DeWitt, Gregg Merit Prestigious Scholarships

Author: Claire Bourne

Anne DeWitt '02 was awarded one of 85 Andrew W. Mellon Fellowships in Humanistic Studies to pursue a doctorate in 19th century English literature at Yale University next year.

For the second consecutive year, Kaitlin Gregg '03 garnered a Morris K. Udall Scholarship for her commitment to the environment.

DeWitt will graduate in May with a chemistry major and an English minor. This combination, said Director of Student Fellowships Arlinda Wickland, made her "somewhat unconventional" in the competitive pool of national applicants vying for the fellowships. "She probably stood out … because she is a chemistry major who developed a love of literature during her junior year," Wickland said.

Assistant Professor of English Antonia Losano, who DeWitt called her "unofficial grad school advisor," pointed out that DeWitt's acceptance into an English graduate program was "even more telling of her talent" since she was competing with "students from all over the world who had more traditional credentials."

DeWitt said she declared a major in chemistry before she realized that she "liked English better."

Sticking with her decision for "various reasons," including the rationale that it was "practical" to have knowledge of a hard science under her belt, DeWitt participated in lab research with Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Jeffrey Byers during the summer between her sophomore and junior years. She said that throughout the summer she kept noticing the passion for the science other student lab employees expressed.

"I realized that I didn't have that for chemistry but I did for English," she explained, adding that she can sit "for hours" reading literature. "I'm going to spend the rest of my life doing this," she affirmed.

"I think she won because she is interested in bridging science to literature in ways that she will be uniquely qualified to do," said Wickland.

Losano said that DeWitt's "diversity of knowledge – from mathematics to chemistry to English – is what makes her so extraordinary."

English Department professors who have had DeWitt as a student "consistently remark on her wide range of reading interests and her elegant writing style," Losano continued.

According to its Web site, the Mellon Fellowship, which was first awarded in 1982, is "designed to help exceptionally promising students prepare for careers of teaching and scholarship in humanistic disciplines."

As a fellow, DeWitt will receive funds to cover tuition and other "required fees" for the first year of her graduate studies in addition to a $17,500 stipend.

DeWitt said she applied to 10 graduate schools. Of the ones to which she was accepted, Yale had "far and away the best [literature] program," she maintained.

Gregg, an environmental studies and American literature double major from Durham, N.H., is deeply involved with environmental affairs at the College and in the local community.

She is an active member of the College's Environmental Council and that body's carbon neutral subcommittee.

A resident of Weybridge House, Gregg also sits on the board of directors of Spirit in Nature, a locally based interfaith environmental group working to promote "spiritually-sensitive concern for the environment."

In addition, she interned with the Seattle-based Daily Grist, which, according to Christopher Klyza, professor of political science and environmental studies and director of Middlebury's environmental studies program, is "one of the leading Internet sources of environmental news and opinion."

These activities, coupled with her strong academic performance, have made Gregg "an outstanding candidate" for the Udall Scholarship both this year and last, said Klyza.

Gregg's interest in the environment began when she was growing up in New Hampshire. She said she was excited when she realized that her relationship with the natural world could extend into the academic arena.

"There is an urgency around the field [of environmental studies]," she said, pointing out that many important environmental issues would "have to be addressed by our generation."

The Morris K. Udall Foundation awards 75 scholarships to undergraduates from around the United States each year. "Students need to demonstrate a commitment to a career in the environmental field" to be eligible for the award, Klyza explained.

Middlebury has boasted a Udall Scholarship winner each year since 1997, one year after the scholarship program was established. Past winners from the College include John Mauro '98, Nicholas Tuff '99, Eve-Lyn Hinkley '01 and Dane Springmeyer '02.

Gregg said that scholarship winners would be invited to an August weekend retreat in Arizona to meet with people who work in the environmental policy arena. The gathering is also designed to educate winners about Representative Morris K. Udall's legacy.

Udall, who served in Congress from 1961 until 1991, prompted the passage of the Alaska Lands Act of 1980, which doubled the size of the national park system. His tenure in the national legislature was characterized primarily by his concern for Native Americans and by his love of the environment.

Gregg said she would put the $5,000 prize towards her Middlebury tuition.