Two Very Long Overdue Announcements

There are sometimes that I feel bad for you, dear readers. When you think about it, all of my posts from last year were pretty much “I LOVE OXFORD” or “I LOVE DANCING!” It’s okay; you can admit it – my feelings won’t be hurt!

Well, I’m sure that there were times that you were dragging through my entries and wondering if my dancing exploits and journey abroad would ever amount to something. Well, I’m quite happy to announce that two really awesome things did come out of my year abroad (well, okay. A lot of awesome things came out of my year abroad, but these are two major events that happened to me). This is the first time that I’m announcing them through my blog because…well…I was trying to be modest and I wanted my blog to focus more on my experience abroad. However, news of both of these awesome events is spreading like wildfire throughout campus, so I thought that I might as well let you all know about it too, since you experienced Oxford with me (in a way).

Firstly, Sigma Tau Delta, the national English honors society, awarded me a $3,000 scholarship to put toward my education whilst studying abroad. Only one of these awards is given out per academic year. I was selected due to my passion for English literature (albeit medieval and you wouldn’t know it was English unless someone told you), the high level of classes that I was taking at Oxford (Paleography, anyone?), and my desire to return to Oxford to complete my graduate studies in English literature there. So, to all of you future English majors: your major can be profitable!

Secondly, I am returning to England over Thanksgiving break to compete in the National ISTD Ballroom Dancing Championships. I won the Latin division in the regional qualifying event, so I was invited back to compete for the national title. This isn’t just a collegiate comp – this is  a much higher standard than collegiate competitions. So, while you’re all eating turkey and cranberry sauce, I’ll be practicing my cha cha lock steps! In addition, at the end of my year abroad, I was also awarded Team Colours, which is very similar to earning a varsity letter in America. Due to my dedication to the team and the high level of proficiency that I achieved in both Latin and Ballroom styles, my coaches and team president awarded me Team Colours. I’m the first visiting student and dancer of my level to achieve this honor in the 60 year history of the dancesport team/club at Oxford.

Unfortunately, the only photos that I have from the qualifying event are professional, so I can’t upload them here. (Thanks to my very good friend from Oxford, John Sinclair, for letting me use this photo!)

This entry was posted on Monday, September 6th, 2010 at 2:59 pm and is filed under Ballroom Dance, Scholarships, year abroad. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Comments are closed.