STARKVILLE, Miss. (Queen City Newsfeed) – Two people with ties to Mississippi State are in the running for a major national award. Senior Evan Garrison and recent graduate Spencer Lile are MSU Marshall Scholarship finalists, the university said.
The award pays for Americans to earn graduate degrees in the United Kingdom. Up to 50 people win it each year.
However, neither finalist has won yet. MSU said both will interview later this month. The scholarship’s website lists regional interviews from Nov. 16 through Nov. 20.
What the award pays for
The scholarship covers university fees, living costs and books. It also helps pay for research, daily travel and trips to and from the United States.
To qualify, a person must be a U.S. citizen with at least a 3.7 GPA. In addition, each winner must hold a degree from an American college by the time the award starts.
Britain’s Parliament created the award in 1953. It thanks Americans for the Marshall Plan, the U.S. aid program that helped Europe rebuild after World War II. It is named for George C. Marshall, who served as U.S. secretary of state.
Working on space junk
Garrison is from Webb City, Missouri. He is a double major in aerospace engineering and math. He also has three minors, including artificial intelligence and political science.
After MSU, Garrison plans to earn a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering. He wants to help experts and policy makers work together to protect equipment in space. His focus is orbital debris, which is another name for space junk.
So why does that matter here on the ground? A 2021 NASA watchdog report says space junk could threaten weather forecasts, GPS and communication services.
Garrison is also a Rhodes Scholarship finalist, as Queen City Newsfeed reported Tuesday. He will interview for that award Nov. 13 and 14 in Kansas City.
Earlier this year, he won a Truman Scholarship. That award gives up to $30,000 for graduate school.
MSU listed other honors too. For example, Garrison is an Air Force Research Laboratory Phillips Scholar. He also won a 2026 national title in team debate and MSU’s Simrall Award for engineering. In addition, MSU said he is a nominee for a team research award tied to U.S. and British defense work.
Using computers to find medicine
Lile is from Benton, Arkansas. This spring, he earned MSU degrees in biomedical engineering and physics, with a math minor. Now he is a medical student at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
In graduate school, Lile plans to use computer models to study how drugs work in the body and affect disease. That work would then guide lab studies. The goal is to turn computer predictions into real medicine.
Lile finished MSU with a perfect 4.0 GPA. As a result, he graduated as a Stephen D. Lee Scholar. Also, in 2025, he won an Astronaut Scholarship and was named a Goldwater Scholar.
What MSU says
David Hoffman leads the MSU office that helps students apply for awards like this one. He said both are doing top research that could help solve big global problems.
“It is remarkable to see how their work on space debris and rare disease treatment respectively was built upon the training, opportunities and mentorship they found at MSU,” Hoffman said.
Hoffman added that both have shown they could strengthen ties between the two countries. That goal is at the heart of the scholarship, he said.
How local students can get help
MSU had its first Marshall Scholar in 2023, when Madison Brode won the award. Now, Garrison and Lile have a chance to join her.
Help is open to more than honors students. Hoffman’s office works with all current MSU students and recent graduates. That includes students from East Central Mississippi, since MSU says it enrolls students from all 82 counties.
Students can meet with the office in person or online. The office urges them to start as early as freshman year. However, it does not give out financial aid.
To set up a visit, go to the office’s website. You can also call the honors college at (662) 325-2522.
