FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 05/01/2008

Bridgewater Seniors Recognized For Excellence In History

BRIDGEWATER, Va. — Four Bridgewater College students received awards from the department of history and political science at the annual Awards Convocation on April 29.

Four seniors, Lauren Crawford, Justin Knight, Marissa Slaughter and Brant Weller received the Bly-Neal Outstanding Student Award. Named for former Bridgewater College professors Daniel W. Bly assistant professor of history emeritus, and Lamar B. Neal, associate professor of political science and history, emeritus, the award recognizes outstanding performance by a graduating senior.

Crawford, a 2004 graduate of Middletown Senior High School, is the daughter of Craig and Kathy Crawford of Myersville, Md. A history and political science major, Crawford presented a paper, "To a Land They Had Never Known: American Women Serving on the Pacific Islands during World War II," at the Virginia Regional Conference of Phi Alpha Theta at Christopher Newport University.

Knight, a 2004 graduate of Faith Christian School in Roanoke, Va., is the son of Dr. and Mrs. Aubrey Knight of Rockville, Md. At Bridgewater, he is an international studies and Spanish double major.

Slaughter, a 2004 graduate of Warren County High School, is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Slaughter of Front Royal, Va. A history major with a minor in philosophy and religion, Slaughter was also named a George C. Marshall Scholar. The award is given to participants in the Marshall Scholars program directed by the George C. Marshall Foundation at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va.

On March 8, Slaughter received second prize for her paper, "From Affliction to Asphyxiation: How Society Viewed People with Disabilities, 1837-1945," presented at the Virginia Regional Conference of Phi Alpha Theta at Christopher Newport University.

Weller, a 2004 graduate of Turner Ashby High School, is the son of Cindy Moats of Harrisonburg, Va. and Ralph Weller of Grottoes, Va. He is a philosophy and religion and history and political science double major. Weller had an essay, "the European Discovery of External Cultures and Their Effect on European Expansion," published in the Spring 2008 edition of World History Bulletin.

Bridgewater College, a private, four-year liberal arts college, enrolls more than 1,500 students. Founded in 1880 and located in the Central Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, it was the state's first private, coeducational senior college.

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