Around the Institute

FRIDAY FACES: Founding Henry Crown Fellow Executive Director Awards Scholarship in His Name

February 28, 2014  • Sarai Johnson, Guest Blogger

[[nid:15464]]

Friends, students, and colleagues of Keith Berwick, the founding executive director of the Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellowship, recently honored the four-time Emmy winning television broadcaster’s leadership and service by creating a scholarship in his name. Berwick celebrated his 85th birthday by presenting John Edward Wirges, a junior at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, with the inaugural Keith Berwick Endowed Scholarship for Enlightened Leadership. The scholarship is given to a student at Hampden-Sydney College who best portrays the character, leadership, empathy, wisdom, and commitment to service that Berwick has displayed throughout his career. 

Berwick reminisced about his own experience as the first Albert Kunstadter Fellow. “I was thrilled at the opportunity to meet Mr. Kunstadter, a self-made man who had grown up in the shadow of the factory that he later owned and was the basis of his family’s fortune,” Berwick said. “Little did I imagine that one day I would be the recipient of such an honor and would have the opportunity to meet the first Keith Berwick Scholar: John Wirges, an Eagle Scout and Hampden-Sydney junior who is already making his mark in this world.” 

Wirges, who is majoring in foreign affairs with minors in rhetoric, military leadership, and national security received the scholarship because of his diverse involvement in campus activities. His activities include, but are not limited to, serving as an Eagle Scout, a member of the ROTC and the President’s Leadership Council, and the general manager of the Hampden-Sydney student-run radio station.

Hampden-Sydney President Christopher Howard, who was a member of the 1998 class of Henry Crown Fellows, remarked on how well-suited Wirges is for the scholarship. “John is a worthy recipient of this scholarship which honors my friend and mentor, Keith Berwick. John is one of Hampden-Sydney’s finest and will bring honor to Keith as he has to the College,” Howard said.