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Category: Students

Twice as Nice: Senior Tim Carrigg wins second national DownBeat magazine Student Music Award

When Fred Sturm, the former director of Lawrence University’s jazz studies program, suggested to Tim Carrigg that he venture outside the box, he took the advice and ran with it.

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Tim Carrigg ’16

The end result, “Namaste,” earned Carrigg national recognition from DownBeat magazine as the 2016 undergraduate winner in the original composition/large ensemble category in its 39th annual Student Music Awards competition.

It was the second year in a row Carrigg has been honored by DownBeat. In last year’s SMA competition, he won the undergraduate jazz arrangement category for his six-minute, big band arrangement “Once Upon a Time,” which was inspired by Herbie Hancock’s “Tell Me a Bedtime Story.”

Carrigg is in rare company at Lawrence as a back-to-back winner. He is only the second individual Lawrence student to win consecutive DownBeat awards, joining Javier Arau, who won SMAs in 1996 and 1997. The seven-member student band, Fatbook, which won two straight awards in 2010 and 2011 in the college blues/pop/rock group category, is Lawrence’s only other multiple winner.

Announced in DownBeat’s June edition, the SMAs are considered among the highest music honors in the field of jazz education. They are presented in 13 categories in five separate divisions: junior high, high school, performing high school, undergraduate college and graduate college.

Written over a period of six months, “Namaste” was actually performed and recorded live two months before Carrigg found out that “Once Upon a Time” had won a SMA.

“I certainly didn’t think I had another winner when I finished writing ‘Namaste’ because at the time, I wasn’t even aware I had won the first time,” said Carrigg, who is pursuing a bachelor of music degree at Lawrence in music theory/composition major with a jazz emphasis.

It was shortly after he had finished “Once Upon a Time” that Sturm, who passed away in August 2014, encouraged Carrigg to “write something that’s really original, really different.”

“At that time, I had been listening to a lot of rock I had heard when I was younger, bands like Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana,” Carrigg recalled of his conversation with Sturm. “I took all those influences and basically brought them together into ‘Namaste.’

Tim-Carrigg_newsblog_2016_2“I wound up with this really cool fusion between ’90s rock and more traditional elements of jazz. It has this feeling of solemnness but also excitement. In the middle of the piece, the horns start playing the texture of a lush chorale, only to catch you by surprise when the piece suddenly breaks for a heavy drum solo.”

The nine-minute piece features 18 musicians — five saxophones, four trumpets, four trombones and five rhythm section players.

“Tim incorporates unconventional sounds and instruments and heavy metal/rock/fusion elements in his jazz ensemble works, which has greatly influenced his unique style of composing,” said Patricia Darling, who teaches jazz composition and arranging classes and directs the Lawrence University Jazz Ensemble. “I love working with him because he has such a clear vision of what he wants to create and is determined and able to make it happen. It will be exciting to see where he goes with this when he heads to graduate school next year.”

“Namaste” is the latest of 15 concert style works Carrigg has written, five of which will be performed during his upcoming senior recital on May 14. He puts “Namaste” among his top three favorites.

“I put a lot of work into that piece and certainly was excited when I found out it won the DownBeat award,” said Carrigg. “The performers put in a lot of time on it and they all sounded great. It’s such a fun piece.”

Tim-Carrigg_newsblog3Following graduation in June, Carrigg will head to the University of Oregon where he’ll be a graduate teaching fellow while working toward a masters in jazz composition.

“What I would really love to do is be in a small group where I’m writing for individuals,” said Carrigg, who plays piano. “There’s something very special about writing for a small group of people where you’re connected on an individual level but you also know their personalities on the instrument.

“I love writing for big ensembles too, and that’s a skill set I’ll always have,” he added. “Ultimately, I’d like to be a performer as well as a composer. Small group writing has a pretty big place in my heart, whether that is through freelancing or being part of a group or collaboration.”

Since DownBeat launched its Student Music Awards competition in 1978, Lawrence students and ensembles have won a total of 27 SMAs, including seven in the past six years.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College” and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 2016. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Appleton native, Iowa Writers’ Workshop Director named Lawrence’s 2016 commencement speaker, honorary degree recipient

It will be a homecoming of sorts for award-winning writer and Appleton native Lan Samantha Chang when she returns to the Lawrence University campus to receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree Sunday, June 12 at the college’s 167th commencement ceremony.

Chang, the director of the prestigious Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa, also will serve as the principal commencement speaker. This will be Chang’s first honorary degree.

“An understanding of the creative process is core to the education Lawrence offers,” said President Mark Burstein. “We are very pleased that Lan Samantha Chang will join us for commencement this spring so we can honor an Appleton native who has perfected her craft and now teaches it to others as director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. From her first book, which the New York Times described as ‘a taut, incisive study of Chinese immigrants in America and their almost wordless struggle to adapt to a new life,’ to more recent work, Samantha has provided us a window into the human experience.”

