Classics student Molly Daunt has been named as a recipient of the Daniel M Sachs Class of 1960 Graduating Scholarship. Molly, who is in her final year at Worcester College, will be a visiting student in the Graduate School at Princeton University, studying classics with a particular interest in the ancient world.

The scholarship was established by classmates and friends of Daniel Sachs, a distinguished Princeton student athlete, who attended Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Sachs died of cancer at age 28 in 1967. The award goes to those who best exemplify Sachs’ character, intelligence and commitment, and whose scholarship is most likely to benefit the public.

Molly said: ‘I’m excited to begin studying at Princeton, especially the prospect of spending the coming year in the United States. I want to take a range of courses, pairing my interests in ancient literature and history with courses in anthropology and politics.’

She has significant experience on archaeological digs in Turkey and Sicily, where she was involved in the discovery of a Temple of Apollo. A winner of a Krasis Scholarship, she has worked in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and she hopes to pursue a career in the curation and direction of museums.

Senior Tutor and Tutor in Classics at Worcester, Dr Scott Scullion, said: ‘As a student of the ancient world, Molly Daunt stands out for her sharp intelligence, originality and independent-mindedness, and also for her exceptional breadth.

‘She is an outstanding student of material culture with extensive experience of archaeological excavation; her acquaintance with ancient history, including periods less familiar to most undergraduates, is impressive; and she is an acute and subtle reader and interpreter of literary texts. Such well-roundedness is rare and admirable, and bodes well for her success as a graduate student in classics.’

Molly has served in crisis centres in Nairobi, Kenya, and Durban, South Africa. She has also trekked solo through parts of Africa and the Middle East. She also plays on the Oxford University Tennis Team and is captain of the Worcester Tennis Team.

Dr Scullion said she is an excellent fit for the scholarship as she is ‘a concerned and active citizen of the world, and remains deeply committed to supporting and working with the programmes she has been involved with’.