FINALIST - 2006

Marianna Macri “Treat the office like your home” is something I’ve told my newspaper staff repeatedly over the years that I have been editor-in-chief of The Lafayette. And I hope that they’ve discovered a place that has lived up to this analogy — a place that not only provides lots of free food, but one that has welcomed their individuality, challenged their wits, and has allowed their voice to be heard. It’s made sense for me to use this image, since it is how I’ve always understood my relationship to Lafayette. Even before my first day of class freshman year — before I was able to call the faculty my friends, before I experienced the camaraderie of an athletic club, before I knew the meaning of student leadership — I had heard it said again and again that the reason why this college is so special is because it exudes a sense of “home” and that, in turn, the campus community is like a family. Over the past four years, I have tried to honor the responsibilities that come with membership in such a group, and to exhibit an understanding of personal accountability, and social responsibility. Whether serving as a reading tutor, writing editorials, encouraging teammates, or barking for an invisible dog on stage, I’ve found a sense of belonging because I have stayed true my passions, and at every turn, have been encouraged to be different. Isn’t that what family is all about?

 

Major: English
Thesis: Nobody’s Child: Dynamic youth and identity negotiation in contemporary immigrant literature

Academic Activities/Awards

• Phi Beta Kappa (3,4)
• Gilbert Prize for English (3,4)
• Dobro Slovo, Slavic Honor Society (4)
• Institutional nominee for Rhodes and Marshall scholarships (4)
• Visiting Student, Oxford University (3)
• Lafayette Leadership Forum (1,4)
• Papers presented and published through National Conference on Undergraduate Research (2,4)
• Honorable Mention, Jean Corrie Poetry Prize (1)
• Trustee Scholar (1,2,3,4)
• National Merit Company Scholarship (1,2,3,4)
• Dean’s List (1,2,3,4), Will attend graduate program in English at Columbia University, Fall 2006.

Campus Service Activities

• Editor-in-Chief, The Lafayette (2,3,4)
• Arts and Entertainment Editor, The Lafayette (2)
• Assistant editor, The Lafayette (1)
• Student Ambassador, Lafayette College Annual Fund (3,4)
• Student Ambassador, Lafayette Alumni New York Branch event (4)
• Trustee Scholar Day volunteer (4)
• Panel speaker, Career Services (4)
• Panel speaker, Junior Visiting Day (1)

Community Service Activities

• Literacy Day volunteer (4)
• Reading and math tutor for children ages 7-12, Neighborhood Tutoring Association (1,2,3)
• Oxford University Amnesty International Group (3)
• Oxford University Chaplaincy Choir (3)
• Volunteer tutor, Firth Youth Center (2)
• Equi-Librium (2)

Athletics

• Lafayette Equestrian Club Team: secretary, alumni relations chair, founding member, competitive rider (1,2,3)

Special Interest Group Activities

• Intern, American Society of Magazine Editors (3)
• Editorial Assistant, The Associated Press (1,2)
• Intern, The Express-Times (2)
• Actress, College Theater (1,2): Bertie (mezzo-soprano man-woman), The Club; Mrs. Drudge (creepy old lady, serve poison biscuits), The Real Inspector Hound; Charlotta (ventriloquize for invisible dog), The Cherry Orchard
• College Theater Fringe Festival (2)
• Sub-editor, The Owl Journal, Oxford University (3)
• Voice lessons (1,2)
• Lafayette College Choir (1)