The holidays may be over, but the spirit of giving has yet to go out of season at the College of Charleston.
Four English students at the College of Charleston have been awarded endowed scholarships in recognition of their diverse backgrounds and promise as writers and students of literature. Additionally, English department faculty members have pledged to contribute approximately $1,500 a year from their own paychecks to help fund new English Alumni Scholarships.
As Assistant Professor of English Anton Vander Zee says, “English professors tend to love their jobs: they get to share with their students the gifts of reading, writing, and various forms of creative and critical expression. While they put great stock in such gifts, they know that students benefit from material support as well.”
The English professors hope their example will spur alumni of the College’s English program to make their own gifts to the College in order to defray the cost of education for current students.
“We’re hoping that faculty giving primes the pump for alumni contributions,” says Scott Peeples, chair of the English Department. ” Every little bit helps support our current generation of English majors. “
The winners of the endowed scholarships are:
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Sydney Moreano, recipient of the Lancelot Minor Harris Scholarship ($4,600)
Sydney Moreano.
Moreano, a freshman from Lawrence, Kansas, is a member of the Honors College’s William Aiken Fellow society as well as a member of the International Scholars Program. She is an ESL instructor at St. Matthews Lutheran Church and a contributor to the millennial publication Odyssey and the College’s student media organization Cistern Yard.
This summer she plans to travel with the International Scholars Program to Estonia, in preparation for a possible career in fashion journalism.
“Understanding different cultures,” Moreano says, “will allow me to report on culture’s effect on fashion, as well as help me to thrive as a journalist on a global scale.”
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Jozita Konczal, recipient of the Marilyn Shiely Coste Memorial Scholarship ($1,800)
Jozita Konczal.
Konczal has been recognized for her incredible ambition and busy schedule revolving around all things English-related. Among her many activities, she is an opinion writer for Cistern Yard, staff editor for the student literary journal Miscellany, an intern at Blue Bicycle Books, and a former contributor to Charleston-area newspapers West of and the Folly Current.
The junior has also been published (or will soon be published) in Poetry Quarterly, the Concho River Review, Right Hand Pointing, and Aerie International.
“I think that one of the most important parts of writing is practice,” Konczal says. “To me, this means not only applying myself in the classroom, but also working outside of it. This scholarship has given me the motivation to keep up my hard work in the broader writing community.”
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Darien Bucher, recipient of the Macy Ezell Cook Scholarship ($1,000)
Darien Bucher.
Bucher is completing an independent study on female performances of Hamlet since the 18th century with a focus on two films that cast actresses in Hamlet’s role.
“What’s been most surprising,” the junior says, “(is) finding out that casting women as Hamlet has been a tradition for centuries. I’m most excited about understanding what women have been trying to say through the character of Hamlet—probably the best known character in Western drama.”
After graduation, Bucher hopes to return to Europe, where she has studied abroad, to earn a Master’s in English with a likely focus in Shakespearean Studies.
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Tyrone Bell, recipient of the Margorie Elizabeth Peale Memorial Scholarship ($1,600)
Bell, who takes a full load of courses and also works a full-time job, plans to be the first in his family to graduate from college. He enjoys the challenge of deciphering William Faulkner and credits the Peale scholarship for providing him financial support and motivation.
“Through this achievement,” writes the junior, “I have found a whole new confidence. It has provided me with further motivation to keep my grades up and pursue my goals.”
After graduation, Bell plans to teach English to high school students.
“I look to change lives in the classroom because poetry and narrative are what saved a wretch like me,” he says.
For more information on these awards and their recipients, visit the English department’s blog, Folio.
To contribute to English department scholarships, visit the College’s online donation page.
