RELEASED: June 11, 2009

DANVILLE, KY—Laura Behrendt '09, a sociology major, was first runner-up out of 20 entries in the Presbyterian Outlook Church-College Partnership essay competition. The award invites graduating seniors to reflect on how their "education at a PC(USA)-related college has prepared them for significant service and leadership."

The writer of the winning essay is awarded $1,000 and the first runner-up receives $200. Both get published in the "Outlook Guide to PC(USA) Colleges," which will be published this coming September.

“Laura has always exemplified the cheerfulness and openness to the world that we prize,” says Dr. Beau Weston, Van Winkle Professor of Sociology. “I’m glad that Centre, and Centre's Presbyterian heritage, have been a help to her in her education.”

The Presbyterian Outlook Church-College Partnership Award celebrates and brings focus to the longstanding partnership between the local churches, the denomination as a whole, and the schools of higher education that were formed to shape the lives of young adults.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.