Lan Samantha Chang will receive an honorary degree from Lawrence and serve as the principal speaker at the college's 167th commencement June 12. Photo by Tom Jorgensen.
Lan Samantha Chang will receive an honorary degree from Lawrence and serve as the principal speaker at the college’s 167th commencement June 12. Photo by Tom Jorgensen.

Chang, whose parents emigrated to the United States from China, graduated from Appleton West High School in 1983. Her honorary degree will further connect her to Lawrence. Her mother earned a bachelor of music degree in piano pedagogy from Lawrence, while her father was an associate professor of engineering at the former Institute of Paper Chemistry, which had a long affiliation with Lawrence.

“Receiving an honorary degree from Lawrence means a great deal to me,” said Chang, “in part because when I was growing up, Lawrence was the center of intellectual life in Appleton. It is a greatly respected university. I have vivid memories of being at the conservatory during my mother’s recitals and meeting her professors.”

Her path to award-winning writer followed a circuitous route. Chang attended Yale University intending to satisfy her parent’s wishes of pursuing a medical degree, but she soon decided becoming a doctor was not in her future. After earning a degree in East Asian Studies, she told her parents she would become a lawyer, another career option more designed to please her parents than her own interests. She eventually earned a master’s of public administration degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

“I realized that I didn’t want to pursue that direction either,” Chang explained of her second change of heart. “It was really just a question of coming to face the fact that I had never wanted to do anything else except write fiction and that it would be pointless to try to keep trying to do other things.”

Chang eventually enrolled at the University of Iowa and earned a master of fine arts in creative writing.

While she says her life has been much easier since then, “I don’t think I’ve ever circled as much as I did after college when I understood that I would have to disappoint my parents and pursue an uncertain life,” said Chang.

Before returning to the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Chang taught creative writing at Stanford University as Jones Lecturer in Fiction, in Warren Wilson College’s MFA program for writers and at Harvard University as Briggs-Copland Lecturer in Creative Writing.

Since 2006, she has served as the program director of the Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa, where she also teaches English as the May Brodbeck Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Chang’s experiences as an Asian American inspired her to write two novels and a collection of short stories about the merging of Chinese and American culture and the dynamics of family and wealth in times of hardship or after war. Her works include 1998’s “Hunger: A Novella and Stories,” 2004’s “Inheritance: A Novel” and “All is Forgotten, Nothing is Lost: A Novel” in 2010.

Chang’s work has been recognized with the 2005 PEN Open Book Award for “Inheritance,” while “Hunger” was the winner of the Southern Review Fiction Prize and named a finalist for a Los Angeles Times Book Award. Chang’s writing has been selected twice (1994, 1996) for inclusion in the yearly anthology “The Best American Short Stories.”

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College” and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 2016. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Lawrence students earn five firsts at state singing competition

Lawrence University students claimed five first-place finishes at the annual Wisconsin chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) competition held Nov. 6-7 at UW-Eau Claire.

Alexander Quackenbush, Sun Prairie, and Clover Austin-Mueleck, San Francisco, Calif., won the men’s and women’s first-year division, respectively.

Yonah Barany, Portland, Ore., and Annie Mercado, Des Plaines, Ill., took top honors in the second-year men’s and women’s division, respectively.

Ian Grimshaw, Nellysford, Va., earned first-place honors in the men’s third-year division, while Elisabeth Burmeister, Chicago, Ill., received second-place honors in the third-year women’s division. Burmeister finished second in the second-year women’s division in 2014.

Austin-Mueleck and Grimshaw are students in the voice studio of Ken Bozeman, Frank C. Shattuck Professor of Music. Quackenbush and Barany study with Associate Professor Karen Leigh-Post. Mercado is a student of voice teacher John Gates. Burmeister studies in the voice studio of Joanne Bozeman.

Twelve of Lawrence’s 19 entries advanced to the finals in the competition, which drew nearly 400 singers from around the state. First-place finishers receive $150, while second-place finishers received $125.

The NATS competition features 22 separate divisions grouped by gender and level. Depending upon the category, competitors are required to sing two, three or four classical pieces from different time periods with at least one selection sung in a foreign language.

Alex-Quackenbush_newsblogClover-Austin-Meuleck_newsblogYonah-Barany_newsblogAnn-Mercado_newsblogIan-Grimshaw_newblogPictured (from left): Alex Quackenbush, Clover Austin-Mueleck, Yonah Barany,  Annie Mercado and Ian Grimshaw.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College” and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 2016. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Fox Cities students to benefit from Lawrence scholarship initiative; matching gift campaign raises nearly $52M

Mission accomplished.

Less than 15 months after presented a challenge of matching a $25 million gift from an anonymous donor for student scholarships, Lawrence University has more than met the challenge of its “Full Speed to Full Need” initiative.

