Swedish Government Awards Martin Guss Thord-Gray Memorial Fund Scholarship
Past recipients include six Nobel Prize laureates and two prime ministers

Brookville, N.Y. -- Five years ago, Martin Guss was an avid soccer enthusiast playing the field as a student athlete at Chalmers University in Gothenburg, Sweden . Today, he is an academically ambitious student at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University where he is pursuing a graduate degree in medical biology with a specialization in immunology. But that's not all. On April 22 Martin flew to his homeland of Sweden to receive the prestigious Thord-Gray Memorial Fund Scholarship. To add to the excitement, the scholarship was personally given to Martin by Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess Victoria who also serves as the ambassador to Canada and the United States. 

Guss was among 40 students awarded the grant including six within the medical category, and he was the youngest recipient. Past scholarship winners have included six Nobel Prize laureates and two prime ministers. Guss will receive $20,000 for one year of study at C.W. Post.  The Thord-Gray Memorial Fund Scholarship is for students who are interested in advanced studies in the U.S.A. or Canada . Individuals who are awarded the scholarship can use it to earn a master's degree, Ph.D., or to conduct postgraduate research.

“It is kind of a Swedish custom to pay for your own education. I have financed my education all by myself, so far, and I will continue to do so. It would have been impossible to stay here without the scholarships I have received so far. In total I have gotten $132,000 in scholarships to study at Long Island University,” Guss said. His interests in the medical field include the human body and its response to disease, and biomedical science. “Cancer research is extremely interesting and I can definitely see pursuing a Ph.D. in the future,” he added.

Eligibility requirements for the scholarship included submitting a written essay and completion of a Swedish or American bachelor's degree program. Martin wrote about how his study in America will benefit Sweden in the future. In May 2007 he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Southampton College before enrolling as a graduate student at C.W. Post. As a scholarship recipient Martin is a fellow of two foundations including the Sweden-America Foundation and the American-Scandinavian Foundation.

When he is not busy with his studies Martin works full time in the International Admissions office as a counselor.  Prior to that, he worked in the Information Technology department as a student employee where he became familiar with many of the Campus' staff and faculty. “It has been great so far and I feel like it is developing me as a person and employee,” he said. He has one year remaining to complete his master's degree.

Posted: May 6, 2008