Tamara Lang, Scholarship Winner — 2011

Tamara Lang is a junior at Westmont College of Santa Barbara, California. She is majoring in English with a minor in biology. She has always had a passion for the English language and counts reading and writing among her hobbies. She feels that her minor in biology also helps her writing, as it affords her an opportunity to approach the task from another disciplinary perspective. Tamara has been on the Dean's List every semester and is active on the speech and debate team, making it as a finalist in the last competition. She wasLast semester, she was awarded the annual Arthur Lynip Scholarship, named for the person who is credited with obtaining C. S. Lewis' wardrobe for the university. This piece of furniture is known to be the inspiration for the portal to another world in Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, part of the Chronicles of Narnia series.

Having lived near the Pacific coast all of her life, she also has a fascination with marine biology. This passion, along with her desire to teach the younger generations, led her to volunteer for the Aquarium of the Pacific while growing up in Long Beach, California. Tamara has been involved in volunteer work since high school and was awarded both the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Award for her work. Although she does not have as much time to volunteer as a college student, she continues to volunteer with homeless populations in her area.

Tamara was a swimmer on her high school swim team. This taught her to be a gracious competitor, and she made lifelong friends in the process. Although she no longer swims for a team, she greatly enjoys ocean swimming. Living near the waters of the Pacific Ocean, she continues to swim in her spare time to stay in shape for her position as a lifeguard. She has been employed as a lifeguard for four years and enjoys the excitement this job provides.

Ideally, Tamara would like to work as a writer while completing coursework to become an English professor. She envisions free-lance creative and non-fiction writing. She hopes to work to reduce her educational debt before entering graduate school. Although she is open to any work, she is considering teaching English abroad.

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