Student wins scholarship in support of Classics education
Grand Valley student Jonathan Langerak, from Zeeland, is a
recipient of the 2012 Manson A. Stewart Scholarship, awarded by the
Classical Association of the Middle West and South (CAMWS), an
academic organization that focuses on the study of ancient Greece and Rome.
Langerak studied Latin for two years while enrolled at Covenant
Christian High School, in Walker, and continued with private classes
during the summer. He also enrolled in a Latin class during his first
semester at Grand Valley, where he intended to major in history and
perhaps become a teacher. But that first Latin class led to another
and other courses in the Classics. Now a junior Classics major and
philosophy minor, he intends to pursue pastoral ministries after graduation.
“Two of my uncles attended Grand Valley and highly recommended
it — and its Classics program — to me,” said Langerak. “Both of them
became ministers and impressed on me the value of studying the
classical languages of Greek and Latin, especially Greek, which is the
language of the New Testament.”
The study of Classics, said Langerak, also enables us to see
that the ancients valued knowledge for the sake of knowledge, and
offers an opportunity for us to see how little we know, although we
often think we know a great deal, and how much we can learn. It
stimulates the joy of learning for the inquisitive and serious student.
“I’m a bit old school in that I see the value of education as
something more than a means to make a living,” he said. “I take great
joy in the love of learning and being a good and serious student.
College is a wonderful opportunity to explore many interests and
develop a greater understanding of many different subjects. Grand
Valley’s liberal education approach supports that ideal.”
Stewart Scholarship recipients receive $1,000 to support their
study of the Classics during the 2012-13 academic year. Langerak, the
third Grand Valley Stewart Scholarship recipient since 2009, is one of
six winners announced March 31 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana during the
2012 CAMWS Annual Meeting. CAMWS, founded in 1905, is the largest
regional classical association in North America, covering 32 states
and three Canadian provinces.
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