Sarah Schurman Receives 2017 Dean's Senior Scholar Award!
October 31, 2017
English Major Sarah Schurman is the recipient of the 2017 Dean's Senior Scholar Award. The award committee cites her distinguished academic performance, leadership qualities, and commitment to community.
Sarah entered UMD as one of College Park Scholars’ Arts Scholars and threw herself into that program’s work with local schools and arts non-profit organizations. She earned her citation for a workshop project designed to facilitate artistic engagement and collaboration in the classroom, with a focus on sustainability and ethical production. Beyond Arts Scholars, Sarah has also served as an AVID tutor at Buck Lodge Middle School, where she helps to equip underrepresented student populations with college and career readiness skills. In addition, she’s been a leader in UMD Community Roots, an organization that pursues social justice and community building initiatives, including programming to resist mental health sigma and to promote feminism. In fact, Sarah organized a performance by spoken word artists for Community Roots’ “Know Your Roots” Banquet, with proceeds going to the Pick Me Up Foundation, which gives musical instruments and performance equipment to under-resourced children. As a docent at Stamp Gallery, she writes for the gallery blog and also produces brochures and press releases. You can readily see her English education at work in her leadership and community involvement.