Centreville's Nina Sharp Receives Mary Martin Drama Scholarship at Washington College

Nina Sharp as Philia in a 2010 production
of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way
 to the Forum at Washington College.

CHESTERTOWN, MD—The Washington College Department of Drama has named Nina Sharp, a rising senior from Centreville, Md., as the recipient of the 2012 Mary Martin Drama Scholarship. Established in 1992 by Matthew Weir ’90 in honor of his grandmother, the great actress Mary Martin, the scholarship is awarded each year to a student majoring in Drama who demonstrates great dedication to any area of the theater arts. The 2012 scholarship award is expected to be approximately $16,000.

Sharp, a drama major with a minor in English, has been a self-described “theater geek” since she took on her first roles at Centreville Middle School, roles that included the same character, Peter Pan, that Mary Martin played to great acclaim. Sharp has since played the title role of Anne in The Diary of Anne Frank, Abigail Williams in The Crucible,  Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and, most recently, Jill in a production of Equus at Church Hill Theatre.  

Aside from acting, Nina also has a passion for the technical side of theater, and has excelled in directing, stage-managing, costuming, set constructing, and much more. She has spent countless hours rehearsing, working, learning and playing in Washington College's cutting-edge Gibson Center for the Arts, and will be directing her thesis there in November of 2012.

Nina has worked as a part-time stagehand at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center, and this summer she is interning at Church Hill Theatre as an assistant director for the Green Room Gang Theatre Group. She has worked for five years at Chestertown Natural Foods and served as a dormitory Resident Assistant on campus her junior year. She has earned a spot on the Dean’s List each semester of her college career.

“Nina is one of those students that we all love to work with, both in and out of the classroom,” says Dr. Michele Volansky, an associate professor of drama and chair of the Drama Department.  “She is a stand-out citizen of the department as well as a natural leader who sets the bar high for her peers.”

Mary Martin with grandson Matt Weir '90

Volansky says Sharp shares with the famous Mary Martin the ability to take a part and make it her own. For theater people, the mention of Martin’s name brings to mind a particularly vivid set of images: Ensign Nellie Forbush washing that man right outa her hair, Dolly Winslow—whose heart belongs to Daddy—shedding her furs, and Peter Pan teaching the Darling children to fly and to crow. Working on stage, screen and radio, Martin brought to life a formidable range of other characters, including Maria in The Sound of Music, for which she won the Tony Award in 1960. Martin also garnered Tony Awards for her work as Peter Pan (1955) and as Annie Oakley in the touring company of Annie Get Your Gun (1948).  She toured the United States and the world as Dolly Levi in the international touring company of Hello, Dolly!, which included engagements in Okinawa, Korea, Japan, South Vietnam, and London.

For more information on the Drama Department and the Mary Martin Scholarship, please visit:  http://drama.washcoll.edu.

Senior Schelberg One of 20 in Nation Named to USA Today's All-USA College Academic Team

CHESTERTOWN, MD—Washington College senior James H. Schelberg has been named to the 2011 USA Today All-USA College Academic Team, an honor bestowed on only 20 undergraduates for their academic and community achievements. Selected from among hundreds of juniors and seniors nominated by their colleges and universities throughout the U.S., Schelberg was judged on criteria that included academic rigor, leadership and intellectual endeavor that benefits society. He received a check for $2,500.

Schelberg, a double major in Humanities and Philosophy who attends Washington College on a Hodson Trust Star Scholarship for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, was the only First Team member selected from a small liberal-arts college. The other 19 winners represent state universities that include Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and California at Berkeley, or large private universities such as Johns Hopkins, Emory, Cornell and Rice.

“I can’t imagine anyone more deserving of this recognition or more representative of the best qualities this generation of students has to offer the world,” says Washington College president Mitchell B. Reiss. “The entire Washington College community is proud of what this says about Jim Schelberg, and what his experience says about the value of a liberal-arts education in creating a life of meaning and purpose. He embodies the idea of moral courage.”

Schelberg, a U.S. Marine veteran, was twice deployed into combat overseas, first to Iraq (October 2006 to April 2007) and then to Afghanistan (November 2009 to May 2010), where he served as an infantry corporal. He has maintained a 4.0 grade point average each of his semesters at Washington College. He also has been a member of the Cater Society of Junior Fellows, the College’s flagship academic enrichment program for outstanding scholars; conducted research at the University of Oxford as part of the College’s summer Oxford Research Seminar on Religion, Politics and Culture; taught boxing as founder of the Washington College Mixed Martial Arts Club; and conducted important archival research for the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience and the Maryland State Archives.

