MHC women win national and international fellowships--Seventeen MHC women, all finalists for or winners of major national and international fellowships, will be honored at an April 24 reception. Beth Demain '97 won a DAAD Fellowship to support a year of study in Germany. Joanna Austin '98 received a CBS Scholarship from the New England Colleges Fund to pursue her interest in broadcast journalism. Lydia Okutoro '98, Khanh Thu Pham '97, Cheryl Gittens FP, and Beverlyn Zebrowski '97 were named to All-USA Today Academic Teams. Sally McFarlane '97 was honored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) with a graduate research fellowship. Valorie Burkholder '97 is an NSF finalist.
Other finalists include: seniors Rebecca Horne, Amy Johnson, and Elizabeth Standal (Fulbright Fellowships); Sevilla Claydon '91 (Luce Scholarship); juniors Melissa Griffin, Avery Ouellette, and Stephanie Mackler (Truman Scholarships); Scottie Wait '97 (St. Andrew's Scholarship); Ruth Miller '97 (Mellon Fellowship); and Denise Boman-Jackson '97 (Echoing Green Public Service Fellowship).
Riding high in the news--Complete with full-page color photos and an accompanying article on riding coach C. J. Law, the March/April issue of HorsePlay magazine hit the newsstands bringing news of the upcoming national show that the College will host May 3 and 4. Coach Law, in response to the article, has received calls from three prospective students and two alumnae. News of the national show was also published in the "Young Horseman" column of Western Horseman magazine's April issue.
Locally, the Daily Hampshire Gazette's sports section ran a feature on rider Jesse Quillian, who competes as part of the MHC riding team and takes a full load of coursework here though she is a high school senior (she'll be part of the class of 2001 this fall). The visit by the Gorse Child Center's three- and four-year-olds to the equestrian facility on Friday, March 28, brought reporters from Channel 22, the Gazette, and the Springfield Union-News.
Riding victory--In the last show of the regular season, the MHC riding team pulled way ahead of the pack. Winning the show, which was held at home, by fourteen points, MHC leads the region by an impressive forty points. As a team, MHC will next compete at the zone level on April 19 at Stoneleigh-Burnham School in Greenfield against Stonehill College and Tufts University. Two of these three teams will qualify for the national show, which will be held at MHC in May.
As individuals, MHC riders also fared well, putting in great performances for the team. Sixteen riders in nineteen events competed at a regional show last weekend at Smith College for the chance to go on to the zone show on April 19. In order to qualify for zones, riders must come in at first, second, or third place in their event. To go on to the national show, individual riders must place first or second at Stoneleigh-Burnham on April 19.