Prizes & Awards 2015
The following prizes were awarded at the Ivy Day Awards Convocation, May 16, 2015.
Alumnae Association
The Nancy Cook Steeper ’59 Prize to a senior who, through involvement with the Alumnae Association, has made a significant contribution to building connections between Smith alumnae and current students to Paige Christie ’15
American Studies
The Newton Arvin Prize in American Studies for the best long paper in the introductory course on the Study of American Society and Culture to Hattie Schapiro ’18
The Gladys Lampert ’28 and Edward Beenstock Prize to a student who excels in either American studies or American history to Ana Darrow ’15
The Eleanor Flexner Prize for the best piece of work by a Smith undergraduate using the Sophia Smith Collection and the Smith Archives to Sarah Orsak ’16
The Nancy Boyd Gardner Prize for an outstanding paper or other project in American studies by a Smithsonian intern or American studies major to Magdalena Hoot ’16
The Donald H. Sheehan Memorial Prize for outstanding work in American studies to Tess Frydman ’15
Anthropology
The Samuel Bowles Prize for the best paper on an anthropological subject to Brittany Chan ’15
Art
The Megan Hart Jones Studio Art Prize for judged work in drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, graphic arts or architecture to Victoria Schein ’16
The Phyllis Williams Lehmann Travel Award to a graduating senior majoring in art, with preference given to students interested in studying art history, especially classical art, at the graduate level to Nyati Dave ’15, Gavriella Levy Haskell ’15 and Jiete Li ’15
The Elizabeth Killian Roberts Prize for the best drawing by an undergraduate to Victoria Schein ’16
The Enid Silver Winslow ’54 Prize in Art History for the best student paper written in an art history course taught at Smith to Sara Ottoman ’15 and Irena Wight ’15
Museum of Art
The Tryon Prize for Writing to a Smith student for outstanding work in any written form that examines art or ideas associated with the museum to: First Prize—Candace Kang ’15; Honorable Mention—Molly Grover AC ’15 and Emma Mooney ’16
The Tryon Prize for Art to a Smith student for installation, performance, video, sound, digital, internet and interactive art of a high level of artistic expression and presentation: First Prize— Freda Epum ’15; Second Prize—Diana Mutino ’15; Honorable Mention—Laura Li ’17
Astronomy
The Mary Dailey Irvine Prize to a graduating senior from one of the Five Colleges for a thesis or research paper on an astronomical or astrophysical topic to Wanda Feng ’15
Athletics
The Sarah Winter Pokora Prize to a senior who has excelled in athletics and academics to Jordan Dubin ’15, Lauren Weston ’15 and Jacqueline Zhou ’15
Biological Sciences
The Margaret Wemple Brigham Prize to a senior for excellence in the study of microbiology or immunology to Jessica Andrade ’15, Katharine Brien ’15, Laila Phillips ’15, Gemma Regan-Mochrie ’15, Marie-Jacques Seignon ’15, Krithika Venkataraman ’15 and Cameah Wood ’15
The Amey Randall Brown Prize in Botany to Kyle Boyd ’15, Samantha Danguilan ’15 and Michelle Jackson ’15
The Esther Carpenter Biology Prize in general biology to a first-year woman graduate student to Caroline Keroack GR and Alysha Putnam GR
The Harriet R. Foote Memorial Prize for outstanding work in botany based on a paper, course work or other contribution to the plant sciences at Smith to Madeline Franz ’15
Buddhist Studies Concentration
The Subul Sunim Prize for the best academic paper written by a Smith or Five College undergraduate for a class taken at Smith on a subject in the field of Buddhist studies to Jamie Samdahl ’15
Helen Hills Hills Chapel
The Mollie Rogers/Newman Association Prize to a student who has demonstrated a dedication to humanity and a clear vision for translating that dedication into service that fosters peace and justice among people of diverse cultures to Jessica Fries ’15 and Madeleine Lifsey ’15
The Deborah Sosland-Edelman Prize to a senior for outstanding leadership in the Jewish community at Smith and valuable contribution to Smith College campus life to Leah Balay-Wilson ’15, Kayla Blum ’15 and Lily Ritter ’15
Chemistry
The American Chemical Society Analytical Chemistry Award to a chemistry major who has excelled in analytical chemistry to Claire Keller ’16
The American Chemical Society Award in Inorganic Chemistry to a chemistry major for excellence in inorganic chemistry and to encourage further study in the field to Rebecca Gerdes ’15
The American Chemical Society Division of Organic Chemistry Award in Organic Chemistry to Zulema Peralta ’15
The American Chemical Society/ Polymer Education Division Organic Chemistry Award to Katherine Blackford ’17
The Connecticut Valley Section of the American Chemical Society Award to a student who has done outstanding work in chemistry, biochemistry or chemical engineering to Drew Colman ’15 and Lindsay Roth ’15
The American Institute of Chemists/New England Division Prize to an outstanding chemist, biochemist or chemical engineer in the graduating class to Jay Ramsey Barbor ’15
