Senior theatre major Melissa Gilbert was nominated for a national design award for her costumes (see note below) from a campus production of “The Rocky Horror Show,” but to present her designs in competition this February, she must finance travel costs to Tennessee.Instead of footing the bill herself, Gilbert tapped into a new grant program at Randolph College called RISE — Randolph’s Innovative Student Experience — which awards up to $2,000 to fund scholarship, research and creative pursuits to students during their junior or senior years. After submitting a proposal, she was awarded $300 to cover travel expenses to the conference.
“It made it a lot more accessible for me, because otherwise it would have been a real big stretch,” she said.
“I think that the school getting behind the students and helping them apply what they learn is fantastic. Often times it is difficult to do that extra research or travel to that conference because of finances.”
Read the rest of this story in the Lynchburg News & Advance > > >
Melissa Gilbert was nominated for a Barbizon Costume Design Award for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival: Region IV in recognition of her costumes for the fall 2009 Randolph College production of The Rocky Horror Show. Gilbert is pursuing a bachelor of fine arts degree in theatre and British literature and will graduate in spring 2010. You can view her design portfolio at her website.
