Graduating from college is a standout achievement in anyone’s life. Graduating with a check for $77,000 for artistic promise borders on experiencing life in a parallel universe that bestows unimaginable gifts designed to shock the senses.

That’s what happened to Sophie Foster at Sunday’s Washington College Commencement as she received her diploma and a check for becoming the 2024 recipient of the Sophie Kerr Prize, an award given annually since 1968 to the senior showing “the most ability and promise for future fulfillment in the field of literary endeavor.”

The award is the nation’s largest undergraduate writing prize.

Foster, from Reisterstown, Maryland, found Washington College’s creative writing milieu while attending the Rose O’Neil Literary House summer Cherry Tree Young Writers’ Conference, a weeklong immersion in creative writing workshops, and a glimpse into what the college offers to budding writers.

The poet says that her previous writing experiences in high school were too personally competitive, fracturing any sense of a shared writing community, and she became wary of duplicating that experience in college. At Washington College, she found what she was looking for.

“It has been the honor of my life to come here and be among the impossibly rare community I’ve been granted here,” she said during her acceptance speech Friday night.

Washington College News Service writes, “Lauded by her professors as one of the strongest editors and literary citizens at Washington College, Foster has been praised for her consistent encouragement and support of her fellow writers. An English major minoring in creative writing and journalism, editing and publishing, Foster has been editor-in-chief of the College’s literary magazine, president of the on-campus Writers’ Union, and opinion editor of the school newspaper.”

For more about Sophie Foster, see the Spy article here.    

The Spy caught up with Sophie Foster the day after the award was presented.

This video is approximately five minutes in length.

One critical lesson from the pandemic’s dire years of isolating and monotonous shutdowns was the positive mental health results of reconnecting to the natural world beyond cell phones and computer screens.

This did not go unnoticed by educators, who are already aware of social media’s addictive nature and seeing it compounded by the pandemic. According to Annie E. Casey Foundation research, 95% of teens 13-17 use social media, with 1 in 3 reporting “almost constantly.”

Noticing these trends, Radcliffe Creek School in Chestertown, known for its commitment to environmental education and working with students from kindergarten through 8th grade who have been diagnosed with learning differences, such as dyslexia, ADHD, and other language-based learning difficulties, has announced the launch of a new outdoor education project titled “No Child Left Indoors.” 

Inspired by Richard Louv’s concept of nature-deficit disorder, the “No Child Left Indoors” project aims to ensure every child has meaningful experiences in nature each year. Louv’s book The Last Child in the Woods points out that today’s digital native generation lacks exposure to nature, which he calls “nature-deficit disorder.” He advocates that direct exposure to nature is crucial for healthy childhood development and for the physical and emotional well-being of both children and adults.

“Our purpose is to ensure that every child has a series of meaningful experiences in nature each year at RCS that will help them be better citizens in their communities and better stewards of their environment,” says Head of School Peter Thayer.

With a generous grant from the Robert F. Schumann Foundation, the project aligns with the Foundation’s mission to improve the planet through environmental education. Radcliffe Creek School has a long-standing commitment to educating children about nature and the importance of environmental stewardship.

To implement the project, Radcliffe Creek School has designated Outdoor Education Coordinators for different grade levels. These coordinators work with teachers to plan educational field trips that tie directly to the academic experience. They also ensure that every excursion is safe, engaging, and educational.

Students are encouraged to reflect on their experiences in nature and document them in their Nature Portfolio. This work is cross-curricular, engaging students’ skills in reading, writing, math, science, and social studies.

The spy recently interviewed Head of School Peter Thayer, Discovery Department Head Simone Vagnoni, and Discovery Teacher Amanda Stubbs.

For more about Radcliffe Creek School, go here. 

This video is approximately thirteen minutes in length.

In Thomas Mann’s novel Tristan, one of his characters, said, “A writer is one to whom writing comes harder than to anybody else.” A comic barb, but, as Mann suggested later, it holds some truth.

Readers certainly don’t sense that Laura Oliver struggles with her well-crafted columns appearing each Sunday in the Spy, but that’s the trick of artistic labor: for the final product to read as though it arrives trippingly off the tongue. Oliver writes every day of her life: writes books, articles, stories, lectures about the writing process, and teaches writing at colleges and workshops, and has a popular radio spot on NPR member station WHCP 91.7.

As a graduate of Washington College and the Bennington College MFA program, Oliver has significantly contributed to the writing community. Her book, The Story Within: New Insights and Inspiration for Writers (Penguin Random House), has been hailed by “The Writer Magazine” as one of the best books about the craft of writing. For a decade, it has been a trusted companion for writers seeking fresh perspectives on their writing journey.

On the rare occasion when Oliver is not writing, she plans to write or observes something she will file away to write about. “It’s not a hobby,” she says. And while that sounds strict and Spartan, you would find that in her classes and workshops at St. John’s College and other writing centers, her true default teaching persona is encouraging and helping students find their “story within.”

Don’t miss the chance to engage with Laura Oliver’s insights at noon on April 9 in the Hynson Lounge. She will be part of Washington College’s Academy of Lifelong Learning (WC-ALL) Learn at Lunch programs, discussing “Practical Magic: Change Your Story, Change Your Life.” This is a unique opportunity to learn from a seasoned writer.

And on April 24, Oliver will take to the Stoltz Listening Room stage for the Spy Writers series at the Avalon Theatre for a public reading from her collection.

The Spy recently interviewed Laura Oliver about writers and writing and how the craft of writing has defined her life. For more about Laura, go here.

This video is approximately nine minutes in length. For information and tickets for Laura Oliver’s Spy Night on April 24, please go here.

As some community banks appear more and more on the endangered species list nationally, Bob Altieri points to his staff and Chesapeake Bank and Trust’s personal relationship with the community as the key to its successful role in local banking.

“It’s amazing to me to think that you can have so much impact on the community by gathering deposits and lending the money back out. When eighty to ninety percent of your loans are in Kent County, that’s a pretty exciting thing,” Altieri says.

Altieri, entering his fourth year as President of the bank, strives to make CB and T more about community relations than banking algorithms while offering a nimbler approach to lending and providing other bank services. This local focus can lead to quicker decision-making and more flexibility in lending, benefiting small businesses and individuals who may not qualify for loans from larger institutions.

Altieri sees the current economic climate, resulting from a dozen interest rate increases, as a driving force for increasing their loan portfolio investments in areas not previously engaged.

Still, the industry has unique challenges, with cybersecurity being one of the foremost. While Chesapeake Bank and Trust can work with citizens who have been compromised, Altieri warns that people have to learn and pay attention to the email and phone solicitations they receive.

The Spy recently interviewed Bob Altieri, who discussed the significance of community banking and its positive impact on everyone.

This video is approximately eight minutes in length. For more information about Chesapeake Bank please go here.