NORMAN - Recent University of Oklahoma graduate Lucy Mahaffey has been named a 2019 Marshall Scholar, OU’s seventh since the scholarship began in 1953. As a Marshall Scholar, Mahaffey plans to attend the University of Nottingham to earn a master’s degree in Slavery and Liberation, followed by study at the University of Edinburgh to earn a master’s degree in Comparative Public Policy. Mahaffey has researched human trafficking for 12 years.
From Norman, Oklahoma, Mahaffey earned her bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary perspectives on Slavery and Exploitation, maintained a perfect 4.00 GPA and graduated summa cum laude in 2017. In 2015, she spoke at the United States Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of Education Stakeholder Conference. She also presented a TEDxOU talk titled “I have 48 slaves. You can change that.” Her career goals include law school and launching an Oklahoma human trafficking resource center devoted to preventing labor trafficking.
A 2016 OU Letzeiser Gold Medalist, Mahaffey was named Outstanding Senior in the College of International Studies in 2016, is the 2014 recipient of the City of Norman Human Rights Award and a winner of a $10,000 Davis Projects for Peace grant in 2013.
Mahaffey’s extensive leadership experience includes founding and serving as former editor-in-chief of OU FORUM Magazine; founding OU’s Off the Market Human Trafficking Symposium; producing the HOPE Student Awareness Trafficking Video curriculum for teens; and interning with OU’s Ronnie K. Irani Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth.
Her public service activities include volunteering at Second Wind Coffeehouse and serving on the City of Norman’s Human Rights Commission.
In addition to her academic pursuits, Mahaffey recently earned a private pilot license and enjoys archiving World War II letters with her grandmother. She is a member in both Phi Beta Kappa and Women in Aviation International.
Up to 40 Marshall Scholarships are awarded annually to U.S. citizens who will have obtained a bachelor’s degree before beginning study overseas. Recipients may choose any institution in the United Kingdom for two, and possibly three years of graduate study. The scholarship covers university fees, cost of living expenses, books, research and daily travel grants, and fares to and from the U.S.
Among the seven Marshall Scholars from OU are James N. Thompson, Jr., David Ross Boyd Professor of Biology, who won the award in 1968 and received his Ph.D. in genetics at the University of Cambridge; and Jerod Coker, who won in 2013 and studied economics and development studies at the London School of Economics.
