In its 25 years, the Lockerbie Scholarship has changed and affected the lives of the students from the small town in Scotland. Here is what other scholars had to say about the experience:

• Kerry Currie: Lockerbie Scholar 1996-97

Before she left for Syracuse in 1996, Kerry Currie had only been abroad once for an exchange trip with her peers. Going to Syracuse was her first time really away from home.

“You go out there. You definitely come back feeling more confident and not scared to try new things and open-minded to see the bigger world out there,” she said.

While at SU, Currie was involved in the Reserve Officer Training Corps and would get up at a “ridiculous” hour in the morning to go running. It was a completely different experience that she said she wouldn’t have been able to do back at home.

Currie now teaches at Lockerbie Academy as a principal teacher, whose main job is supporting pupils and looking out for students. She was a part of the panel that interviews applicants for the scholarship even before she began teaching at the academy.

Because of the strong relationship between the academy and the community, Currie said the scholarship is something that everyone in Lockerbie is aware of.

“People remember those who go out to Syracuse,” Currie said. “You become part of this Syracuse family, and everyone knows it.”

• David Thomson: Lockerbie Scholar 1996-97

David Thomson spent his year at SU taking classes at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. He was even able to talk his way into taking upper-level courses that were reserved for juniors or seniors.

“I had a great experience learning, and it’s completely changed my life with the direction that it’s taken,” he said. “I certainly wouldn’t be able to be doing what I’m doing now if it wasn’t for the scholarship.”

Thomson’s experience in 1996 brought him back to SU in 2001 to get his master’s degree in film. After a year and a half, he moved to New York City in 2003. The scholarship, Thomson said, allowed him to see America as a second home — it’s where he did most of his “growing up.”

“The scholarship gives you a first taste of the immigrant experience, the American experience. America is a country of immigrants and that open welcome to immigrants has historically been one of the things that makes America great,” said Thomson, who now lives in London.

“What better response can there be to terrorism than to use a tragedy to create bonds and hope between people?”

• Stephen Armstrong: Lockerbie Scholar 2000-01

Stephen Armstrong has been back to Syracuse between three and five times in the last 15 years. He said he tries to go back every few years and visit the campus and his friends all across the states. When his friends have come over to visit him, he acts as their “tour guide” and shows them the sights of Scotland.

The scholarship, Armstrong said, gave him an international outlook and helped him realize there’s much more to the world.

“The thing I enjoyed most about it was being part of a very good community,” Armstrong said. “There’s so many extra brothers and sisters. We’re a part of an ever-growing community of scholars.”

Armstrong said one of the legacies the Lockerbie Scholars pass on to future scholars is what they call “The Rough Guide to Syracuse.” Updated every year, “The Rough Guide to Syracuse” is a collection of past scholars’ testimonials to give future scholars advice and tips about living in Syracuse.

Armstrong still lives in Lockerbie and he believes he is one of the oldest scholars who still lives there today. He said he has lived in the town his whole life, with brief spells at Syracuse and in Edinburgh, where he completed his university years and graduated with a degree in history.

“When you come back to Lockerbie after Syracuse, it also gives you a sort of reality check that anything is possible to do,” he said. “Once you’ve done Syracuse, you can do anything.”

• Kirsty Lidden: Lockerbie Scholar 2008-09

The Lockerbie Scholarship has a special meaning to Kirsty Lidden’s family because her younger sister also received the scholarship and attended SU from 2011-2012. Lidden said she wanted to visit her sister while she was at SU but wasn’t able to get away from university.

Syracuse, Lidden said, is now a home away from home. She likes having friends all over the U.S. and was happy to host people when they studied abroad in Europe during their junior year.

“People that had me stay there at Syracuse stayed with me here, and it was really nice to be able to return the hospitality that they had given to me,” Lidden said.

Lidden said she always did a lot of swimming, but was bored at SU when she didn’t have any competitions to go to. When one of the girls she met invited her to try and play water polo, Lidden said she became hooked.

When Lidden got back to Scotland and started school at the University of Edinburgh, the water polo team was the first team she joined.

“It became the biggest part of my (university) life here, and it all stemmed from Syracuse,” she said.

Published on October 25, 2015 at 11:58 pm

Contact Clare: clramire@syr.edu