to go on to a Ph.D. and continue in academia,” Galbreth said. “Oxford will allow me to try that field in a more intense way and see if it suits me.”

The Marshall Scholarship, which funds two years of study at a British university, is funded by the British government in gratitude for American aid to Europe following World War II.

Jenny J. Li ’08, who has been roommates with Galbreth since their freshman year in Pennypacker, describes Galbreth as a positive person who is always willing to help others.

“She works really hard, and she’s an amazing person,” Li said.