Ten sophomores named Dale Award recipients

Kevin Murray '04 will retrace the Trail of Tears. Ananya Lodaya '04 will travel throughout England in search of literary landmarks. Laura Winn '04 will paint on the streets of New York City.

Murray, Lodaya and Winn are three of the 10 members of the Class of 2004 who have been awarded the Martin A. Dale '53 Summer Award, which provides rising juniors with a $3,000 grant each to undertake a self-designed summer project.

This year's award winners are Frankie Ng, David Brundige, Willow Sainsbury, Kevin Murray, Alexandra Gliga, Tim Allen, Varanya Chaubey, Laura Winn, Daniel Iglesia and Ananya Lodaya.

The award was established in the early 1990s to allow students to explore an interest they might otherwise be unable to further pursue because of financial constraints.

Students were selected based on the personal value of their proposed project and their demonstrated extracurricular commitments. Their academic records were considered, but were not of primary importance.

Committees in each residential college consisting of faculty and staff selected one winner from their college and nominated others to be considered by a committee within the Dean of the College office, where final selections were made.

Murray will embark on a journey along the Trail of Tears to the Cherokee capital on the tribal jurisdiction area in Oklahoma. He will keep a journal, take pictures and write poetry to capture his experience, observing Cherokee culture and speaking with tribal leaders.

His journey will primarily be solitary and on foot, leading to his final destination where he will live with the Cherokee tribe for a week.

The funds will pay for food, camping supplies and other living expenses.

Murray said his interest in the Cherokees began when he studied the Trail of Tears during his sophomore year in high school. Since then he has become fascinated with Native American poetry, which he reads in his spare time.

Murray said the Dale award provides a great opportunity for him to continue studying Cherokee culture since there are no classes on campus that address his interests.

"It's a very generous thing and a perfect opportunity for someone like me who wouldn't have the resources on my own to fulfill an ambition and dream of mine," Murray said. "I'm very thankful for it."

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Like Murray, Lodaya will take a long walk, in her case along a 400-kilometer path in England dedicated to James Herriot which stretches from the western coast across Yorkshire Deals.

Though Lodaya is an economics major, she has studied Shakespeare and Victorian literature at the University and plans to visit sites dedicated to Herriot and the Bronte sisters.

"Two of my biggest passions are hiking and literature, and I wanted to combine the two," Lodaya said.

She said she wanted to choose a project that would give her "the summer of a lifetime," as she said the people informing her about the award repeatedly encouraged.

"I think this is an awesome idea because most people are so focused on doing summer stuff that just gives them a leg-up on their resumes or GPAs," she said. "But this is a great way to encourage people to look outside academics and focus on their career."

Winn will spend the summer painting on the streets of New York City. She said she will enjoy painting outdoors "so random people can comment on my work."

Winn pursued art to a high level in high school and received advanced standing for her work freshman year. She had her portfolio sent from her home in Washington, D.C., when she applied. The award will give her the means to work as an artist when she otherwise would not have the chance, she said.

"This will be my last opportunity to do art full time because it's difficult to find the space and time to paint during the school year," Winn said.

Murray, Lodaya and Winn, in addition to the remaining seven recipients, will attend a dinner next fall with members of Dale's family to share their experiences.