Justin Wytmar, who recently completed his junior year at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, is among 20 students nationally who were awarded the Beinecke Scholarship. 

The Beinecke award supports graduate study in the arts, humanities or social sciences. Illinois is one of 135 colleges and universities annually invited to nominate one junior for a Beinecke Scholarship, which is valued at $35,000. 

Wytmar, a U. of I. James Scholar and native of Arlington Heights, Ill., is pursuing a major in history and a minor in Italian in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He plans to complete a doctorate in history.

His research interests focus on the exchange of culture and ideas between France and Italy, especially the “fin de siecle” period from 1871 to 1914 and its impact on Italian culture. This curiosity began in his first year at Illinois when Wytmar was analyzing the political underpinnings of opera, pairing his love for music with a shared passion for history. Wytmar then spent a summer fellowship in Bologna, Italy, researching the intersection of European culture with its politics and society.

On campus, Wytmar rose through the leadership ranks of the History Honors Society at Illinois before serving as its president this past academic year. He also was the president and publishing director for the Undergraduate History Journal at Illinois and volunteered on three history department committees.

Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on the News Bureau website.