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The Paulson family — Sarah, Nick ’14, Tom, Mary and Erik ’16 — have established a scholarship that will target students in their hometown of Kaukauna.

Several recent gifts pushed the match total to $26.9 million, enabling Lawrence to establish an endowment of just under $52 million that will be used exclusively for scholarships to help meet students’ demonstrated financial need.

During the Full Speed to Full Need campaign, 48 new student scholarships were created, including one by a Kaukauna family that will directly benefit local students.

The Paulson Family Scholarship, established by Tom and Mary Paulson, and their three children, Sarah, Nick and Erik, will provide the full demonstrated financial need for four years to a Kaukauna High School graduate attending Lawrence.

With a focus on high-need applicants, the scholarship will be awarded once each year to a student for a total of up to four recipients. The goal after four years is a freshman, sophomore, junior and senior will attend Lawrence as a Paulson Scholar.

In the absence of a qualified student from Kaukauna High School, the full-need scholarship will be awarded to a student from any Fox Valley high school.

“Having a local family support Fox Cities’ students is extremely moving to me,” said Lawrence President Mark Burstein. “While Lawrence attracts applicants from across the country and around the world, we are honored that every year many local residents choose Lawrence. The Paulson Family Scholarship will help us attract and support excellent students from our own back yard.”

Tom Paulson said he wanted to create the scholarship in part because “Lawrence is often overlooked due to the financial barrier.”

“Our vision is to make Lawrence accessible to motivated students who may not have the financial means for a Lawrence education,” said Paulson, who graduated from Lawrence as a non-traditional student at the age of 32 in 1993 thanks in part to the financial support he received from the college.

Paulson-Scholarship_newsblog2Beyond Tom, the Paulson family connection to Lawrence includes son Nick, a 2014 Lawrence graduate who is employed at the college as a residence hall director and campus life student organizations coordinator, and son Erik, a senior at Lawrence. Sarah is a graduate of St. Norbert College. Like their parents, Nick, Erik and Sarah are all Kaukauna High School graduates.

Tom Paulson enrolled at Lawrence on a part-time basis in 1983 through a tuition remission program set up with the Institute of Paper Chemistry, where he was employed as a research technician. When the IPC relocated from Appleton to Georgia Tech in 1989, he and his wife remained in town but were left without the tuition remission program. Students must be enrolled full time to be eligible for scholarships and grants at Lawrence.

“The creative financial assistance Lawrence brought to the table enabled me to continue my education,” said Paulson, who re-enrolled in 1989 while also working full time as lab manager at Integrated Paper Services. “My professors were extremely generous and sensitive to my needs in balancing full-time work, class schedule, lab schedules and my family life. I can’t envision this type of accommodation at any other institution.”

“While Lawrence attracts applicants from across the country and around the world, we are honored that every year many local residents choose Lawrence. The Paulson Family Scholarship will help us attract and support excellent students from our own back yard.”
— President Mark Burstein

Paulson said Lawrence’s style of education and its focus on fostering creativity were important factors in his two sons following in his footsteps.

“Building strong personal bonds with administrators, professors and peers is vital for success academically, personally and professionally,” said Paulson. “Both of my sons thrived at Lawrence and have become critical thinkers with a passion for learning.”

Since announcing the Full Speed to Full Need matching gift challenge in September 2014, Lawrence received a total of 426 gifts. The support for the scholarship initiative was as broad as it was swift, with more than half the donors (236) contributing $500 or less. The college did receive 48 gifts of $100,000 or more, including seven of $1 million or more.

“When we embarked on this $25 million challenge, we thought it would take five years to accomplish,” said Cal Husmann, vice president for alumni, development and communications. “We are amazed that we were able to raise this amount of money in 15 months. We are so honored and inspired by the response of the Lawrence community who contributed to this initiative which makes Lawrence more affordable to more students. Every gift of every size makes a difference.”

For the 2015-16 academic year, 69 percent of Lawrence’s 1,500 students are receiving need-based financial aid packages that average $35,483.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College” and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 2016. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Lawrence student pianist, flutist win state music competition

Lawrence University students captured a pair of first-place honors at the recent 2015 Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Wisconsin state competition conducted at UW-Eau Claire.

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Sophomore Anthony Cardella

Sophomore Anthony Cardella, Porterfield, and senior Leo Sussman, San Francisco, Calif., won the piano and flute divisions, respectively, in the MTNA’s Young Artist (19-26 years of age) competition. Cardella is 15th Lawrence piano student in the past 16 years to win the Wisconsin MTNA competition.

Cardella and Sussman advance to the MTNA’s five-state East Central Division regional competition, which will be held Jan. 15-16, 2016 at Indiana’s Goshen College. Regional winners will compete in the MTNA national finals April 2 in San Antonio, Texas.

