Whitman graduates Rudi Sarna (’06)and Melissa Kallas (’06) won the Spirit of Maryland awards last month, an honor reserved for two University of Maryland seniors who exemplify leadership, involvement and commitment to activities and schoolwork over the course of their time at Maryland.

The award is essentially the equivalent to the homecoming king and queen award given in high school, as the winners of both honors are announced at the homecoming football game and are based on votes cast by students, Sarna said.   The Spirit of Maryland award is different from homecoming king and queen award in that faculty also have a say in who wins.  Finalists for the Spirit of Maryland award also fill out applications and write essays before they are considered.

Sarna said that he was extremely honored to win the Spirit of Maryland award.

“I was completely shocked when they called my name,” he said.  “For me it was a big deal. It motivated me to continue what I do well on campus.”

Both Sarna and Kallas participate in a wide variety of activities on campus.  They are members of the National Leadership Honors fraternity. Sarna is also chief justice on the Student Government Association’s Governance Board and Kallas is the president of a programming board called Student Entertainment Events.

Sarna said he believes their time at Whitman helped Kallas and him win the award.

“It’s great that our motivation and drive to succeed stemmed from our high school careers, and continued to follow us in college.”