It took only one semester for Daniel Bouk to choose associate history Professor David Bailey as his mentor.

"I'd follow him back to his office like a lost puppy," said Bouk, a 2002 graduate.

So when Bouk received one of the 2004 Andrew W. Mellon Fellowships in Humanistic Studies, an award for first-year humanities doctoral students, it was only natural that Bailey was one of the first people Bouk contacted.

Bailey's response was just one word - "Wahoo...," repeating the letter "o" 52 times.

Bouk said the people he worked with at MSU "helped me develop a real passion for looking at questions of history, culture and science.

"That passion and all of the opportunities I had at MSU to direct that passion are what allowed me to win this fellowship."

The award covers tuition and fees and pays a stipend of $17,500 for the first year of graduate study. It was offered to another MSU graduate, Julie Bashkin, currently researching the Holocaust in Minsk, Belarus, in addition to 92 others nationwide.

Bouk, who said his initial reaction was one of relief, is planning to attend Princeton University in the fall to pursue a doctorate degree in the history of science.

In the future, he hopes "to be a professor who is as intelligent, caring and inspiring as those who have shaped my academic life," Bouk said.