A student in the studio of Associate Professor Michael Mizrahi, Cardella performed “Impromptu Op. 90 No. 4,” by Franz Schubert, “Un Sospiro” from “Three Concert Etudes S. 144 No. 3” by Franz Liszt, “Feux d’artifice” from “Preludes Book 2” by Claude Debussy and “Moment Musicaux Op. 16 No. 4” by Sergi Rachmaninoff.

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Senior Leo Sussman

Sussman, who studies in the flute studio of Assistant Professor Erin Lesser, performed “Chant de Linos” by Andre Jolivet, a flute concerto by Carl Nielsen, CPE Bach’s “Unaccompanied sonata in A minor” and Philippe Hurel’s “Loops I” for solo flute.

Other Lawrence musicians also were recognized. Senior Anne Daley and freshman Ming Hu were named first alternate in the flute and piano divisions, respectively. Senior Joey Arkfeld, sophomore Xiaoya Gao and sophomore Ethan Valentine were awarded honorable mention recognition in the Young Artist piano division.

The MTNA performance competitions recognize exceptionally talented young artists and their teachers in their pursuit of musical excellence.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College” and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 2016. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

29 and Counting: Freshman Katie Kumbalek extends century-old family tradition

To say Lawrence University is Katie Kumbalek’s “family school” is akin to saying the Green Bay Packers are kind of popular in Wisconsin, Donald Trump has an ego and Yo Yo Ma can play a little cello.

Katie-Kumbalel_newsblog
Katie Kumbalek ’19 is the 29th member of her extended family to attend Lawrence.

A member of Lawrence’s incoming class of 2019, Kumbalek, a freshman from Houston, Texas, will be the 29th member of her extended family to attend Lawrence when classes for the college’s 167th academic year begin Sept. 14.

Spanning 114 years and including virtually every branch on her genealogical tree from a brother, parents and grandparents to uncles, aunts and second cousins, Kumbalek is extending a family tradition that began at the turn of the century — the 20th century — when her cousin Lois Casson graduated in 1901.

While others institutions of higher learning bravely vied for Kumbalek’s attention, little did they know she had her mind made up as to where she would continue her education nearly 10 years ago.

“I’ve been coming here since I was about nine years old and I’ve always liked the campus,” said Kumbalek, who is leaning toward a major in film studies at the moment. “So, there’s really never been any doubt about where I was going to go to college.”

Having a grandparent as well as an uncle and aunt living in the area provided ample excuses for Kumbalek to check out the campus over the years. Her brother Michael’s graduation in 2013 and her mother Betsy’s distinguished alumni award that same year were just the latest reasons to get a feel for Lawrence and Appleton.

Despite the lengthy tradition, Kumbalek says her decision to continue the family’s legacy at Lawrence came without any prodding.

“There was no pressure at all. My entire family told me, ‘If you want to go to Lawrence, that’s great, but if not, there’s a bunch of other options out there,” said Kumbalek, who is a defensive specialist on the Vikings’ volleyball team. “I just always liked it here. I like the academics and Appleton just seems really nice.”

Family connections aside, Kumbalek said there were plenty of other selling points she found appealing.

“Lawrence is very diverse compared to other schools. I think they’re very open and welcoming to any type of person,” said Kumbalek, whose cousin Teddy Kortenhof is a current sophomore at Lawrence. “I thought a liberal arts college would be the best option for me. The smaller class sizes, the diversity, the fact they are accepting of any type of person and are very open with everybody were all factors in what attracted me to Lawrence.”

“I’ve been coming here since I was about nine years old and I’ve always liked the campus. There’s really never been any doubt about where I was going to go to college.”
— Katie Kumbalek ’19

While Kumbalek hasn’t met her roommate in person yet, she knows she is from St. Louis, where her mother grew up.

“My mom actually knows the street my roommate lives on, which is kinda creepy, but whatever,” Kumbalek added with a laugh.

Kumbalek is among 400 freshmen, drawn from a school-record applicant pool of 3,015 — a 10 percent increase over the previous year — who will participate in a week of new student orientation activities beginning Tuesday, Sept. 8 before classes start the following Monday. In addition to freshmen, Lawrence also welcomes 50 other new students: 32 transfer students and 18 visiting exchange students from Tokyo’s Waseda University.Move-in-day_newsblog

A closer peek at this year’s incoming freshmen reveal:

• Geographically, they hail from 35 states, plus Washington, D.C. Fifteen percent of the freshmen are citizens of 29 foreign countries.

• Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota were the top three Lawrentian-producing states. While Wisconsin once accounted for 50 percent of new students, this year only one-quarter of the freshmen are home grown.

• 15 percent of the freshmen are domestic students of color.

• With 22 students, China is sending more freshmen to Lawrence this fall than all but three states. Vietnam accounted for the second-most international students with 11.

• Academically, 40 percent of the freshmen ranked in the top 10 percent of their graduating class. Seventeen were their high school’s valedictorian.

