When the British Embassy phoned in December, a University scholar fattened his resume and earned two years of paid living expenses, plane fare and housing at the University of Britain.

Brian Pavlakovic (senior-mechanical engineering) will trek to Great Britain to attend the Imperial College at the University of Britain on a British Marshall Scholarship in August -- a scholarship worth about $21,000. Pavlakovic will earn his master's thesis in ultrasonic evaluations of composites and may stay a third year to earn a doctoral degree.

The Marshall recipient chooses a British college in any field of study for two years. Nationally, 40 scholarships are awarded. The winners are determined by an advisory council, chaired jointly by the chairman of the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission and the British ambassador located in Washington, D.C.

"I hope to attain a better understanding of engineering, the English culture, myself and engineering. I will grow," Pavlakovic said.

But scholarship recipients are not the only people benefiting from the contest. Mary Gage, director of the University's undergraduate fellowships office, believes students should not be so intent on winning that they are overly disappointed if they lose, because it may not be their fault.

"It's just like the footballers. They never would have been able to beat Tennessee without the coaches," Gage said. Completing the application forces students to evaluate their thoughts, she added.

For the scholarship, Pavlakovic wrote a 1,000-word essay on creativity in engineering. "Engineering is concrete. Life is not," he said about his topic. The essay, which explained how to adapt these two ideas to a middle ground, related some of his personal experiences.

As co-coordinator of Envisioneering, Pavlakovic works to sponsor various activities for the College of Engineering. The group helps freshmen enrolled in engineering become acquainted with the college and holds teamwork and creativity workshops.

Although Pavlakovic did not consider applying for the British Marshall Scholarship until his junior year, Gage believes freshmen should begin thinking about scholarship opportunities immediately. In order to thicken their resumes, potential recipients should spend their vacations innovatively.

"Don't spend summers working at McDonald's," she said. "Think about doing things like building basketball courts in Mexico."

Pavlakovic studied abroad in Lyon, France. He studied political science, art, history and French, but Britain will be a first for him.

"I'm going in with very few preconceptions," he said. "I want to be open to possibilities."

Gage also advised students to become acquainted with professors for recommendations. She said this is very hard to do at the University because most classes are big.

Joseph Rose, Paul Morrow professor of engineering science and mechanics, wrote one of Pavlakovic's recommendation letters. He described Pavlakovic as "intelligent, creative, skilled and ambitious."

To prepare for the competition, Pavlakovic participated in the Friday Club, conducted by a group of faculty. The group discusses such items as religion, politics, literature and other information.

"They get exposed to putting forth ideas without getting shot down," Gage said. Also, the candidates have the opportunity to videotape mock interviews.

Pavlakovic believes the interviews allowed him to be more comfortable when discussing long-term goals. "I'm calmer now during stressful situations," he said.