Bwog sat down with the latest Columbian to make the rest of his class look bad.

Raph GraybillAll-Amur’can Raphael Graybill (CC ’10) of Great Falls, Montana has recently been awarded the 2010 Marshall Scholarship. Each year, the prestigious award is granted to up to 40 American students of “high ability” to pursue graduate studies in the UK in any discipline. Graybill, a Political Science major, plans to study Political Theory at Oxford University in the fall.

The Marshall Scholarships were founded in 1953 to “commemorate the humane ideals of the Marshall Plan,” and to “express the continuing gratitude of the British people to their American counterparts.” Two other CC seniors, Mike Tannenbaum and Susanna O’Kula, were among the finalists for the award this year. This is the fourth year in a row that a Columbia student has been named a Marshall Scholar. Past scholars include Paul Sonne (CC ’07), Emma Kaufman (CC ’08) and Sam Daly (CC ’09).

Graybill’s studies at Columbia have been focused on the intersection between politics, psychology, and communication. “I’ve been lucky to learn under the best Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology faculties in the world,” says Graybill; “I am eager to apply what I’ve learned both as a student and as a practitioner of politics to future work in political theory at Oxford.”

“I feel very honored – and very humbled – to receive such a great opportunity to study in the United Kingdom. I’m happy to be able to represent Columbia in winning a Marshall scholarship, and proud to represent Montana as well (historically one of the least represented states in Marshall winners). I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Dean Pippenger and Meg Roach in the Fellowships office, my recommenders, Columbia faculty, and loving family and friends. I’m also excited that Oxford has a ski team (who would have thought?).”

Graybill, former captain of the Ski and Snowboard Racing Club, famously led the team’s attempt to build a ski jump on the Low Library steps last year.

Unlike most, Graybill seems to have given quite a bit of thought to his Political Science major. Some of his lesser accomplishments include being elected by the statewide delegate convention to represent Montana for Obama at the Democratic National Convention in 2008, and working for the Coordinated Campaign of Montana’s Democratic Party. This past summer, he was a summer associate at the US Senate Finance Committee’s majority staff working with trillions of dollars on health care reform. He is also currently an Auxiliary Police Officer for the NYPD’s 26th Precinct. Sky-high connections and a bullet-proof vest… you know, no big deal.

At Oxford, Graybill will be pursuing an MPhil in Politics (Theory). He is primarily interested in how information—and mass media as a conduit of information—affects perception, opinion, and political action. “The past 30-50 years have seen dramatic changes in how media influence and shape politics,” he says, “and I’m interested in thinking through how political scientists and practitioners of politics alike can think through this new information landscape.  How has the structure of politics changed? How does this affect substance? Is there an ethical dimension to mass mediated politics?”

Graybill is currently unavailable for further comment, as he is in Seattle interviewing for the Rhodes scholarship. However, once he finally finishes school, Graybill says he “is interested in opportunities in government and public service”—indeed, rumor has it that after Oxford he plans to run for office in Montana. Did I hear Graybill for president?