• The average ACT score was 29 among all students and 30 among those who submitted test scores for consideration for admission. Lawrence has been test optional since 2006.

Ken Anselment, dean of admission and financial aid, smiles when he thinks about the end result of the efforts of his staff.

“Our academic quality is up and our global diversity is up,” said Anselment. “Lawrence continues to be a place where the world’s brightest and hardest working kids want to spend their formative college years.”

Anselment was especially pleased with the return on investment from a first-ever spring recruiting trip he, the director of international admission, and a Lawrence student took to China and Vietnam this past spring where they met with 40 admitted students in Shanghai, Chengdu, Beijing, and Hanoi. More than half of the students they met decided to matriculate to Lawrence.

“It was exciting taking Lawrence across the Pacific and meeting with families who want to send their children to the United States to further their education,” said Anselment. “The fact so many of those we met chose to send them to Appleton and entrust them with us is that much more gratifying.”

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College” and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 2016. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Trailblazer: App leads Lawrence students to finals of national entrepreneurship competition

If Joe Bazydlo has his way, visitors trekking through any of the U.S. National Parks one day soon will have instant access to fascinating information about the park at their fingertips.

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Joe Bazydlo ’16

Thanks to a smartphone app he helped develop — “Trailblazer” — hikers and other trail users will be able to magically add entries to their digital field journal via GPS technology. Each GPS point, or Trailblazer Beacon, once hiked through will unlock preloaded information about the hiker’s immediate environment provided by the people that know the most, the park’s rangers.

“It’s sort of a scavenger hunt,” said Bazydlo, who has spent time as an interpretive ranger at Hawaii’s Haleakala National Park.

Hikers will find themselves on a park-wide scavenger hunt to pass through all Trailblazer Beacons in the park trails and complete all entries in their field journals.

“The whole app works via GPS technology rather than using cell service, so it will work in even the most remote locations.”

The app is designed to be interactive.

“People could also create their own entries. A botanist, for instance, could go to a park, find a colony of a certain plant, save the GPS point on their phone, write a description about it that could be sent to park officials who then could approve or decline the entry,” Bazydlo explained. “Essentially, we want to use Trailblazer to crowd-source every park in the nation. We want to provide a platform for everyone to contribute their unique perspective on the parks.”

With help from Eddie Elizondo and Alex Shabazi, Bazydlo developed “Trailblazer” in Lawrence University’s “In Pursuit of Innovation” course last fall and took the idea all the way to the finals of the 2015 Tiger Launch Competition at Princeton University.

Bazydlo and Elizondo were among 20 finalists from an original pool of more than 250 teams from around the country that submitted 90-second video pitches for the first round of the competition when it began last November.

Bazydlo delivered the team’s four-minute presentation in front of three venture capitalists who served as the competition’s judges. The annual competition is sponsored by Princeton’s Entrepreneurship Club.

Lawrence was one of the only liberal arts college invited to the finals, which included teams from Princeton, Duke, Cal Tech, Clemson and Johns Hopkins universities, among others.

“It was an unbelievable experience…it certainly proved Lawrence students can run with the best of the them.”
— Joe Bazydlo

“I was a kind of shocked, but we certainly were honored to make it that far,” said Bayzdlo, a junior anthropology and Chinese major from Rocky River, Ohio. “There were some student presenters who were completing their MBAs and some who were working full time on their projects.”

The first- and second-place presenters as determined by the judges received funding awards of $10,000 and $5,000, respectively. Although he didn’t get any financial support for Trailblazer, Bazydlo felt the opportunity was priceless.

“It was an unbelievable experience, a great learning experience,” said Bazydlo, who was still tweaking the presentation on the train ride from Newark’s Liberty International Airport to Princeton. “It certainly proved Lawrence students can run with the best of the them. Without a business school, we had to learn everything from the ground up to even go into the project while still being full-time students.”

Adam Galambos, associate professor of economics and one of the drivers behind Lawrence’s innovation and entrepreneurship program, expressed pride in the Trailblazer team’s success.

“Joe and Eddie combined their expertise and worked very hard to pursue an idea they are both passionate about and we’re certainly proud of their success in this year’s Tiger Launch competition,” said Galambos. “I hope their success inspires others to pursue their own innovative and entrepreneurial ideas, whether they are in the realm of social enterprise, commercial ventures or innovation in any field. Our I&E program is here to support those initiatives through relevant courses and events such as LaunchLU, as well as the new I&E club coming this fall.”

The journey from Briggs Hall to the Princeton campus was a major triumph in itself considering the challenges the team encountered along the way, starting with the initial 90-second video pitch.

Joe-Badzyldo_newsblog2
Joe Bazydlo hopes his phone app will enhance users visits to the country’s national parks by providing additional information about their immediate environment.

“We shot it at three in the morning the day we were leaving for the end-of-term holiday break,” recalled Bazydlo. “It was not good.”

