WASHINGTON COLLEGE (MD) SENIOR Timothy Marcin has got his act together. The four-season starter in soccer recently took home his school’s Sophie Kerr Prize: $61,192.
The co-captain of his soccer team for two years in a row Marcin showed he’s more than just fancy footwork. He was honored with the largest undergraduate literary prize in the country for his portfolio of poetry and creative nonfiction.
Marcin’s 42-page portfolio included a wide range of topics: his account of being in Boston during the marathon bombing’s aftermath a slice of life from his time as a counselor at Delaware’s Camp Quoowant the music of Bob Dylan teen romance and musings on his father’s coat and the stitches on a baseball.
It was no surprise when Marcin’s name was called. After all the Phi Beta Kappa had already earned the 2013 Alfred Reddish Award as the male athlete with the highest GPA as well as had become the first student ever to win both the Veryan Beacham Prize (for writing about vital issues in public life) and the William Warner Prize (for writing about nature and the environment).
Marcin is hardly new to writing. He was the editor of the college’s campus newspaper his senior year and an intern for Comcast SportsNet’s website last summer. With a degree in English and minors in creative writing and business management Marcin is headed to Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism to earn a master’s degree. The 22-year-old hopes to become a sports journalist.
Since 1968 the Sophie Kerr Prize has been given to the Washington College senior who demonstrates the greatest literary ability and promise. The money which came thanks to an endowment from its namesake has provided writers with more than $1.5 million since its inaugural year. Amounts have ranged from 1968’s $9,000 prize to 2009’s whopping $69,000 prize. Winners have gone on to publish their work and establish careers as writers editors teachers and marketing professionals.
Marcin says he tried to make himself think that he wasn’t going to win (assumedly to avoid letdown if he lost). After his name was announced Marcin was asked what he planned to do with the money. Because he had convinced himself he wasn’t going to win he hadn’t given it much thought. “I have no idea what I’m going to do with the money” he said “but I guess that’s a nice problem to have.”
To learn more about the Sophie Kerr Award visit www.washcoll.edu/departments/english/sophie-kerr-legacy.
