Allie McDougall
Gannon Scholarship
ALIE MCDOUGALL (BA ’26) plans to work for the U.S. Foreign Service, and she’s already well on her way, thanks to a Gannon Scholarship that supports aspiring women leaders. Selected as one of 40 finalists from among more than 1,100 applicants, the dual global studies and French major was invited to the Gannon Center for Women and Leadership in March 2022, ahead of her first year at Loyola, for a series of interviews.
After impressing the selection committee, including former director Gabrielle Buckley and several current Gannon Scholars, McDougall secured a scholarship of up to $10,000 per year, which she says has been life changing. As an award recipient, the Tacoma, Washington, native has had the opportunity to attend weekly hour-long leadership meetings, study at the John Felice Rome Center, intern with the Jesuit Refugee Service outside the Vatican, and cowrite a book chapter with international studies professor Molly Melin examining how corporate behavior during election cycles can exacerbate political violence or promote peace.
Global studies and French major Alie McDougall calls the selective Gannon Scholars program a “life-changing” leadership training, research, and mentorship experience.
(Photo by Lukas Keapproth)
“I get to walk in the footsteps of all these women who have come before me, who have paved the way for women in education, for women in positions of leadership, and who have pushed the boundaries of what that looks like.”
One of those women is Sister Jean, a role model for McDougall, who shares the late sister’s passion for advising students. Starting her sophomore year, McDougall helped mentor students in the Interdisciplinary Honors Program, younger Gannon Scholars, and first-year students in the University 101 course. She’s also worked as a student ambassador for Loyola Orientation, where she heard Sister Jean welcome new students and families with an inspiring, if bittersweet, story of a caterpillar’s metamorphosis into a butterfly.
“I’ve been lucky to see how the legacy of Sister Jean and her presence at Mundelein has passed on through decades of women leaders and scholars,” McDougall said. “We really deeply shared the love of seeing students realize they have a home here at Loyola; that this is a place where they’ll have the opportunity to grow and to flourish.”
Gannon Scholarship
ALIE MCDOUGALL (BA ’26) plans to work for the U.S. Foreign Service, and she’s already well on her way, thanks to a Gannon Scholarship that supports aspiring women leaders. Selected as one of 40 finalists from among more than 1,100 applicants, the dual global studies and French major was invited to the Gannon Center for Women and Leadership in March 2022, ahead of her first year at Loyola, for a series of interviews.
After impressing the selection committee, including former director Gabrielle Buckley and several current Gannon Scholars, McDougall secured a scholarship of up to $10,000 per year, which she says has been life changing. As an award recipient, the Tacoma, Washington, native has had the opportunity to attend weekly hour-long leadership meetings, study at the John Felice Rome Center, intern with the Jesuit Refugee Service outside the Vatican, and cowrite a book chapter with international studies professor Molly Melin examining how corporate behavior during election cycles can exacerbate political violence or promote peace.
“I get to walk in the footsteps of all these women who have come before me, who have paved the way for women in education, for women in positions of leadership, and who have pushed the boundaries of what that looks like.”
One of those women is Sister Jean, a role model for McDougall, who shares the late sister’s passion for advising students. Starting her sophomore year, McDougall helped mentor students in the Interdisciplinary Honors Program, younger Gannon Scholars, and first-year students in the University 101 course. She’s also worked as a student ambassador for Loyola Orientation, where she heard Sister Jean welcome new students and families with an inspiring, if bittersweet, story of a caterpillar’s metamorphosis into a butterfly.
“I’ve been lucky to see how the legacy of Sister Jean and her presence at Mundelein has passed on through decades of women leaders and scholars,” McDougall said. “We really deeply shared the love of seeing students realize they have a home here at Loyola; that this is a place where they’ll have the opportunity to grow and to flourish.”