So “take two” was shot in Bazydlo’s living room back home in Ohio.

“I just propped up my iPad on the fireplace mantle and starting giving our pitch. It was a very awkward video, but we submitted it thinking it’s all about the idea, not the quality of the video.”

The team lived in limbo for nearly three months before finding out on Valentine’s Day weekend they had made the second round.

“Suddenly we realized we were running with the big dogs. We had made the semifinals,” said Bazydlo.

To earn a ticket to Princeton, the team had to survive a Skype interview, conducted by a business school professor from UC-Berkeley. With Elizondo in Chicago on an off-campus study program for the term, that required a three-way conversation.

“That went terrible,” Bazydlo said bluntly. “It was just a slaughterhouse. He was ripping apart every aspect of our plan.”

Despite their own poor self-assessment of the interview, to their complete surprise two weeks later they learned they made the top 20 and should start packing for a paid trip to Princeton.

“We were probably the most unusual team there, a combination of a computer science major and an anthropology major, neither with any business background,” said Bazydlo. “We had no idea we’d make it to be among the top 20.”

As for the next step for Trailblazer, Bazydlo says some additional tweaking is in the works.

“Right now we are still trying to perfect the app so that we can create a positive and impactful change in the way young people interact with our national parks. It will take a lot of outside learning, but we are so grateful to have the support of everyone at Lawrence and we are excited to see where Trailblazer will take us.”

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Ben Meunier awarded Gilman International Scholarship to study Arabic in Jordan

Sophomore Ben Meunier has been awarded a prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

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Ben Meunier ’17

Meunier, an anthropology major from Marshall, was one of 850 undergraduates nationally selected for the scholarship from among 2,700 applicants. The award will support studies abroad this fall (Aug. 23-Dec. 17) on the Middle East and Arabic Language Studies program in Amman, Jordan.

Administered by the Associated Colleges of the Midwest in partnership with AMIDEAST, the program immerses students in Arabic as well as the history and culture of the region.

Meunier, who his completing his first year of studying Arabic at Lawrence, sees the language skills as critical to his future plans.

“I expect to journey to the Middle East regularly during my professional career,” said Meunier, whose older brother Zechariah, a senior at Lawrence, received a Gilman International Scholarship in 2013. “I aspire to be a biblical archaeologist and learning Arabic is a necessary step if I hope to attain the fullest understanding of the region. Arabic, like Hebrew, is a Semitic language and this connection will only further help me study the Hebrew peoples.”

Gilman Scholars receive up to $5,000 to apply towards their study abroad program costs. The program’s mission is to diversify the students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go.

Lawrence Anthropology Professor Peter Peregrine said the Gilman Scholarship provides a perfect opportunity for Meunier to combine his Christian faith with his broader interests in the Abrahamic religions.

“Ben’s planned work in Jordan will allow him to develop his Arabic language skills while pursuing a greater understanding of Islam,” said Peregrine, Meunier’s academic advisor. “I have developed a great respect for Ben. He has not allowed his deep Christian beliefs to keep him from trying to understand and appreciate other faiths. He has used his interest in the Abrahamic religions to strengthen his understanding of his own Christian beliefs.”

Amman-Jorda_newsblogGilman Scholars have opportunities to gain a better understanding of other cultures, countries, languages and economies, which prepares them to be leaders in an increasingly global economy and interconnected world.

“I am looking forward to the whole experience,” said Meunier, who will live with a host family while on the program. “I am very excited about the homestay because I will be directly immersed in the culture of the Middle East. I am also looking forward to meeting my fellow classmates and living as a Middle Eastern college student.

“As an anthropology major, this program will be ideal, providing me firsthand experience in the field,” he added. “I also will be able explore some of my personal interests in religion, and the influx of refugees from Syria and other neighboring countries has created an anthropological research topic of great interest. Jordan truly is the perfect location for me.”

Administered by the Institute of International Education, the program is named in honor of Benjamin Gilman, who represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1973-2003. According to Gilman, a strong advocate of studying abroad programs, the scholarship “provides our students with the opportunity to return home with a deeper understanding of their place in the world, encouraging them to be a contributor, rather than a spectator in the international community.”

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Magnificent Music: Lawrence students earn national recognition from DownBeat magazine

What’s better than winning a Student Music Award from DownBeat magazine? How about winning two.

The Lawrence University jazz studies and improvisation department has double reason to celebrate after DownBeat’s announcement of the winners of its 38th annual Student Music Awards.

Lawrence claimed a pair of honorees — an individual and an ensemble — in the magazine’s yearly salute to the best in student music-making. Tim Carrigg was one of two winners in the college undergraduate jazz arrangement category. Tambo Toké, Lawrence’s Afro-Cuban percussion group, was cited for outstanding performance in the college undergraduate Latin Jazz Ensemble category.Tim-Carrigg-with-DB-award

The 2015 SMAs, announced in DownBeat’s June edition, are presented in 13 categories in five separate divisions (junior high, high school, performing high school, undergraduate college and graduate college) are considered among the highest music honors in the field of jazz education.