As part of the application for the All-USA College Academic Team, Schelberg wrote about how the two years of humanities classes he took before deploying to Afghanistan helped him become a “more passionate humanitarian and thoughtful warrior. In the bleak landscapes of the Helmand River Valley, ” he continued, “my experiences of loss, tragedy and violence shaped my understanding of the destructive effects of illiteracy and the opportunities to bring social change through education.”

He saw similar opportunities back home, where wasted intellectual potential is such a devastating force among educationally underserved, low-income males, many of whom end up in prisons. In summer of 2011, Schelberg created and launched a prison outreach program called Partners in Philosophy, which offers courses in philosophy, logic and ethics to inmates of Maryland’s Jessup Correctional Institution. Washington College professors joined him for several of the classes, which ranged from ethical choices in Art History to the teachings of Plato, Buddha and Frederick Douglass. He plans to continue the program this summer.

Those who nominated Schelberg for the All-USA College distinction were pleased but not surprised by the news.  Joseph Prud’homme, assistant professor of political science, has worked closely with Schelberg as one of his academic advisors at Washington College.  “I can say without a doubt that he is the strongest student I have ever worked with as a college professor, here at Washington College, and earlier at Princeton and Harvard,” Prud’homme wrote in his nominating letter.

Prud’homme describes Schelberg as “a brilliant young man, remarkable for his depth of knowledge, his profound creativity and analytical precision, and his passion for community service—traits of character that are deeply rooted, and which his combat service in Afghanistan has fortified and refined. He has an unswerving commitment to the transformative power of education,” Prud’homme adds, “and the importance of critical and reflective thinking for renewing lives and communities.”

Marine Chief Warrant Officer Steve J. Rose, who supervised Schelberg in Iraq’s Anbar Province, saw him tested under the daily stress of combat conditions and was impressed with the younger Marine’s intelligence, character and courage. He described Schelberg’s enthusiasm for learning new cultures and meeting Iraqis and Afghanis, getting to know the fishermen on the Euphrates or the farmers of the Helmand River Valley. In a situation where it is often impossible to tell innocent civilian from enemy combatant, he wrote, “Jim was the first to shake hands, or to laugh with new foreign friends. His caring and compassion for strangers was obvious, and daily he influenced those around him to make personal connections to the civilians they protected. I have seen him lead with courage and the highest professional conduct while under enemy fire in combat. … Jim has seen firsthand the worst of human behavior and responded with the highest human ideals.”

“Jim is a classic humanist: an intellectual who delves into the complexities and ambiguities of human experience, and ponders the nature and limits of our understanding,” says Adam Goodheart, director of Washington College’s C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, where Schelberg is a student associate. “He is also an idealist in the best sense, a person who believes that words and ideas have the power to transform lives – and, indeed, entire societies – for the better.”

Other colleges and universities represented on the 2011 First Team are the U.S. Naval Academy; Arizona State University; the University of California, Irvine; the University of Maine, Orono; Louisiana State University; the University of Iowa; Southern Illinois University; University of Southern California; Georgia Institute of Technology; and Northwestern University. The national newspaper also selected 40 runners-up for a Second and Third team, and 20 honorable mentions.

Environmental Studies Major Jeffery Sullivan Earns $5,000 Udall Foundation Scholarship

CHESTERTOWN, MD—Washington College student Jeffery D. Sullivan, class of 2014, has been awarded an Undergraduate Scholarship from the Morris K. and Stewart L. Udall Foundation. Sullivan was named one of just 80 recipients of the $5,000 prize, which is awarded annually to students committed to careers related to the environment or Native American affairs. An added perk to the scholarship will be the opportunity for Sullivan to meet elected officials and environmental and Native American tribal leaders at the four-day Udall Scholars Orientation in Tucson, Arizona this coming August.

Sullivan’s interest in the environment is what led him to choose Washington College after graduating from Lake Forest High School in Felton, Delaware. An environmental studies major, he participated in the College’s unique Chesapeake Semester program (http://chesapeake-semester.washcoll.edu/) in the fall of 2011. The program combines fieldwork, intensive study and outdoor adventure throughout the 64,000 square mile watershed of the Bay and ends with a journey to Peru to compare the cultural, economic and political forces at work in each region.

“The Chesapeake Semester was an incredible experience, better even than I hoped it would be,” Sullivan says. “It brings together a lot of aspects of environmental work that are often disconnected, bringing all the stakeholders together to look at the issues that affect the health of the Bay.”

