Samford University history, global and cultural studies, Spanish and University Fellows honors program alumnus Keely Smith has been named a fellow in the eleventh cohort of the Lilly Graduate Fellows Program. She is the third Samford alumnus in five years to earn the Lilly honor–following classics and University Fellows alumni Nathan Smolin and Sam Hahn–and one of only 10 chosen this year from a national applicant pool of 71.

The prestigious fellowship, part of the Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities, supports three years of graduate education for exceptionally well-qualified young graduates of LFP Network Schools who seek to become teacher-scholars at church-related colleges and universities in the United States.

This is the latest of several national academic honors for Smith, a Princeton University graduate student studying the intersection between Native American and colonial European folkways in the 17^th and 18^th centuries. In 2018 she was named a Gilder Lehrman History Scholar and one of only 51 national Phi Kappa Phi Fellows.

“I cannot think of a more deserving recipient for a Lilly Fellowship,” said Howard College of Arts and Sciences dean Tim Hall. “She combined intellectual curiosity and a strong work ethic with an amiable disposition that made working with her a delight.”

Lilly Graduate Fellows participate in a three-year program in which they meet regularly with a mentor, attend four conferences, participate in a long-distance colloquium, and receive $9,000 to use at their discretion. Following an initial meeting with mentors this summer, they will embark on a long-distance colloquium, engage in one-on-one mentoring relationships, and participate in three additional conferences. All ten are pursuing graduate studies in humanities or the arts.