She is arguably the single busiest student on this campus. Do you have a question about the latest in current affairs? Curious about the person speaking at The Rockefeller Center tonight? Need an idea about how to get involved with community service on campus?
Ask Ritika Nandkeolyar '01. She was just announced as the recipient of this year's Ranny B. Cardozo Award, an honor given annually to the most outstanding member of the junior class.
Nandkeolyar, a news editor for The Dartmouth, was nominated by solicited members of the Class of 2000, faculty members and administrators, and a committee made up of senior leaders from several different campus organizations.
"The committee was frankly blown away by Nandkeolyar's involvement with the Dartmouth community and beyond," a press release announced yesterday.
The committee -- headed by Ben Berk '00, last year's recipient -- selects a member of the junior class who exemplifies Ranny Cardozo's dedication to his classmates and to his own activities, both on and off campus.
Beyond her work at The Dartmouth, Nandkeolyar is the chair of Amnesty International at Dartmouth, as well as the intern for the Agora Center, an organization which spearheads international debate on campus.
Nandkeolyar "demonstrate(s) great dedication and creativity" in her service work, said the committee, pointing especially to her work in creating The Photo Community Project -- which brings the Upper Valley community to Dartmouth -- and to her four-year tenure as the Dartmouth Community Services Assistant.
She has also volunteered at the Kendall Community Garden.
A devoted member of Milan and a dancer for the Gumboot Dance Troupe, government major Nandkeolyar hails from Toronto, Canada.
This term however, she is in Saltsberg, Austria, working with the Saltsberg International Committee.
Her activities there are proof positive of her "energy ... and commitment to international programming and intellectual discussion," the committee said.
The award was established by the parents and classmates of Cardozo, who died in 1976.
