Former Dartmouth Outing Club President Ben Berk '00 was awarded the Ranny B. Cardozo Award as the outstanding member of the junior class in the Zimmerman Lounge in Blunt Alumni Center yesterday afternoon.
The Cardozo Award is given annually to the outstanding member of the junior class who most exemplifies Cardozo's academic enthusiasm, genuine concern for his fellow classmates, and energetic participation in campus and community activities.
About 20 people, including his friends and professors, greeted Berk who was not aware he would receive the recognition. Berk was unusually wordless as he accepted the award.
"I feel very privileged to have the opportunity to participate in all the activities I've done," Berk said.
Berk was honored with the award because of his many activities on campus. The former DOC president was also an Undergraduate Advisor during his sophomore year and has also been active in the 2000 Class Council, Leadership Discovery Program and the Aegis.
Despite all these organizations he has participated in, Berk said none of them stands out in his memory as most important.
"I don't focus on one opportunity," he said.
Last year's Cardozo award recipient, Kyle Roderick '99, headed a selection committee that chose Berk. The committee consists of seniors from different campus organizations.
"There are so many great members of Class of 2000 and it was really hard to pick one," Roderick said.
The committee chose Berk after two months of selection process. "We felt that Ben lived up to the spirit of the award and we are very comfortable with our decision."
Looking at his friends who came to Blunt to greet him, Berk said, "I'm so happy to see all my friends all at once. It hardly ever happens."
Berk is from Rockland County, New York. He majors in the self-created Information Age Studies. This summer, Berk will be working for an education technology think tank in Boston.
The award was established by the parents and classmates of Cardozo, who died in October 1976.
