When she was at Dartmouth, Amy Naparstek '95 dedicated much of her time to helping the unfortunate. A year after her death, Naparstek's classmates have created a fund to help other students do the same.
Five-hundred dollars donated by members of the Class of 1995 will be awarded to an outstanding member of the Class of 1997 on Class Day Spring term. The remainder of the money, which organizers have been raising since September, will be given to a student active in community service. Contributions now exceed $1,225.
Naparstek was killed Dec. 30, 1995 in a car accident outside Montreal.
Class of 1995 Treasurer Hosea Harvey said Acting Tucker Foundation Dean Jan Tarjan will select the student whose community service is "most in line with what Amy would have done."
Harvey, who met Naparstek during his Dartmouth Outing Club freshman trip, said he felt something should be done in her memory.
"Amy was a wonderfully special person," Harvey said. Her death was "one of those things when there's a big sense of loss and nothing you can really do."
Harvey, working with Kerri Cavanaugh '95, Cristy Nguyen '95 and 1995 Executive Committee President Kaja Schuppert '95, spearheaded the effort to establish the fund.
Harvey said he wanted an award given "in the spirit of community service."
"We wanted to [create an award] for someone doing things that Amy would have done," Harvey said.
Harvey said Naparstek's involvement in community service, both independently and through the College's Jewish student organization and the Tucker Foundation, inspired her classmates to create a memorial fund in her name.
The group spent several months drafting proposals and seeking approval from their class council and Blunt Alumni Center. The final proposal permitted a one-time collection of donations from the Class of 1995, which began this September.
Cavanaugh said Naparstek was her best friend at Dartmouth. She said she would like to see the fund applied towards "someone who is very enthusiastic about helping people who are disadvantaged in some way."
Naparstek "was your all-around Dartmouth girl," Cavanaugh said. "She truly loved Dartmouth. You couldn't get her away from the school, even after she graduated ... Hanover was very special to her."
At the time of her death, Naparstek's family asked that donations be made to the Tucker Foundation in her memory. That money is currently in a Tucker account for use by the Foundation.
Tucker Foundation Fiscal Officer Michael Ricci said plans are underway to create a space in Collis in Naparstek's memory.
The space, which will be designed by her uncle William Harris, will be dedicated to promoting community service.
Naparstek was a magna cum laude graduate of the College. She had planned to attend medical school in the fall of 1996 and was employed as a research scientist at Harvard University.
She was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority, an Academic Skills Center tutor and a senior interviewer for the Admissions Office.
