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Five students receive D.C. travel awards
Sept. 28, 2004 — Five students have been awarded $200 each for the ILSSA fall break trip to Washington, D.C. The winners are MSIS student Anne LeBel and MSLS students Rita Bhattacharyya, Lewis Dorman, Benn Joseph and Elizabeth White.
Students were asked to submit one paragraph explaining how a $200 travel award would make this otherwise unattainable trip a reality. Applicants were also asked to explain the value of this trip to his or her intended career path.
LeBel described a trip to New York City as an undergraduate where she took pictures of the World Trade Center. After Sept. 11, she realized how lucky she was to visit the center in person and to have pictures. When she saw the announcement for awards for the D.C. trip, a trip that would not have been possible without financial support, she thought about “how you never realize the impact of missed opportunities unless you take them.”
Bhattacharyya, who worked four jobs over the summer to make ends meet, said the award will allow her to attend the trip and learn more about the children's services sections of The Library of Congress and the D.C. Public Library. Both Dorman and Joseph have never visited D.C. and described in their essays how they will use the opportunity to gain deeper insight into archives and archival science. White is excited to explore special librarianship and will use the award to replace funds she had saved for the trip that were eliminated by unexpected medical and car expenses.
An anonymous donor generously initiated this award with a gift of $200. The remaining four awards are supported by Dean José-Marie Griffiths and Professor Barbara Moran; Professor Evelyn Daniel and Instructor Kristin Chaffin; Professor Brian Sturm and EPA Library Director April Errickson; and the school.
Activities planned for the trip include tours of the U.S. Department of State, D.C. Public Library, National Geographic Society, ABC News, Library of Congress (sessions on digital reference and cataloging), National Archives, a panel of Information Scientists, the U.S. Senate Library, NPR and a networking reception with professionals and SILS alumni. Visit http://sils.unc.edu/ilssa/DCtrip/DCtrip.htm for more trip details.