Students Awarded Grand Hotel Endowed Scholarship

At this year’s Arts Weekend at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, the Grand Hotel Endowed Scholarship for Arts & Letters will be presented to four deserving students and alumni.

Funded by the Musser family, owners of Grand Hotel, the scholarship was created to support MSU College of Arts & Letters students who wish to pursue creative endeavors both inside and outside the classroom. The endowment also rewards students who seek to enhance their lives through creativity.

two actors bent over and smiling at one another, another actor is to the left and making a goofy face
Maxwell Sanders (left) and Sam Carter (center) in “Amour” during Summer Circle Theatre.

The Musser family has had a close relationship with Michigan State University throughout the years. Both Dan Musser III and his father, the late Dan Musser II, have had close ties with MSU’s School of Hospitality Business and the College of Arts & Letters through Amelia Musser, who is the mother of Dan Musser III and widow of Dan Musser II. Amelia Musser served as a member of former College of Arts & Letters Dean John Eadie’s Dean Community Council. This council was responsible for establishing the great tradition of Arts Weekend. Because of Amelia’s love for the arts and writing, the influence of the arts is a major part of Grand Hotel and the Musser family.

The 2018 scholarship recipients include students from the Department of Theatre:

  • Sarah Davis, junior, BFA Acting
  • Daniel James (DJ) Shafer, senior, BFA Acting
  • Sam Carter, sophomore, BFA Acting
  • Maxwell Sanders, graduated Spring 2018, BFA Acting

All four scholarship recipients performed at the Department of Theatre’s Summer Circle Theatre this past month. 

man in a suspenders and nice suit looking into the distance, another actor is on the left holding a black mask and looking out as well
Sarah Davis and DJ Shafer in “Amour” during Summer Circle Theatre.

Recipients Sarah Davis and DJ Shafer will be at the Grand Hotel during Arts Weekend to accept their scholarship and participate in the musical review of An Evening on Broadway.

The 24th annual Arts Weekend at Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island is set for June 29 – July 1. A portion of all Arts Weekend reservation fees are added to the Grand Hotel Endowed Scholarship for Arts & Letters fund.

For more information, visit the Arts Weekend at Grand Hotel web page.