Princeton senior Sarah Vander Ploeg—a Woodrow Wilson School major who also is an accomplished lyric soprano and violist—is one of 37 American college students awarded 2008 Marshall Scholarships.

Marshall Scholarships, established in 1953, are awarded to American students who have demonstrated academic excellence and leadership potential.  The scholarship covers the cost of living and studying at a British university of the recipient's choice for two or three years. Vander Ploeg will use her award to obtain a master's degree in vocal studies at the Royal College of Music in London. She also plans to work on outreach programs with an arts policy group there.

Vander Ploeg, who is from North Haledon, N.J., hopes to become a professional opera performer as well as serve as an advocate for the arts.  A candidate for a certificate in musical performance, she received the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence in 2005 and the Ferris Prize for Journalism, which recognized the best paper in a journalism seminar, in 2006.

A soloist in the Princeton University Chapel Choir, Vander Ploeg also is a member of the Chamber Choir. She has performed many operatic and musical roles, including the title role in Gilbert and Sullivan's "Patience" and a lead role in Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro." She also plays the viola as a member of the Princeton University Orchestra and was one of the winners of its 2007 Concerto Competition. She was the principal viola in last April's world premiere of Prokofiev's "Boris Godunov" on campus and has performed on tours in Portugal and Austria.

During her four years at Princeton, Vander Ploeg has received aid from the John G. Armstrong '03 and Edward M. Armstrong '04 Scholarship, the 1948 Hodes Scholarship, the Philip L. Henderson, Class of 1976, Scholarship, the Dennis J. Keller, Class of 1963, Scholarship, and the John T. Schroeder, Class of 1992, Scholarship Fund.