Sullivan, the Finn M. W. Caspersen Scholar, is involved in a wide range of campus activities. He came to the College as a Presidential Fellow and is now a member of the Cater Society. In his freshman year, he became a parliamentarian for the Student Government Association, and he will be a Residential Advisor for the Presidential Fellows in Kent House for the 2012-2013 academic year.

As a member of the Student Environmental Alliance, he recently teamed up with a fellow student to start a Bike Share program on campus. This summer, he will intern in the College’s Chester River Field Research Center at Chino Farms, where he will band migratory birds and conduct research on songbirds.

The Udall Scholarship will significantly benefit Sullivan and his career goals. “I am very pleased to receive this scholarship, not only for the recognition and the financial assistance, but also for the opportunity the conference will bring,” he says. “I’ll be able to explore environmental careers and network with legislators and EPA officials, as well as with other students interested in environmental studies.”

The Udall Scholarship Foundation was created in 1992 to honor Congressman Morris K. Udall and his brother Stewart and their legacy of public service. The foundation awards roughly 80 scholarships of up to $5,000 and 50 honorable mentions of $350 to college sophomores and juniors who intend to pursue careers in environmental public policy and to Native American and Alaska Native undergraduate students who intend to pursue careers in health care and tribal public policy.

College To Honor Author William Warner, April 18

Scholarship in His Name Recognizes Student Environmental Writing

Chestertown, MD, April 15, 2003 — Washington College will honor William W. Warner, acclaimed author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Beautiful Swimmers, on Friday, April 18 at 5 p.m. with the dedication in the College's Custom House of a plaque recognizing recipients of the William Warner Scholarship. The $1,000 scholarship was established by friends of the College to be presented to a Washington College junior in recognition of an aptitude for writing about nature and the environment.
“William Warner is one of the nation's most distinguished environmental writers, and he is a great inspiration to our students who aspire in their lives, through word and deed, to protect our world's natural resources,” said Dr. John S. Toll, president of the College. “The William Warner Prize will assist those worthy students who may one day follow in his footsteps.”
Warner has been a Senior Fellow of Washington College since 1985, when he was honored by the College for his classic work on the environment and people of the Chesapeake, Beautiful Swimmers: Watermen, Crabs and the Chesapeake Bay, originally published in 1976. Warner went on to write Distant Water: The Fate of the North Atlantic Fisherman, in which he studied the environmental impact of ocean-going factory fishing ships in the North Atlantic. In 1999, Warner published Into the Porcupine Cave and Other Odysseys, a book of 10 essays recounting life-shaping events in his growth as a naturalist, from wanderings in the wild with his step-grandfather to adventures in Patagonia and Hawaii. For this he received the Washington College Literary Prize in April of that year. Warner has also written many articles on nature for such journals as The Wilson Quarterly, Atlantic Monthly, New York Times, and Atlantic Naturalist.

College Announces Recipients of 2001-2002 Fine Arts Scholarships

Chestertown, MD, November 14, 2001 — Washington College is proud to announce the 2001-2002 recipients of the Mary Martin Drama Scholarship, the Elizabeth Tate Westbrook Scholarship, the Mrs. John Campbell White Scholarship and the Friends of the Arts Scholarship.

The Mary Martin Drama Scholarship—established in 1992 by College alumnus Matthew T. Weir '90 in memory of his grandmother, actress Mary Martin—is awarded to a student majoring in drama who demonstrates great dedication to the field. This year's recipient is Andrew P. Rendo, Jr. '02, the son of Paul and Tammy Rendo of Ballston Spa, NY. He is a senior at Washington College double majoring in drama and philosophy.

The Elizabeth Tate Westbrook Scholarship was established by Leslie Westbrook Frigerio in memory of her mother, the late Elizabeth Tate Westbrook. The scholarship is awarded to a student who shows exceptional interest in or talent for the visual and studio arts offered by Washington College. This year's recipient is Annette G. Bangert '03, a junior double majoring in art and the humanities. Originally from Germany, Bangert is active in a wide variety of campus activities and clubs. Her parents, Dr. Volkhard and Mrs. Margot Bangert, reside in Duan, Germany.

The 2001-2002 Mrs. John Campbell White Scholarship has been awarded to Kathryn M. Ellis '02, the daughter of Theresa and Joe Ellis of Baltimore, MD. The Mrs. John Campbell White Scholarship, established by the late Mrs. John Campbell White, is an endowed scholarship awarded to an upperclassman who demonstrates exceptional artistic promise, financial need and is in good academic standing. Ellis, a senior, is a double major in art and business. She is planning a career in graphic design or a related field after graduation.

