Creative Achievements

GAMBIER, Ohio (March 25, 2005) Helping young people deal with grief. Promoting student interest in the classics. These are just two examples of creative academic achievements recognized by Kenyon through the Franklin Miller Awards, awarded several times during each academic year. Sophomore Kelly Henry and senior Jennifer Underwood are the latest recipients for 2004-05.

The Miller Awards are given to students who make unusual or significant contributions to the academic environment of the College. Designed to recognize a variety of contributions to the academic enterprise, the awards honor a single exceptional performance.

Henry is pursuing a double major in mathematics and classics. She helped to found and serves as the chief officer of a new student organization for classics called the Senior Classical League. She has fostered interest in the classics by presenting movies on classical themes, coordinating weekly lunches for the group, and arranging for speakers for the monthly Tuesday Kalends lunches. Henry also organized a reading of The Odyssey in English that is scheduled to take place in April.

Underwood, an English major, has worked closely with the Knox County chapter of Hospice, creating programs for children and teens coping with traumatic losses. She developed Camp Hope, a three-day camp for bereaved youth, and founded an official student organization called Friends of Hospice.

The awards are named for Franklin Miller Jr., an emeritus member of the Kenyon faculty, who is a distinguished physicist, teacher, and textbook author. They are funded by Edward T. Ordman, a 1964 graduate of the College, who is professor emeritus of mathematical sciences at the University of Memphis.