November 2021

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 17, 2021—Santa Clara University Computer Science and Engineering major and Mathematics minor Betty Hou ’22 earned accolades as a finalist for the prestigious Marshall Scholarship. Awarded to up to 50 American collegiate scholars annually, the Marshall Scholarship provides full financial support to accomplished students who wish to pursue graduate degrees in the United Kingdom. Hou is the first Santa Clara University student to progress to the final round of the application process.

Each year, more than a thousand applicants are endorsed by their undergraduate institutions to apply for the Marshall Scholarship. Less than twenty percent are named finalists. 

“The Marshall Scholarship is highly competitive and we are proud of Betty for the recognition she received as a finalist,” said Naomi Levy, director of SCU’s Office of Student Fellowships. “Betty is an exemplary student with enormous leadership potential. I have no doubt that her extraordinary focus and passionate commitment to serving others will ensure that she leaves her mark on the world.”

Throughout her career at SCU, Hou has distinguished herself amongst her peers as a member of the professional engineering fraternity Theta Tau and treasurer of Tau Beta Pi, SCU’s engineering honors society. She is involved with the Association of Computing Machinery—Women’s, which celebrates female achievement in science, technology, engineering, and math(STEM).

Hou has also been named a 2021-22 Hackworth Fellow by SCU’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, where she is studying the ethics of artificial intelligence(AI). Initially interested in the industry side of computer science, Hou credits an SCU ethics in technology course that she took in her junior year for shifting her focus to research and AI.

Upon graduating from Santa Clara, Hou intends to pursue a Ph.D. in Computer Science. She is interested in exploring the ethical questions surrounding how technology impacts society and individuals.

Hou has been passionate about STEM throughout her life. She credits her parents, both of whom hold high-level degrees in engineering, with inspiring her interests. Her mother, an aerospace engineer at Boeing, has been a particularly strong influence as a leading woman in STEM.

Outside the classroom, Hou coaches badminton. A former competitive player, Hou says the skills she learned on the court have guided her in other facets of her life. The discipline and perseverance she gained as a badminton player figured strongly into her application essays for the Marshall scholarship. 

“It was a great honor to be named a finalist for the Marshall Scholarship,” said Hou. “I am grateful to Santa Clara for putting its faith in me and for endorsing me for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The application process afforded me the opportunity to think critically about what I want to achieve and I look forward to the next chapter.”

About Santa Clara University

Founded in 1851, Santa Clara University sits in the heart of Silicon Valley—the world’s most innovative and entrepreneurial region. The University’s stunningly landscaped 106-acre campus is home to the historic Mission Santa Clara de Asís. SCU has among the best four-year graduation rates in the nation and is rated by PayScale in the top 1 percent of universities with the highest-paid graduates. SCU has produced elite levels of Fulbright Scholars as well as four Rhodes Scholars. With undergraduate programs in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, and graduate programs in six disciplines, the curriculum blends high-tech innovation with social consciousness grounded in the tradition of Jesuit, Catholic education. For more information see www.scu.edu.

Media Contacts

Deepa Arora | SCU Communications | darora@scu.edu