Dalke will study and compare the effects of river regulation and recreation onthe Zambezi River in Africa and the Buller River in New Zealand. She plans tokayak, canoe and raft both rivers in order to discover the differentcommunities and cultures that each supports and how these contexts haveaffected or ought to affect river management and regulation.
An English concentrator with a minor in biology, Dalke is a Dean's Liststudent and a writing tutor at the Nesbitt-Johnston Writing Center. She was amember of the women's varsity cross country team that competed in the 1995 NCAADivision III national championship in Wisconsin and has served as captain ofthe team her last two years. Last fall, she was named all-academic.
An avid photographer, Dalke expects to use her interest in photographydocumenting her findings during her year abroad. She also enjoys fly fishing,mountain biking, skiing and hiking. Her honor's thesis in English analyzesAnnie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.
The Bristol Fellowship for International Travel was created by the family ofWilliam M. Bristol, Jr., a 1917 Hamilton graduate. It is designed to encouragediscovery of self and the world, to ensure greater appreciation andunderstanding of people and culture, and to enable individuals to act on greatideas through a year-long program of independent study outside the UnitedStates, according to Katheryn Doran, associate professor of philosophy atHamilton and a member of the on-campus selection committee.
"It is through the application process," Doran said, "and then living andlearning abroad for one year that the fellowship hopes to foster the passion inlearning about the world, the self-confidence to develop an idea fully, and theself-reliance to pursue it."
Dalke is the third winner of the fellowship. The inaugural recipient of theaward, Philip Poh, spent a year in Hong Kong creating a cartoon-illustratedaccount of the transition of the British colony to China. His work is atraditional Chinese storytelling form that blends text with detailedillustrations.
The 1997 winner, Victor Rodriquez, has spent the year studying the roots andthe steps of the Brazilian martial art dance form called the Capoeira. TheCapoeira has its roots in African slave culture and is a very athletic, highlyformalized martial arts dance performed to music. Rodriquez has pursued thedance's roots in Brazil and in the Caribbean.
Fellowship winners receive a grant to support themselves for a year abroadstudying an area of special interest. Proposals are reviewed by a committeeand are judged on the spirit of inquisitiveness and the potential for adventurethat they demonstrate.
William Bristol, Jr. was the son of a founder of the Bristol-Myers SquibbCompany. He worked for 40 years for the company, heading the internationaldivision at the time of his retirement.
Mr. Bristol was also a great friend of Hamilton, serving on the Board ofTrustees and as president of the Alumni Association. Through his work atBristol-Myers and into retirement, Mr. Bristol traveled widely and believedstrongly in the importance of learning languages and experiencing differentcultures. The Fellowship is a living tribute to that spirit, Doran said.
Hamilton is a highly selective, residential college that offers its 1,650students a rigorous liberal arts curriculum. It is the third oldest college inNew York State and is named in honor of U.S. statesman Alexander Hamilton, acharter trustee of the college's predecessor, the Hamilton-Oneida Academy.
