Plainview native and Simmons College graduate Laura Hymson has been awarded a prestigious research fellowship by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. The fellowship will be used for Hymson's dissertation, "Promoting the Public Good: Corporate Advertising and the Nation State in 20th Century America."

Founded in 1994, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History promotes the study and love of American history. The institute awards short-term fellowships in several categories including, research fellowships for post-doctoral scholars, dissertation fellowships for doctoral candidates, and research fellowships for journalists and independent scholars. Hymson, a doctoral candidate in the Program in American Culture at the University of Michigan, will conduct her research at the New York Public Library.

Hymson received an M.A. in Gender/Cultural Studies from Simmons College in 2002 and B.A. in American Studies from Wesleyan University. She received the Ronald E. McNair scholarship and the Mellon Minority Undergraduate Fellowship at Wesleyan University. She also received a Rackham Merit Fellowship at the University of Michigan.