Vander Ploeg wins Marshall Scholarship

The University's sole 2008 Marshall Scholar is Sarah Vander Ploeg '08, a Wilson School major and opera singer who is heavily involved with campus musical groups.

Vander Ploeg will use the prestigious prize to study at London's 600-student Royal College of Music next year. A lyric soprano, she will work under the auspices of the school's vocal studies program.

The prize will help Vander Ploeg dedicate herself fully to her passion for music next year. "One of the exciting things about this for me is the fact that, next year, I get to really throw myself into what I love doing," Vander Ploeg, who is also pursuing a certificate in music performance, said.

The University's one Marshall Scholarship this year marks a decline from last year, when four students — the maximum number allowed at any one school — earned the award.

Of the 37 scholarships given this year, the largest number went to the U.S. Naval Academy. Within the Ivy League, two Yale students won the award, while Harvard, Brown, Cornell, Columbia and Penn each had a single Marshall scholar.

The Marshall Scholarship, which funds two years of graduate study in any field at any institution in the United Kingdom, was named after former U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall.

Established in 1953 as an effort to improve relations between the two countries, it is typically awarded to around 40 applicants from a pool of about 1,000 students endorsed by their respective schools. Collectively, scholarship winners receive around $600,000 in award money.

Vander Ploeg — who sings with the Chapel Choir and Chamber Choir, plays viola in the University Orchestra and has performed in two operas put on by the Music Department — said she spends an enormous amount of time on her various musical activities. "I live in Woolworth," she said.

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Orchestra Conductor and Musical Performance Program Director Michael Pratt praised the well-rounded nature of Vander Ploeg's musical abilities. "She really is one of the best all-purpose musicians we've had here," he said.

Chapel Music Director Penna Rose emphasized the maturity Vander Ploeg imbues in her vocal performances. "When she sings in church, she embodies the music," Rose said. "You really feel she understands what she's singing about and can project that."

Though Vander Ploeg's musical passions might seem disparate from her Wilson School major, her thesis will combine the two subjects by addressing arts policy in South Africa and its effects on musicians' rights.

Vander Ploeg's thesis adviser, Wilson School professor Stan Katz, said her research is an "exciting project."

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"What's exceptional is that it's an unusual example of someone who is an exceptional student by any standard and an exceptional student artist," he said.

Vander Ploeg said she is excited to study in London given her musical focus, noting that it is one of "the best cities [in which] to be studying opera right now."

She added that she also plans to be involved in arts advocacy during her time there, working with the Center for Creative Communities, which offers arts education and helps artists who work with different media collaborate.

She added that she plans to "pursue music as a career full time," though she is grateful that her time at the University gave her "a strong background in so many areas."

Pratt said he thinks Vander Ploeg's ambitions are well-founded, adding that the Royal College will be a good fit for her. "I think she certainly has professional potential," Pratt said. "She'll do really extremely well there. It's a place that likes musicians that not only have chops, but are smart as well."

Vander Ploeg, meanwhile, said winning the Marshall is a dream come true. "If I could have picked a 'pie in the sky' dream of what I would be doing, it would be this," she said.