Senior receives Gates Cambridge Scholarship
Senior Ryan Lash was one of 29 American students recently awarded the Gates Cambridge Scholarship, enabling him to pursue a master’s degree next year at the Univ-ersity of Cambridge.Lash, a medieval studies and anthropology major, is the first Notre Dame student selected for this honor since the program was established by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000.More than 800 U.S. students applied for the highly competitive scholarship in 2009. According to the program’s Web site, scholarships are awarded to students “on the basis of a person’s intellectual ability, leadership capacity and desire to use their knowledge to contribute to society throughout the world by providing service to their communities and applying their talents and knowledge to improve the lives of others.”These scholars must also have exceptional research skills and knowledge of how their research can be applied to global challenges.Lash said he is excited about the opportunity to pursue a master’s degree in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic.“The interdisciplinary program gives me the opportunity to continue studying what I am interested in without having to pick only one particular aspect of my interests,” Lash said. “I will study the language, history and archeology of medieval Britain and Scandinavia.”Lash was encouraged to apply for the highly selective scholarship by several faculty members because of his impressive research skills and academic success.“Ryan has blended his broad interests in the medieval world with specific interests in literature and material culture in sophisticated ways that belie his age and experience,” said Thomas Noble, professor and chair of the History Department and former director of Notre Dame’s Medieval Institute, in a press release. “He combines intelligence, a taste for hard work and a disinterested love of learning and grace.”According to the press release, Lash has fully utilized Notre Dame’s resources that support undergraduate research, field and international study. His projects include archaeological fieldwork at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, travel in Great Britain and Ireland for a research paper on medieval castle architecture in elite identity formation, study of medieval history, literature and archeology in Notre Dame’s Oxford program, as well as an upcoming research project at Bective Abbey in Ireland. As a result of these projects, he has also co-presented research papers at academic conferences in several countries.Lash is quick to credit University advisors for their assistance in the application process.“My faculty advisors were very helpful in encouraging me to think about what I really wanted to do,” he said. “They supported me and dissuaded me from thinking the scholarship was out of reach.”Lash is looking forward to utilizing the many resources of the renowned University of Cambridge and hopes his work will contribute to a better appreciation of the relevance and influence of representations of history.“I admit that medieval studies can’t help humanity in the same way that medical or scientific research might,” he said. “But my work has relevancy and will, I hope, contribute by allowing us to better appreciate the challenges, complexities and consequences of public representations of the past.”
Peter Batley has sold the last remaining Esplanade beach house. Picture: Jerad WilliamsBRISBANE man Jason Hague snapped up the last house on the famous Surfers Paradise Esplanade for a red hot figure of $6.55 million on Saturday.In what could be described as the most competitive bidding war on the Gold Coast, 32 The Esplande lasted a total of 10 minutes before it cracked at auction.Owner Peter Batley converted the apartment block which was four apartments into a seven bedroom, six bathroom home in Surfers Paradise. Peter Batley with his daughter Sabrina Batley, 6. Picture: Jerad WilliamsNine bidders including Chinese buyers, local hotel owners and Brisbane investors battled it out to secure the iconic house on The Esplande.The auction started at $5 million but within 30 seconds of auctioneer, Nigel Long calling for more bids, the price jumped to an eye-watering $5.8 million.Three and a half minutes later the price was at $5.96 million.Video Player is loading.Play VideoPlayNext playlist itemMuteCurrent Time 0:00/Duration 2:00Loaded: 0%Stream Type LIVESeek to live, currently playing liveLIVERemaining Time -2:00 Playback Rate1xChaptersChaptersDescriptionsdescriptions off, selectedCaptionscaptions settings, opens captions settings dialogcaptions off, selectedQuality Levels720p720pHD540p540p360p360p270p270pAutoA, selectedAudio Trackdefault, selectedFullscreenThis is a modal window.Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.TextColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentBackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindowColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaqueFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyProportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsReset restore all settings to the default valuesDoneClose Modal DialogEnd of dialog window.This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.Close Modal DialogThis is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.PlayMuteCurrent Time 0:00/Duration 0:00Loaded: 0%Stream Type LIVESeek to live, currently playing liveLIVERemaining Time -0:00 Playback Rate1xFullscreenHow leverage works02:00Bidder no. four took the lead as the auction was beginning to wrap up and commented that this ‘wasn’t their first rodeo’.A five minute pause saw a buyer from New South Wales up the bid to $6.545 million.Crowds of about 50 people gathered around as bidder no. four and no. twelve went head-to-head until the Brisbane bidder had the final bid, offering $45,000 more.The home is dwarfed by high-rises. Picture: Jerad WilliamsThe winning bidder, Mr Hague had his mind set on buying the property but said he isn’t sure what he will do with it.More from news02:37Purchasers snap up every residence in the $40 million Siarn Palm Beach North5 hours ago02:37International architect Desmond Brooks selling luxury beach villa1 day ago“I have had my eye on it for the past two months and I spend every second weekend or so holidaying on the Coast,” he said.“I’m not sure of the future plans just yet.”Prestige property agents principal Amir Mian marketed the property and said the site garnered a lot of attention from Chinese buyers and big hotel owners.“This block is a perfect opportunity for developers who want to create a boutique development in Surfers Paradise,” Mr Mian said.“No one is really building that boutique style in this part of the Gold Coast, it is mostly high-rises.“A private boutique building would be perfect here.”It was rumoured that a large hotel business would snap up the property.“The hotel who was interested in the block is well established in Surfers Paradise and they have a lot of monopoly here.”The iconic beachfront property owned by former commercial property owner Peter Batley is nestled between the The Sands and Grosvenor towers, a short walk from the 77-level Soul skyscraper and Cavill Mall.Mr Batley bought the Driftwood apartments block four years ago and spent $400,000 on a transformative renovation to turn it into a retro-style house reminiscent of the 60s.The three-level property now features seven bedrooms, six bathrooms and nine car spaces, five with enclosed garaging.Mr Batley said the move to sell was for his six-year-old daughter Sabrina.“My wife Sammi and I want to give her a backyard and a neighbourhood where she will be able to make some friends,” he said.“Sabrina and I play hide-and-seek in the house and we love the beach but the road is very busy and there are a lot of tourists.”On the same block as Cavill Avenue, the one title property spans 433sq m and comes with no height restrictions.