Abigail Roston, who graduated from Northwestern in June, also has earned a prestigious Truman Scholarship, a U.S.-government scholarship for public service leadership. She plans to attend Oxford beginning this fall.
Abigail Roston, ’22 is the first recipient of the new Findlay Fellowship, which provides financial support to a recent Northwestern undergraduate who is pursuing graduate study in the United Kingdom.
The fellowship was created by a generous gift from Northwestern trustee Cameron Findlay and his wife Amy Scalera Findlay. Cam Findlay is an attorney and former senior U.S. government official, who obtained his master’s degree at the University of Oxford in the U.K. after graduating from Northwestern. He went on to earn a law degree from Harvard Law School, where he and Amy were classmates.
“My experience at Oxford was one of the great experiences of my life and helped prepare me on for a career in law, government, and business,” said Cam Findlay, ’82. “Amy and I are excited that this new fellowship will recognize some of Northwestern’s best and brightest while making it possible for them to pursue similarly rewarding experiences in the U.K. after graduating from Northwestern.”
Roston, the inaugural recipient, graduated from Northwestern in June with a double major in legal studies and history and a minor in data science. In 2021, she also earned a prestigious Truman Scholarship, a U.S.-government scholarship for public service leadership. She plans to attend Oxford beginning this fall.
Roston was involved in the Northwestern Prison Education Program as an executive board member, and served as president of both Hillel and JStreetU, a national organization advocating for a two-state resolution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The new Findlay Fellowship was created by a generous gift from Northwestern trustee Cameron Findlay and his wife, Amy Scalera Findlay. Abigail Roston is the inaugural recipient.
She was also a Leopold Fellow in the history department, a One Book Fellow and president of the Northwestern chapter of Planned Parenthood Generation Action. She already has extensive experience with legal theory and writing from internships and a senior thesis on U.S. Supreme Court law clerk tributes. At Oxford, she plans to study the criminalization of abortion and sentencing laws.
“I am extremely grateful to the Findlays for enabling me to continue my education at the University of Oxford. I will be pursuing a MSc of Criminology and Criminal Justice to deepen my understanding of global systems of justice and hone my research skills before attending law school,” Roston said. “I look forward to conducting research on ineffective assistance of counsel and the criminalization of abortion during my year at Oxford.”
The Findlay Fellowship will initially award $10,000 annually to a student pursuing graduate study in the United Kingdom. The inaugural award has also been supplemented with a one-time additional $15,000 from the Office of Fellowships, for a total of $25,000.
"The best American universities support their students’ development not only while they are enrolled, but also as they pursue new endeavors around the world post-graduation,” said Elizabeth Lewis Pardoe, the director of Northwestern’s Office of Fellowships, which administers the Findlay Fellowship and advises all students and alums about fellowship opportunities. “The Findlay Fellowship will help outstanding Northwestern graduates build ladders to global leadership, beginning with the remarkable Ms. Roston."
