The Cavarretta Award

The Daniel Cavarretta Award

The Daniel Cavarretta Award is an annual award offered by the current Lumen Scholars to a rising junior or senior outside the Lumen program.  

Daniel Cavarretta was a 2019 graduate of Exercise Science and Lumen Scholar. Daniel had a deep commitment to helping people build a sustainable exercise plan and healthy lifestyle habits by focusing on the pleasure of activity. His curricular and co-curricular passions highlighted this commitment including being a founding member of Elon’s Rock Climbing Club, starting his own personal training company, and publishing three papers related to affect and exercise in top journals in the field as an undergraduate. Daniel would want the recipient of this award to not only find and follow their passions, but also be committed to a fair and just world so others have similar opportunities. While his life was too short, his impact and perspective will endure.

 

Description of the Award:

The Daniel Cavarretta award supports undergraduate scholars at Elon University in their intellectual journey, encouraging them to engage in opportunities for scholarly development. The award provides $1000 to support a student in their proposed research, scholarship, or creative project or experience over the course of a single academic year.

One $1000 scholarship will be awarded each spring to a rising junior or senior. This award may be used to support research, scholarship, or creative projects by funding conferences, workshops, research supplies and equipment, scholarly experiences, and other approved expenses. Students of all disciplines are encouraged to apply. The award is not renewable and will only be available for the recipient during the academic year it is awarded.

This award is provided by the Lumen Scholars in honor of alumnus Daniel Cavarretta (‘19). Daniel was a 2017 Lumen Scholar who shared his passion for learning and research with those around him. This award reflects his compassion for others and his fondness for helping others pursue their scholarly interests and shape the world around them.

 

Eligibility:

Applicants for the Cavarretta Award must…

• Be a rising junior or senior
• Be a full-time student during the award period
• Have a cumulative GPA and in-major GPA of 3.30 or higher
• Have a faculty mentor/recommender in support of their proposal

 

Selection Criteria:

The review committee is comprised of selected senior Lumen scholars who will evaluate applications based on the following criteria:

• Applicant demonstrates interests, values, and motivations which align with the proposed project or experience.
• Applicant communicates the benefit or impact of proposed project or experience to their development as a scholar, as well as any benefits to the applicant’s field or discipline and/or the public good.
• Applicant demonstrates need for funding for the proposed project or experience.

In order to encourage equitable support, the committee reserves the right to favor applicants whose work is unsupported by other sources.

 

Previous Recipients:

2022 Emerson Wells ’23 for Creating Food Access in a Food Desert: Introducing Food Pantry Programming to Elon’s Campus

2021 Christina Wyatt ’23 for The Effect of Economic Hardship on the Mental Health of Japanese Women

2020 Meghan Murray ’21 for Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility: The Role of Spiritual Intelligence

 

Application Process:

Applications will open in February each year and are to be submitted via the online portal by 5:00 pm on Friday, April 21st. The applicants will be notified in early May about the review committee’s decision. Funds will be available from June 1st through May 31st the following year.

Full instructions are available here.

The application form and all additional materials are available for downloading using the links to the left. In addition to basic personal information, the application includes several parts:

• Project Title: Clearly communicates the primary focus of scholarly project or experience proposed.
• Project/Experience Description: Provides detailed account of what the proposed project or experience entails; describes how the proposed work benefits the applicant’s intellectual development, as well as any benefits to the applicant’s field or discipline, to others, and/or the public good.
• Personal Statement: Describes the applicant’s intellectual journey thus far, emphasizing questions and experiences that ignited the passion for the proposed scholarly project or experience; demonstrates how this award will enhance and extend their intellectual journey.
• Budget: Briefly outlines how the awarded funds will be allocated for proposed scholarly project or experience.
• Transcript: An unofficial copy of your OnTrack transcript will be used to verify GPA requirements; this will be visible only to the director of the Lumen Prize.
• Letter of Support: Represents the preparation and qualifications the applicant brings to the proposed project or experience, the likelihood of success, and describes any oversight or mentoring which will occur over the award period. To be written by a member of Elon faculty or staff.

In submitting an application, students give consent to the director of the Lumen Prize to verify the student’s GPA and academic standing.

For more information or questions regarding the Daniel Cavarretta Award, please contact Lumen Director Michael Carignan (mcarignan@elon.edu).