Carrigg, a senior from Westport, Mass., was recognized for his six-minute, big band arrangement “Once Upon a Time,” which was inspired by Herbie Hancock’s “Tell Me a Bedtime Story.”

“When I started arranging the piece, it turned out much, much different than the original tune, so I just renamed it,” said Carrigg, a music theory/composition major with a jazz emphasis.

The SMA was a well-earned reward for Carrigg, who began working on the piece in the fall of 2013 and once spent 40 consecutive hours hunkered down in his room notating the piece.

“Whenever you’re composing anything, you put in a lot of work, literally hundreds and hundreds of hours and at the end of the day, are you going to create something that is really great? Hopefully,” said Carrigg, whose compositions will be showcased in a jazz recital on May. 31.

He recorded “Once Upon a Time” in the spring of 2014, using a 17-piece band he recruited from members of the Lawrence University Jazz Ensemble (LUJE) and Lawrence Jazz Band. Guitarist Sam Genualdi and drummer Dan Reifsteck are featured soloists on the recording.

“Tim incorporates contemporary grooves, fresh harmonic ideas and unique methods of improvisation to create music that is exciting and compelling…He is incredibly talented and still so humble and down to earth.”
— Patty Darling

Carrigg says composition has been a part of his entire musical life, but he says his “serious composing” phase began three years ago when he joined the Lawrence composition studio.

“I’ve written pieces that were more compositionally sound, but this is the first piece I’ve ever written for big band,” said Carrigg, a pianist whose playing career has been sidetracked by a severe case of musician’s dystonia, a neurological movement disorder. “This one has a ton of excitement. It has a lot of adventurous things that I tried.”

Carrigg credited the late Fred Sturm, an award-winning composer and former director of Lawrence’s jazz studies program and Patty Darling, a DownBeat SMA jazz arrangement winner herself as a Lawrence student in 1984, for their mentoring on the project.

“Fred said he wanted me to write a big-band piece, so I started on it and it was really tough, really tough, but he kept pushing me and pushing me,” said Carrigg. “I wanted to make it as best for him as I possibly could. He loved it and even sent me an email saying ‘I’ve been listening to it all day.’ I felt I at least lived up to that goal.”

“Patty was fantastic on it, too,” Carrigg added. “She was extremely helpful with all the deadlines and making sure everything was in place. Through the entire process she was very encouraging.”

As a composer and arranger, Darling says Carrigg possesses “a powerful identity.”

“Tim incorporates contemporary grooves, fresh harmonic ideas and unique methods of improvisation to create music that is exciting and compelling,” said Darling, who co-directs LUJE and the Lawrence Jazz Band. “He also experiments with acoustic and electronic instruments to create new sounds that help create structure and form in his compositions. He is incredibly talented and still so humble and down to earth. Last spring, Fred told me how much he loved working with Tim and what great potential he has. Fred would be so proud right now of Tim’s success and national recognition.”

Tambo-Toke_newsblog
Tambo Toké, Lawrence’s 17-member Afro-Cuban percussion ensemble, earned “Outstanding Performance” recognition from DownBeat magazine in its 38th annual Student Music Awards competition.

The SMA for Latin Jazz Ensemble is the second major honor in the past year for Lawrence percussionists. In 2014, the Lawrence University Percussion Ensemble (LUPE), of which Tambo Toké is a subset, won the Percussive Arts Society World Percussion Ensemble Competition and was a featured performer last fall at the PAS International Convention in Indianapolis.

The 17-member Tambo Toké, which includes non-percussion majors, is led by student director Eli Edelman, who submitted a video tape of a 30-minute medley of traditional Afro-Cuban drumming and songs that he arranged for his senior recital in February 2014.

“He’s done a tremendous job of teaching, creating musical arrangements and inspiring his colleagues to embrace this powerful music. The prestigious DownBeat award is well-earned testament to his great work.”
— Dane Richeson on Eli Edelman

“It was obvious to me the performance was strong enough for DownBeat to consider it in their annual national student competition. I know there are very few schools that are performing this style of Cuban music in this country,” said Dane Richeson, professor of music and director of Lawrence’s percussion studio.

Tambo Toké grew out of a presentation jazz studies instructor José Encarnación did three years ago on Afro-Cuban music, specifically Rumba.

“Some students from the percussion department starting getting together on a weekly basis to listen to the music and learn how to play the individual parts for the Rumba instrumentation,” said Encarnacion, a native of Puerto Rico, who turned the presentation into a tutorial. “Some of the students had been working on this music with Dane and Michael Spiro, so they were contributing as well on teaching other members of the class, including myself, on how to play this great music.”

