Classics Major Genevieve Menthen wins Harris Visionary Scholarship

Genevieve Menthen has won a James F. Harris Visionary Scholarship for the 2022-23 academic year.

Genevieve Menthen, one of our Classics major, has won a James F. Harris Visionary Scholarship for the 2022-23 academic year. Dean Thornton Dill, in her letter informing Genevieve of her award, wrote: "The review committee was most impressed by your extraordinary record of academic performance, by the strong letter of recommendation, and by your well-written essay."

In her essay, Genevieve was asked to respond to the following quote from Buddha: “The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor, and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation, his love and his religion. To him, he is always doing both.” Genevieve connected the quote to her experience with the pandemic and to recovering socially and academically from three semesters of disconnect and uncertainty; most importantly, she wrote about taking the time to do things that are fulfilling and make life worth living.

Genevieve expressed the following about her award: “I'm honored to have received the James F. Harris Visionary Scholarship from the College of Arts & Humanities. Coming into UMD, I quickly fell in love with the Classics Department and ARHU. I have truly found my home away from home with the department and the college, and I'm honored to serve as the Classics representative on the Dean's Advisory Board, and to work in the ARHU Advising office. I also thoroughly enjoyed my time as the Orientation Advisor for ARHU during the summer of 2020. Thank you so much for this recognition and I hope to continue engaging with the humanities and continue my journey to being a well-rounded global citizen.”