Award commemorates Class of 2003 'Angels'

Author: Mattie Gratch

Priscilla Sinclair '07 was chosen out of six nominees to receive the 2005 Angels Award on March 11. The fifth annual Four Angels Award Ceremony celebrates the unforgettable lives and legacies of four Middlebury students from the Class of 2003 - Anisa Gamble, Tiffany Holmes, Iniko Johnson and Marika Prewitt - who were killed in a tragic car accident during the spring of their first year at the College.

This is an award honoring the strength, enthusiasm and leadership the four women of color exemplified during their first year. The Angels Award typically acknowledges sophomore women of color who demonstrate exceptional academic success, maintain distinguished leadership capabilities and embody the spirit of the Four Angels during their first year at Middlebury. It encourages diversity and community service on campus. This year one male student - Amaury Sosa - was among the nominees.

The ceremony began with Leroy Nesbitt, senior advisor of Institutional Diversity, welcoming the nominees. "A period of mourning ends, enabling a period of celebration and good memoriam to begin," he said in his opening statement.

The Four Angels' close friends from the class of 2003, Jan'l Hastings-Robinson and Kristin Weyman - both presently commons residential advisors (CRA) in Cook Commons - remembered their experiences with the Four Angels. Hastings-Robinson recalled the enthusiasm and magnetism of the girls. She touched on Gamble's light-heartedness, Holmes' luminous smile, Johnson's ringing laughter and Prewitt's booming voice screaming "Hey, beautiful!" throughout the halls of Battell.

Weyman expressed her admiration of her four friends by reading a passage from Maya Angelou's "Wouldn't Take Nothing For My Journey Now," which helped her in her time of mourning. This passage enabled Weyman to put her loss into perspective and she is now able to learn and grow from the zest and passion the Four Angels showed her.

The ceremony proceeded with the announcement of the six Angel Award nominees - Sienna Chambers, Kelly Dennis, Sosa, Sue-Jean Chun Christine Etienne and Sinclair - all from the Class of '07 who were nominated for embodying the positive spirit of the Four Angels.

Chambers was commended as a member of the African American Alliance (AAA), a crucial competitor for the Women's Rugby Team and for working to increase diversity on campus.

Dennis is the Model United Nations secretary general and also participates in the Ivy League Native American Organization at Dartmouth College.

Sosa is the president of the Alianza Latinoamericana y Caribena, a post he holds in addition to holding numerous board positions on the AAA. Even during his first year at Middlebury, Sosa proved to be an advanced dancer and choreographer in the RIDDIM World Dance Troupe.

Chun, nominated by an anonymous friend, volunteers to teach faculty children gymnastics with her friends. She is the Butch's Team's head tutor here at Middlebury while sharing her passion to cook and occasionally stepping in as Dolci's head chef.

Etienne remains constantly positive and energetic while juggling the duties of vice presidency of AAA and being an editor of Middlebury's Skin Deep Magazine.

Sinclair, a Neuroscience major, was nominated by friend Jackie Laryea '07. "There are certain people in the world that bring a smile to your face every time you see them," Laryea said. "Priscilla Sinclair is one of those people. To name every individual whose day has been made brighter by Priscilla's carefree nature would be impossible. Middlebury would not be the same without her."

Sinclair is active in a wide array of campus activities such as freshman crew, RIDDIM World Dance Troupe, PALANA resident, AAA participant and Snow Bowl ski timer. She also enjoys working at the Admissions Office.

"I get to give tours, where I get a lot of the 'how diverse is that campus' questions, which are a lot of fun for me to answer," said Sinclair.

The Angels Award Selection Committee is annually comprised of a Cook CRA, the RIDDIM director, AAA president and the Dean of Student Affairs at Middlebury. Last year's Angels Award Recipient, Charzetta Nixon '06, Director of RIDDIM, announced Sinclair as the fifth annual Angels Award winner.

The distinguished yet extremely humble Sinclair described her feelings at the conclusion of the ceremony, "As I sat and listened to the description of the Four Angels, I was amazed! Jan'l Hastings-Robinson and Kristin Weyman captured their absolute joy, spunk, playfulness and individuality. No one noticed, but after I sat down tears welled up in my eyes. I did not believe I deserved this award after all of that," she said.

Faculty and staff were equally involved in the evening's proceedings, many of whom acknowledged that they were affected by the four girl's accomplishments during their brief time at Middlebury.

The Four Angels Awards Ceremony was concluded with Middlebury's own Francois Clemmons singing the traditional hymn, "I Know Who Holds Tomorrow," with piano accompaniment.

Sinclair looks back on her experiences during her first two years at Middlebury and offers the students some personal advice. "I hope that everyone knows that the smallest things can mean the most. Nothing goes unnoticed," she said. "Don't be discouraged, for in the end you know what you've done and so does God. Smile, for that can be the light in the darkest hours."