With Edelman leading the ensemble, Richeson decided to incorporate it into his world music curriculum, expanding the repertoire to include other Cuban traditional music such as Arara and Bata.

“The fact that our students are open minded enough to learn, respect and embrace music and life from another culture is what makes Tambo Toké special and worthy of national recognition,” said Encarnación.

Edelman, a senior from Hoboken, N.J., brings the experience of two recent visits to Cuba to his position of director of Tambo Toké. With the support of some Lawrence research grants, including a Melon Senior Experience grant, he was able to spend two months in 2013 immersed in the Afro-Cuban folkloric music scene of Havana and Matanzas.

“Almost every single day I had a two-hour private lesson in the morning with one teacher, a two-hour private lesson in the afternoon with another teacher, and then I’d go find live music performances to watch in the evening,” said Edelman, a double degree candidate with majors in percussion performance and history.

“This music is part of an oral tradition, so everything I learned was taught by ear in the way that master drummers teach their students. In the four years that I’ve been in charge of the ensemble, I’ve drawn heavily upon material I learned from my teachers in Cuba.”

Dane and Eli Edelman_Tambo Toke
As its student director, senior Eli Edelman (front row, right), helped Tambo Toké earn a DownBeat award in the Latin jazz ensemble category of the magazine’s 2015 student music awards competition.

Richeson, who has used several sabbaticals to study music traditions in Ghana, Cuba and Brazil, says it is crucial for 21st-century percussion students to have both exposure to, and experience performing, the music traditions rooted in West Africa.

“Eli is a perfect example from several students I’ve had over the years who have fallen in love with one of these African-based music traditions,” said Richeson. “With his command of the Spanish language and his keen musical intuition, Eli learned an impressive amount of repertoire while in Cuba. It became clear that he was ready to take on the role of student directing our Afro-Cuban ensemble. He’s done a tremendous job of teaching, creating musical arrangements and inspiring his colleagues to embrace this powerful music. The prestigious DownBeat award is well-deserved testament to his great work.”

Since DownBeat launched its student music awards competition in 1978, Lawrence students and ensembles have won a total of 26 SMAs, including six in the past five years.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Ruby Dickson awarded Fulbright-Hays Scholarship for Chinese language immersion program in Beijing

Ruby Dickson will venture outside the United States for the first time this summer courtesy of the U.S. Department of Education.

Ruby-Dickson_newsblog
Ruby Dickson ’16

The Lawrence University junior from Louisville, Colo., has been awarded a $2,700 Fulbright-Hays Scholarship for the 2015 Associated Colleges in China (ACC) Intensive Language Program. In addition to the scholarship, Dickson will receive $800 for travel expenses.

This is the 10th year in a row at least one Lawrence student has been recognized by the Fulbright Program. Dickson is the 14th Lawrence recipient of a Fulbright award in the past five years.

Beginning June 14, Dickson will participate in a Chinese language immersion program at Beijing’s Minzu University. The program runs through Dec. 7.

“I’m really excited for the chance to go to Beijing, especially since this is my first time leaving the United States,” said Dickson, who is pursuing a double major in Chinese language & literature and economics. “The Fulbright-Hays will help me with funding this amazing opportunity and I’m incredibly grateful for the generosity of those responsible for the scholarship.

“While I’m in China, I’ll have the opportunity not only to learn the Chinese language, but also to understand Chinese culture, conduct research and make valuable friends and connections,” Dickson added. “The Fulbright-Hays represents an amazing opportunity to build on my experiences at Lawrence. I can’t wait to begin my trip.”

Minzu-University_newsblog
Minzu University, Beijing, China

Kuo-ming Sung, associate professor of Chinese and linguistics and one of Dickson’s academic advisors, said she is one of the brightest and hardest working students he has had in his classes.

“What is truly remarkable about Ruby is her creativity and imagination,” said Sung. “She transforms otherwise ordinary sentence patterns and vocabulary into fun-filled dialogues and compositions. Her oral presentations are always enthusiastic and infused with a wonderful sense of humor.”

Following her language program, Dickson will remain in China for several more weeks to complete an internship in the finance department of Deprag Industries, a Germany-based industrial manufacturing company with an office in Beijing.

David Gerard, associate professor of economics, said Dickson came to her economics major late, but has quickly distinguished herself.

“Ruby’s academic excellence is no accident. I call on people randomly and she has consistently demonstrated she had prepared for class and typically has a handle on even the more difficult material. She has very good foresight, is an exceptional planner and certainly does not shy away from academic challenges. Many students will take courses to protect their GPA, but Ruby shows no indication of taking that route. The internship abroad presents a great opportunity for her to operationalize her economics training and her liberal arts education more generally.”

Administered by the U.S. Department of Education, the Fulbright-Hays Group Program Abroad seeks to strengthen foreign language expertise through advanced overseas study and research opportunities and by providing experiences and resources that enabling educators to strengthen their international teaching.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.