Aloian Scholars

Amanda Fields ’09, of Lowell House and Vista, California, and John Sheffield ’09, of Pforzheimer House and Fayetteville, North Carolina, are this year’s David Aloian Memorial Scholars. They will be honored at the fall dinner of the Harvard Alumni Association in October. The scholarships, established in 1988 in honor of the late David Aloian, a former HAA executive director and master of Quincy House (1981-86), and his wife, Mary “Mimi” Aloian, are awarded to two seniors who have made unique contributions to their Houses and to undergraduate life.

As an elected sophomore representative and events-committee cochair for the Lowell House committee, Fields has helped organize many social gatherings, including two large formals, alcohol-alternative events, panel discussions, movie screenings, and cultural programs. Besides working on the first-ever off-campus retreat held to help student leaders form an overall vision for the House, she initiated a student survey to better gauge whether current House activities were truly meeting community needs.

Sheffield views House life as “a valuable reprieve from the routine and responsibility of the daily grind,” and has worked hard to ensure that activities at Pforzheimer build informal social ties that promote House cohesion, rather than merely bolster résumés or foster competition. He has been instrumental in organizing many initiatives, including the popular House chili cookoff for the Harvard-Yale tailgate party. He has also served as a floor prefect, attended every House Committee meeting, and presided as PfoHo “War Minister” during an inter-House tournament of the board game Risk.