Ann Nichols Awards

Thanks to the boundless generosity of Classics alumna Ann Nichols, we were able once again to offer scholarship awards to some of our many outstanding undergraduates in Classics. As in the past, the largest of these awards, the Herodotus Travel Grant, was given to help pay for a semester abroad. This year we were honored to select entering senior Russell Hamilton, whose 3.986 GPA offers sufficient testimony to his amazing skills as a student. Russ, who has completed four semesters of Latin and two of Greek with straight A’s, will travel to Rome next spring to attend the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies. This year we also awarded Distinguished Undergraduate Fellowships for ongoing study of the Classics at CU next year. The quality of our applicants and the depth of the pool left us no choice but to divide these prizes between not our usual two but three excellent students, Ann MacFayden, Lance Panigutti and Emily Wilson. Ann is entering her junior year with a 3.925 after an extremely rigorous course of study for her other major in Environmental Biology. Her early experience with Latin in high school vaulted her into sixth semester Latin at CU and she plans to continue with advanced language courses next year. Lance is entering his senior year with a 3.466 and a double major in History. In addition to his studies, Lance is an accomplished athlete who has been a member of the National Junior Triathlon Team, plays water polo for CU, and serves as the CU mascot “Chip.” Emily Wilson will enter her Junior year with a 3.697. Her passion for history and archaeology have led her to complete a broad array of courses in these sub-disciplines and she plans to continue her studies in graduate school. She is also an athlete who plays both lacrosse and field hockey. Finally, the undergraduate committee decided to offer a new award with the money received from Ann Nichols designed to help fund participation in the CU Excavations at the Villa of Maxentius. This award was given to senior Mario Fresquez who has a near perfect GPA in Classics and who has completed four semesters of Latin and two of Greek as well as Italian. Mario discovered his passion for ancient archaeology two years ago and has set himself extra course work here in order to prepare himself for graduate school in this challenging field.

Unfortunately, because of problems obtaining permits for the Rome excavations—a perennial issue with Italian excavations—Mario will not be able to travel to Rome this summer but plans to use his award toward ongoing studies in Classics next fall.