ELI AZIERE

Eli is a 2024 recipient and is in his second year at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He is pursuing a double major in history and anthropology on the pre-law track. He graduated from The Independent School in 2024 and has lived in Haysville, Kansas, his whole life.

During high school, Eli was a three-sport athlete who ran cross country, swam, and played baseball. He was also involved with many extracurricular activities, including Student Council, playing trumpet in the band, Scholars Bowl, and National Honor Society. Through his involvement with his school, Eli learned the importance of giving back to one’s community. He is most thankful for the opportunity to serve as Scholars Bowl varsity captain for four years, which taught him how to be a polymath. By understanding and being able to draw from a wide range of subject areas, he has gained a greater understanding of the world, which has led to a curiosity to explore different people and their cultures.

On campus at William & Mary, Eli is involved with the WM Brass Ensemble, Anthropology Club, Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, and Student Assembly. Student Assembly is William & Mary’s student government organization. Eli works as an Undersecretary of Student Experience and planned an event that connected student organizations and Swem Library’s Special Collections Research Center in order to help preserve campus history. In Pi Kappa Alpha, Eli currently serves as the Internal Vice President, and has previously served as the Alumni Relations Chairman and New Member Educator. He was also recently elected to serve as the Vice President of Academic Excellence for the Inter-Fraternity Council.

For the last two semesters, Eli has worked in Dr. Jennifer Kahn’s Oceanic Soils Archaeology Lab. He has worked alongside other students to catalog and study artifacts from the Marae Tararoa, Te Ana Eva, and Are Arioi sites on the island of Rurutu in French Polynesia. The site was initially excavated in 1980, but the artifacts have never been fully studied. In this lab, Eli has acquired invaluable skills in identifying artifacts, analyzing data, and preserving historical materials. He hopes that this work will lead to him conducting independent research for an honors or master’s thesis in the near future.

During the summer, Eli has spent the last three years volunteering with Wichita Festivals during their annual Riverfest. He was a Prairie Schooner Mate in 2023, and a mentor in 2024 and 2025. He enjoys giving back to his community and mentoring other students going through the same Schooner Mate Program he did. Thanks to the connections between the O’Shaughnessy Foundation and the J.L. Weigand Trust, Eli worked as a legal runner at Triplett Woolf and Garretson in the summer of 2025. This experience helped him gain knowledge of the legal field and narrow down which area he hopes to practice.

In his free time, Eli enjoys road tripping and visiting different historical sites around the country, particularly those related to early American history. He also enjoys reading, running, and photography. Reading is one of the things Eli connected with most when learning about Timothy. Most of all, Eli enjoys spending time with his family, whom he credits with raising him to value integrity and curiosity.

Eli is a big believer in hard work, a value instilled in him by his family. He is excited to continue building relationships within the Timothy P. O’Shaughnessy Foundation in the years to come. He is extremely grateful for the opportunities the Foundation has provided him and looks forward to seeing what the future holds.