Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 25, 1992 TAG: 9203250161
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER
DATELINE: EMORY LENGTH: Medium
The Pulaski County High School graduate is a winner, in national competition sponsored by the University of Tennessee, of one of the university's 1992 Hilton Smith Awards.
These awards are given annually to the 25 best students among more than 6,800.
Lafon will get $11,000 in scholarship, fee and stipend funds as a Tennessee graduate student for 1992-93.
He also received the 1992 Merle C. Prunty Award, given annually to the best undergraduate geography student in an eight-state region.
The award is sponsored by the Southeastern Division of the American Association of Geographers.
Lafon, who is to graduate from Emory & Henry in May, has maintained an almost-perfect 3.99 grade point average. He slipped and made one A-minus.
Lafon plans to complete a doctorate in geography, his major at Emory & Henry.
An enthusiastic camper and hiker, he hopes to combine his academic and personal interests by specializing in a study of the distribution of plants and animals or of land forms.
"Charles is one of the brightest students I've ever known, but that is not the only thing that makes him a joy to teach," said John Morgan, Emory & Henry geography department chairman.
"He simply enjoys learning and gets excited about virtually every subject."
Lafon's fellow students have elected him president of the Alpha Phi Omega national service fraternity, the largest student group on campus.
He is vice president of Sigma Mu Scholastic Society and president of Gamma Theta Upsilon, a geography honor society reactivated on campus this year.
Lafon, a Pulaski native, credits his parents, Wilber and Pearl Lafon, with his success.
"They have always put me and my brother first in their lives," he said, "taking the time to read to us, play with us and show us that we matter. That concern provided the foundation for my learning and my motivation."
by CNB