Alma College Nominates Top Three Students
Bolitho
Ray
Trinkle
The award recognizes academic achievement for students in the top 10 percent of their class as well as contributions to campus and community. The Barlow winner is determined by a vote of Alma’s Student Congress and faculty.
Bolitho, a 2002 graduate of Cadillac High School, has been pursuing a major in English with an emphasis on creative writing. By the second semester of her first year, she had received an Alma College Kinney Grant to travel to Tanzania, Africa, for research on how the AIDS pandemic and media rights coincide in sub-Saharan Africa.
Her strong interest in philanthropy led to several research excursions, including her AIDS research in Tanzania and an internship in New York at the United States Mission to the United Nations in the Research Section in 2004. In her junior year, she received a nationally-competitive Truman Scholarship.
Bolitho developed an AIDS awareness program for her hometown as a counter to a "skinhead" campaign to promote the disease as a cure for homosexuality and an aid to white supremacy and delivered a Pavilion Speech on "Global AIDS."
Her passion for creative writing led her to be editor of the campus literary publications Pine River Anthology and OffKilter Review. To promote writing on campus, she has helped conduct open mic nights where she reads her writings and poetry and encourages other to share their writings. Her poem "Laces" was published in Aethlon: A Journal of Sports Literature in 2005.
In her sophomore year, she was diagnosed with cancer and underwent a lengthy operation followed by radiation treatments. Her experience and leadership qualities helped her establish the first Alma College Relay for Life event and turned it into the first successful small liberal arts college relay. From May to August 2005, she interned in the oncology, emergency and playroom units of Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit helping families cope with diseases and injuries. She created a writing program for older patients and utilized art therapies for children.Bolitho has been an officer of Sigma Tau Delta English honorary, a Big Sister, an Admissions Office Ambassador and Class of 2006 President. She earned a varsity athletic letter as a diver for the 2003-04 season. She was a member of the Alma College orchestras and choirs from 2002-2005. Her parents are Todd and Kristi Bolitho.
Ray, a 2002 graduate of Caledonia (Mich.) High School, has taken technology in the performing arts at Alma College to a new level. As a member of the student technical staff in the Remick Heritage Center and Music Department technical assistant since his first year, he has paved the way for students to follow in a program of study previously unavailable.
Developing a Program of Emphasis major, Ray has contributed to building and renovating the department's state-of-the-art facilities and music technology equipment unmatched at larger institutions. He has supervised, maintained and renovated the department's 17-station digital keyboard teaching lab and the recording and post-production facility. Recently he crafted an equipment purchase for a portable recording system resulting in versatility in recording venues across campus.
Besides staffing the Heritage Center for performing arts and speaker series events, he has taken a leadership role to ease the transition when the venue has been without a building coordinator. Ray has trained new students to operate the technical resources and recorded and mastered senior recitals and auditions to help seniors with graduate school admissions and professional placement. With his knowledge of the facilities, he is the natural choice to lead tours of the technology facilities for prospective students, faculty and staff and College Trustees.
With a strong aptitude for music theory, Ray has tutored students who find the courses difficult meeting frequently to review homework, prepare for tests and clarify confusing issues. He has substitute taught several music courses. His professors view him as highly motivated and extremely intelligent approaching academics with great purpose and a strong determination to succeed. "The very same holds true for all of the music technology and new media courses. He is amazingly facile with learning new technologies and concepts and applying his skills and solving problems," wrote one nominator.
His desire to volunteer and serve, made him a natural for the Student Ministry Coordinator for the Chaplain's Office. His knowledge of audio put him in a position to enhance the sound for chapel services and the chapel band. He also advised the Chaplain on new equipment and upgrades and repaired and maintained existing equipment.
He assisted the Chaplain with logistics, planning and coordination of weekly services and events. He worked closely with the Chaplain to develop evening services that reach out to the campus community and have a more powerful impact on students' spirituality.
Ray has been an officer in Phi Mu Alpha music fraternity, and a Kiltie Marching Band Drum Major. He has been Webmaster for the Music Department, the campus radio station and the LaCrosse team. As a member of the department's digital media team, he created a DVD production on College history to be presented to the College's Board of Trustees meeting. He is the son of Jeff and Ruthanne Ray.
Trinkle, a 2002 graduate of Manchester High School, has used her teaching-related experiences and involvement in the Alma Leadership Alliance (ALA), Performing Advocacy Spring Term and the Women's Resource Center to make the campus and community a better place to live, work and study.
An education major with minors in English and sociology and anthropology, Trinkle is completing her final term student teaching in a sixth-grade classroom at the Alma Middle School. A nominator stated Trinkle embodies Alma's mission "to prepare students to think critically, serve generously, lead purposefully and live responsibly as stewards of the world they bequeath to future generations."
As a member of ALA and co-chair of Homecoming student activities, Trinkle has helped successfully plan and coordinate the past two Homecomings creating positive experiences for students that were visible to visiting alumni. Her work with the organization has helped create connections and networks between students and alumni working for the good of Alma College.
Her participation in the Communication Department's Spring Term class Performing Advocacy helped create a performance that advocated for positive change in children's lives through mentoring. Interviewing Big Brothers and Big Sisters, she was able to write a script that related the joys and the tribulations of volunteering in the program.
The play "Why Not You" was recorded and presented to BB/BS for use in mentor recruitment. Creating positive relationships and interactions between community and College, the class also reinforced Trinkle's desire to be a teacher and mentor.
Joining the Women's Issues Advisory Board (WIAB) in 2004, she was named MacCurdy House manager for 2005-06 which opened up other venues to help improve the health and safety of campus community members. Her position on the Safety and Security Task Force helped enhance campus lighting and promote safety and security.
As house manager, she coordinated a campus safety and awareness program consisting of an informational panel and a free self defense class. She organized a three-day breast cancer awareness event on campus that collected money for her best friend to walk in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk in support of her mother diagnosed with breast cancer. She helped organize The Clothesline Project, a demonstration against violence towards women and organized a support drive for the local Women's Aid Shelter.
Trinkle is a member of Alma's Education Club, Sigma Epsilon Sigma education honorary and Sigma Tau Delta national English honorary. She is the daughter of Christina Ahrens of Manchester and Darroll Trinkle of Manchester.
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Posted: Wed, March 8th, 2006 at 2:56PM
