This summer, Annie Lee '03 will study calligraphy in Beijing and write a series of poems about Chinese characters. Elizabeth Caputo '03 will volunteer with the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, and Kelly Sortino '03 will be, as her project is titled, "Tappin' Across America," studying with masters at various tap festivals.
As recipients of the Martin Dale '53 Summer Awards, Lee, Caputo, Sortino and six other rising juniors will pursue independent projects this summer in topics ranging from documenting urban sprawl to flamenco immersion.
The Dale Awards — which provide a stipend of $3,000 in addition to expected summer earnings for financial aid students — allow sophomores to travel, do community service and explore an area of special interest.
The other winners, chosen from 60 applicants, were Kate Redman '03, Rositza Alexandrova '03, Scott Eckert '03, Alex Halderman '03, Dominic Notario '03 and Julian Gould '03.
"When Martin Dale presented the idea of doing something meaningful, this was the first thing that popped into my mind. Dale was the perfect opportunity to do that," said Sortino, who found out she won the award just days after a fire gutted her room in Witherspoon Hall during Spring Break.
She even lost her tap shoes in the blaze. But with the grant, Sortino will buy new shoes and travel to New York, Atlanta, Chicago and Conifer, Colo. for various festivals, including a class with renowned actor and Broadway dancer Gregory Hines.
Meanwhile, Gould '03 will be across the world in Spain, studying flamenco guitar and tracking notable musicians throughout the country.
"I've always thought about studying flamenco guitar in Spain ever since I started playing guitar," he said, "but it was never really a realistic idea."
Halderman and Redman will use their Dale Awards to focus on domestic policy — Halderman in land conservation and Redman in agriculture.
Halderman will document the problems of urban sprawl and land conservation in nearby Bucks County, Pa. — problems he said he knows well from growing up in eastern Pennsylvania.
"Every time I go home, there's less and less [open space]," said Halderman, who will photograph areas, interview residents and possibly heighten community awareness by posting the photographs on a website and creating a message board where people can discuss their concerns.
Redman plans to survey farms in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey through the National Hunger Clearinghouse — a grassroots advocacy organization — and compile a database of the information she gathers.
In addition, Redman said she feels a certain connection to the group's founder, singer-songwriter Harry Chapin, who died seven days before she was born.
"I was raised listening to his music. My roommate's sick of listening to it," said Redman, who also plans to buy a guitar and teach herself to play.
Caputo will take her direction from Mother Teresa, who founded the Missionaries of Charity, by serving all three of the mission's houses for sick and disabled children, physically and mentally disabled adults and the dying destitute.
"[Mother Teresa] created a legacy of service to people based on her unconditional love for God," she wrote in her essay for the award. "Her service to the people has amazed me since the time I was a girl in Catholic school. Through this mix of service and altered surroundings I hope to witness that every life is worth living."
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