Sophomore Gregory S. Adams '04 is the recipient of the 2001-2002 Friends of the Arts Scholarship. Established in 1992 by the late Constance Stuart Larrabee, the Friends of the Arts Scholarship is awarded to a student majoring in the performing arts who possesses outstanding artistic abilities and demonstrates financial need. Adams, who is from California, MD, is double majoring in music and history. He plays the flute and intends to concentrate in music composition.

Sophomore Catharine Clarke Wins Prestigious St. Andrew's Scholarship

Chestertown, MD, May 10, 2001 — Washington College sophomore Catharine Clarke '03 has been awarded a prestigious St. Andrew's Society Scholarship to study in Scotland next year. The St. Andrew's Society Scholarships support the study of Scottish culture, arts, history and heritage. Clarke will study at the University of St. Andrew's in St. Andrews, Scotland.

A Chestertown native, Clarke is a music major with an art minor. The St. Andrew's Society of Philadelphia invites students from only eighteen colleges in the region to apply for the scholarships, with schools such as Swarthmore College, Haverford College, and Pennsylvania State University participating. The selection committee selected Clarke first out of 17 scholarships, giving her the opportunity to attend the Scottish university of her choice. Applicants for the scholarship were judged on academic performance, extracurricular activities, defined course of study and strength of character. The final candidates were determined through written applications and personal interviews.

Clarke will begin her studies abroad in late September. "I am very honored to have received this scholarship and am very excited about the upcoming year in Scotland," she said.

Donald McColl, assistant professor of art history, served as Washington College's liaison and coordinator of the St. Andrew's Scholarship program, and guided Clarke through the application and interview process.

"Washington College is very proud of Catharine, as both a music major and art minor," said Dr. McColl. "She competed against some of the very best students from the Mid-Atlantic region and proved that our students and academic departments truly compete with the best."

New Scholarship Slated for Premed Students

Chestertown, MD, March 5, 2001 — A gift of $400,000 from the Irma S. Heck Trust will be used to establish a scholarship for Washington College premed students. The scholarship will be named in honor of Dr. Leroy Savin Heck, a 1925 graduate of Washington College and former chief of staff of the Northern Westchester Hospital Center in Mt. Kisco, NY. The gift will be doubled by the Hodson Trust Challenge, matching gifts to endowments over $100,000.

Over the past 10 years, the College has had 90 percent acceptance rate for its premed graduates, many who have gone on for medical degrees from Johns Hopkins, the University of Maryland, Georgetown University, George Washington University and other medical schools in the region.

"My father believed that education was the way to realize one's dreams," said Dr. Heck's daughter, Susan Heck, of Pasadena, CA. "As a young man of modest means from Baltimore, he knew he was lucky to be sent to college. He and my mother would be gladdened to know that their work over the decades will now help other young people on their journey."

After graduating from Washington College in 1925, Dr. Heck pursued a degree in pharmacy from Baltimore City College and a degree in medicine from the University of Maryland. He joined the staff of Northern Westchester Hospital Center in 1930 as a general surgeon. He was director of surgery and chief of staff from 1945 to 1963 and was made honorary director of surgery in 1964. He continued practicing until his retirement in 1980. While on staff at the hospital, he also served as medical director for the Reader's Digest Association.

Dr. Heck was a founding member of the University of Maryland Surgical Society and a former member of the Medical Advisory Board of the American Red Cross, Planned Parenthood and the Advisory Board of Manhattan Savings Bank. As founder of the Mt. Kisco Ambulance Company, he was named the Mt. Kisco Citizen of the Year in 1975.

"Washington College was central to my dad's life," said Heck. "There were enough trips back to Washington College, enough gatherings with college friends over the decades, and enough young people encouraged to consider the College that you knew it was important to him. And when the only place to which he ever considered moving after he retired was Chestertown, you knew the roots ran deep indeed."

Washington College Campaign Reaches $64 Million

Chestertown, MD, January 9, 2001 — Four major commitments in December pushed the Campaign for Washington's College to $64 million in just the first two years of a five-year fund-raising goal of $72 million. The four gifts will be doubled in value in accordance with a $10 million challenge from The Hodson Trust.

Major gifts include $1 million from Connie and Carl Ferris of Rock Hall, Md., to establish a Chair in Business Management; $800,000 from Chevy Chase Bank to endow the Chevy Chase Bank Scholarship; and $100,000 from the Seraph Foundation to create the Seraph Foundation Scholarship.

