There are many reasons why government and history major Ruby Fyffe ’26 is thrilled to be heading to St. Andrew’s University in Scotland later this year. One of them is personal. “My last name comes from the name of the old Pictish kingdom, Fife, which is where the university is located.”
Fyffe, who wants to pursue a career in constitutional law, has won a St. Andrew’s Society of the State of New York’s Scholarship to support a year of graduate study at one of the English-speaking world’s oldest universities.
This will take Fyffe to the area where her forebears originated before migrating to northern Ireland hundreds of years ago, and then on to America. “I’m excited to be in the place where my ancestors were located. I’ll get to walk along the same medieval village they might have, which is really special.”
As an exceptionally promising legal scholar, Fyffe also says she’s excited to pursue postgraduate study at the school’s “unique, interdisciplinary program in legal and constitutional studies. It’s such a privilege to continue my studies, and I’m so grateful to the St Andrews Society of New York for giving me this honor and opportunity."
Fyffe, who is weighing whether to practice law or teach it, describes Scotland as an ideal country to study constitutional law and legal studies because of a historical legacy that blends Scottish and English traditions. “Centuries of history have permeated Scotland’s laws, and the country has one of the premier law archives in Europe located in Edinburgh,” she wrote in her application. “The unique opportunity to study the history of law at St. Andrews in Scotland is to at once be saturated in a rich past yet also immersed in a dynamic legal system,” she added.
Outside the classroom and the library, Fyffe, who has loved being a part of Outing Club trips at Bowdoin, hopes to make the most of what the Scottish outdoors has to offer. “I want to hike the West Highland Way with my new Scottish friends from the University’s ‘hill walking’ clubs,” says Fyffe, who intends to take full advantage of Scotland’s broad “right to roam” law and to tackle as many ‘munros’ (as mountains there are called) as she can during her time at St. Andrews. “Scotland holds the answers to my past, but it also presents the chance for new, cross-Atlantic friendships.”
Visiting Assistant Professor of Government Max Lykins, who wrote a recommendation for Fyffe’s scholarship application, describes her as a great example of a Bowdoin student. “She’s hardworking, intellectually curious, and capable of doing rigorous work. I think she’ll do great at St. Andrew's and her future career in either studying or practicing the law.”
