Claire McDonald, of Delmar, receives fellowship to research work of John Steinbeck, explore his roots

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Claire McDonald, third from left, is pictured with others affiliated with Clark University’s Steinbrecher Fellowship Program.

WORCESTER, MA (07/29/2013)(readMedia)-- Claire S. McDonald, of Delmar, N.Y., is one of nine Clark University undergraduate students who were recently named Steinbrecher Fellows; all will undertake projects this summer and during the 2013-2014 academic year. The Steinbrecher Fellowship Program was established in 2006 to encourage and support Clark undergraduates' pursuit of original ideas, creative research, and community service projects.

McDonald is using the Steinbeck Archives in Salinas, Calif., and the Steinbeck Collection at Stanford University, to study how John Steinbeck developed "Group-Man" Social Theory, and see how it evolved in his novels. Her project is under the guidance of English Professor James (Jay) Elliott.

"Since Steinbeck believed that a human's individual identity could be heavily influenced by his or her natural surroundings, I would be able to see the landscapes that shaped Steinbeck himself if I were to work in Salinas," she wrote in her proposal for funding.

"Claire will be exploring material which in part has heretofore not been accessed, and should be able to make significant contributions to our knowledge of Steinbeck's creative process and how it may apply to issues of poverty and wage inequality today," wrote Jay Elliott, professor and chair of the English Department, in a letter of recommendation for McDonald.

McDonald is blogging at www.steinbeckscalifornia.wordpress.com.

In a blog post dated July 16, McDonald wrote about her interview with a man named Earl Shelton, who lived in Weedpatch Camp during the early 1940s and worked on the farms in Lamont, California.

"I'd always learned about the 1930s and 1940s as a time of poverty and struggle for most Americans, but that a man that was actually living through these hardships had such fond memories of it was pretty incredible," she wrote on her blog. "Shelton admitted that he's lived through hard times, and that his life in Weedpatch was not easy, but he still recalled his life in the government laborer camp as a generally good time in his life. It was so amazing to hear this man's stories; I don't know if I'll ever have an experience like that again, and I'm so thankful to have had the chance to speak with him."

McDonald is a member of the Class of 2014 at Clark. She majors in English, with a concentration in Post-Bellum American Literature. McDonald is a member and co-captain of Clark's Slam Poetry Team. She is the daughter of Lois and David McDonald. McDonald is a 2010 graduate of Bethlehem Central High School.

The Steinbrecher Fellowship Program was established in memory of David C. Steinbrecher, class of '81, by his parents, Phyllis and Stephen Steinbrecher, class of '55, and is funded by generous gifts from the Steinbrecher family and friends of David.

"A record-breaking number of students applied for these important fellowships this year. After carefully reviewing each of them and deliberating on all of them, the Selection Committee chose the nine most outstanding proposals," said Sharon Krefetz, professor of political science and director of the Steinbrecher Fellowship Program. "Each of these Fellows will embark on a project that has the potential to make a significant contribution to the advancement of knowledge in his or her field, or one that can help improve the lives of disadvantaged people living in the U.S. or abroad."

Founded in 1887 in Worcester, Massachusetts, Clark University is a small, liberal arts-based research university addressing social and human imperatives on a global scale. Nationally renowned as a college that changes lives, Clark is emerging as a transformative force in higher education today. LEEP (Liberal Education and Effective Practice) is Clark's pioneering model of education that combines a robust liberal arts curriculum with life-changing world and workplace experiences. Clark's faculty and students work across boundaries to develop solutions to complex challenges in the natural sciences, psychology, geography, management, urban education, Holocaust and genocide studies, environmental studies, and international development and social change. The Clark educational experience embodies the University's motto: Challenge convention. Change our world. 

www.clarku.edu