"On behalf of the entire Washington College community, I extend my deep thanks to everyone who has contributed to the early successes in our Campaign," said Jack S. Griswold, Chair of the National Campaign Cabinet. "Response to the Hodson Trust Challenge has been wonderful. More than 15 gifts totaling $6 million will be matched by The Hodson Trust."

In addition to scholarships, faculty support, campus enhancements and improvements to academic programs, Campaign funds are helping to develop three new centers of excellence at Washington College: The C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, the Center for Environment and Society and the Center for Writing and the Creative Process.

President Toll Honored As Distinguished Marylander

Chestertown, MD, November 17, 2000 — Dr. John S. Toll, President of Washington College, has been honored as the Distinguished Marylander of the Year by the University of Maryland Chapter of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. The award is presented each fall to a prominent Marylander who has contributed significantly to the improvement and success of education in the state.

"Phi Kappa Phi is the oldest and largest collegiate honor society in the country representing all academic areas," said James Newton, president of the University of Maryland Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi. "The nomination of John Toll for our annual award was unanimously endorsed by our executive board. He truly represents a life of tireless commitment to enhancing higher education."

"This award is both unexpected and humbling," said Dr. Toll. "I am deeply grateful to Phi Kappa Phi for this great honor."

Each year Phi Kappa Phi inducts seniors and select juniors from the top ten percent of their class. In honor of Dr. Toll, two University Service Award scholarships will be given in his name. Dr. Toll will present the scholarships during a ceremony on December 3, 2000 at the Baltimore County campus of the University of Maryland.

Hodson Trust Awards $2.6 Million to Washington College

Chestertown, MD — The Hodson Trust, established 79 years ago to support higher education in Maryland, recently awarded Washington College $2.6 million. The grant brings the total awarded to the College by the Trust to $29.5 million since 1936.

Since 1920, The Hodson Trust has given more than $93 million to fund academic merit scholarships as well as research grants, technology improvements, building construction, library expansion, athletic programs, faculty salaries and endowment funds at Johns Hopkins University, and Hood, St. John's and Washington colleges.

With the approval of the trust, Washington College has designed a challenge program that will include matching funds for donors wishing to endow professorships and chairs as well as scholarships. The total amount available for this challenge is $10 million over the next four years. The Hodson Trust Challenge will match gifts to endowments of $100,000 or more, doubling the value of other contributions.

Seventy students received Hodson Trust awards at Washington College during the 1999-2000 academic year--six Hodson Minority Foundation Scholarships and 64 Hodson Merit Scholarships. Scholarship awardee Donald H. Holdren Jr.'s strong academic record and involvement in scholastic activities in high school earned him the academic prominence to become a Hodson Scholar. A junior drama and music major, Holdren said, "I was sold on Washington College, except for one very important detail--tuition. Without primary help from The Hodson Trust, obstacles to my attending school would have been insurmountable." President of a student-run drama group based at Washington College that involves members of the Chestertown community, he also serves as a chorister and substitute conductor of the choir at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, both in Chestertown. He plans to sing professionally in opera, get his Ph.D. in music and "teach in a small school not unlike Washington College."

Finn Caspersen, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Hodson Trust, whose financial acumen is responsible for the 34 percent increase in the amounts awarded over last year said, "We hope to continue the trend and foster continued success among the institutions and their students. The Trust should show some real growth in two years as our long-term venture capital investments mature."

"Washington College and the many students who have flourished as a result of The Hodson Trust are grateful for our special partnership. The Hodson Challenge will help us continue to strengthen our faculty and support our students," said John S. Toll, President of Washington College.

Schottland Founds Business Leadership Award at Washington College

Chestertown, MD — Citing the need to foster innovation and excellence in American business, Stanley A. Schottland, retired CEO and Chairman of American Packaging Corporation, has established the Schottland Business Leadership Award at Washington College.

Worth a total of $75,000 over the next five years, the award grants one graduating senior $5,000 in cash, with the promise of an additional $10,000 toward graduate school at an accredited business college. Award winners must accept a position within an American corporation for at least two years, after which they will be eligible for the $10,000 tuition grant. Second and third place awardees receive grants of $1,000 each upon graduation.

The Schottland Business Leadership Award competition is open to any Washington College student who meets the academic, moral and leadership criteria. Applicants are judged by a three-member panel comprising a member of the business management department, Mr. Schottland and a representative of an American corporation.

The first Schottland Business Leadership Awards will be granted this spring. Applications must be submitted by February 1, 2000, and are available from Washington College's Department of Business Management.