Endowment bequest benefits young writers

Beginning in Fall, 2009, and every two years thereafter, a young artist will enter The Writing House at Interlochen as the guest of the late Trustee Emeritus Virginia Beall Ball.

Ball, who passed away in 2003, passed on her love of the arts and her devotion to Interlochen's educational community by endowing a pre-existing biennial creative writing competition that provides substantial scholarship support for the winner to attend Interlochen Arts Academy as a creative writing major.

The competition's most recent winner, Sara Steinhouse, entered the Academy’s creative writing contest after learning about it through a college fair near her home in Pennsylvania. “My mom said if I won I could attend the Academy,” Steinhouse said. Eventually she received a phone call from Interlochen, congratulating her on having won the scholarship. “I was so excited for the opportunity,” Steinhouse said. “It was like I was taking control of my life and that felt very good.”

Although Steinhouse’s old high school encouraged her writing endeavors, it was nothing like the Academy. “The creative writing program at Interlochen is academically as well as artistically focused,” said Steinhouse. “I love the smaller classes because they allow for discussion, and the daily workshops help us really dig into the language and find out what makes our writing work.”

The Virginia B. Ball Creative Writing Competition bears the name of a remarkable philanthropist. Known for her many and varied interests---including the arts, aviation, business, higher education, historic preservation, the humanities, and conservation---Ball was a longtime Interlochen supporter. She attended the Camp's University Division in 1941, playing cornet in both orchestra and band. She later served on Interlochen's Alumni Board, and was elected a Trustee in 1989; Ball was named Trustee Emeritus in 2000.

The winner of the 2009 Virgina B. Ball Creative Writing Competition will enroll at the Academy in the fall, embarking on a writing life of which every page could be considered a kind of thank-you note to the Edmund E. and Virginia B. Ball Foundation.