The C. Pauline Burt Prize to a senior majoring in chemistry or biochemistry who has shown high potential for further study in science to Drew Colman ’15, Mojdeh Mostafavi ’15 and Diana Sandmeyer ’15
The CRC Press Introductory Chemistry Achievement Award in introductory chemistry to Maya Domeshek ’18, Laura Rosenbauer ’18, Maya Salvio ’18 and Xingyu Zou ’18
The Hause-Scheffer Memorial Prize to a senior majoring in chemistry with the best record in that subject to Rebecca Gerdes ’15 and Shimu Liu ’15
The Hellman Award in Biochemistry for outstanding achievement in the second semester of biochemistry to Haolin Li ’15
The Rosenfeld Award in Organic Chemistry for excellence in the first semester of organic chemistry to Alexandra Maryashina ’17 and Youyou Tian ’17
Classics
The John Everett Brady Prize for excellence in translation of Latin at sight to Chloe Bollentin ’15 and Rebecca Gerdes ’15; and for the best performance in the beginning Latin course to Loujun Dong ’17
The Alice Hubbard Derby Prize to a member of the junior or senior class for excellence in translation of Greek at sight to Margaret Wack ’15; and for excellence in the study of Greek literature in the year in which the award is made to Rebecca Gerdes ’15
The George E. Dimock Prize for the best essay on a classical subject to Erin Pratt ’17
Center for Community Collaboration
The Kathleen Bostwick Boyden Prize to a member of the Service Organizations of Smith demonstrating initiative in her volunteer contributions to the community to Kelly Francis ’15 and Kimberly Kupinski ’15
The Rita Wilkins Award to a senior who has volunteered all four years with a Community Service Organization community partner and who has demonstrated significant leadership and commitment to community service to Christina Vergara ’15
Computer Science
The Bert Mendelson Prize for excellence in the computer science major to a senior to Julia Edwards ’15, Gavriella Levy Haskell ’15 and Naomi Long ’15; and for excellence in computer science to a sophomore to Marina Cheng ’17
Office of the Dean of the College
The Arthur Ellis Hamm Prize awarded on the basis of the best first-year student’s record to Eleanor Adachi ’17, Katherine Blackford ’17, Allyson Ciccarone ’17, Gabriela Espana ’17, Christine Hamilton ’17, Sara Kacmoli ’17, Ana Ledgerwood ’17, Lingxuan Li ’17 and Crystal Ong ’17
The Barbara Jordan Prize for the Study of Law and Public Policy to a senior or an alumna to Glendean Hamilton ’13 and Ashley Lawrence ’09
The Samuel Michelman Prize to a senior from Northampton or Hatfield with a distinguished academic record and who has contributed to the life of the college to Lauren Weston ’15
The Juliet Evans Nelson Award to graduating seniors for their contributions to the Smith community and demonstrated commitment to campus life to Julia Edwards ’15 and Molly Grover AC ’15
The Victoria L. Schrager Prize to a senior who has maintained a distinguished academic record and has also taken an important part in student activities to Dannia Guzman ’15, Monica Muñoz ’15J and Madeleine Lifsey ’15
The Ruth Dietrich Tuttle Prize to encourage further study, travel or research in the areas of international relations, race relations or peace studies to Afreen Gandhi ’15
Debate Society
The Andrew C. Slater Prize for excellence in debate to Holly Carabbio ’18; for most improved debater to Catherine Etienne ’18; and for distinguished service to the team to Sushmitha Ram ’18
East Asian Languages and Literatures
The Ettie Chin Hong ’36 Prize to a senior major or minor in East Asian languages and literatures with special consideration given to those who have demonstrated leadership and high academic achievement and who seek to pursue a career in education and/or service to immigrant and needy communities to Sophia Brotherton ’15, Yun Ni ’15 and Hian Kek Yeo ’15
Program in East Asian Studies
The Mary Maples Dunn Prize, awarded for an essay written in a regular course in the Program in East Asian Studies, to Lauren Kauffman ’15
Economics
The Samuel Bowles Prize for the best thesis on an economics subject to Noor Sethi ’15
The Sidney S. Cohen Prize for outstanding work in the field of economics to Syedah Ahmed ’15, Wai Leng Leong ’15, Shamael Mahmood ’15 and Jacqueline Zhou ’15
The Larry C. Selgelid Memorial Prize for the greatest contribution to the Department of Economics by a Smith senior to Eve Farber ’15, Yolana Pollak ’15 and Laura Wolfe ’15
Engineering
The Ford Motor Company Prize for Sustainability to a student who has distinguished herself for her work in support of a sustainable environment to Emily Dixon ’15 and Maya Kutz ’15
The Nancy Hellman Prize to the Smith engineering student who has made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of women in engineering to Melinda Pontes ’15 and Essence White ’15
The Adeline Devor Penberthy, Class of 1945, Memorial Prize to an undergraduate engineering major for academic excellence in engineering and outstanding contributions toward building a community of learners within the Picker Engineering Program to Alison Grady ’15 and Lauren Weston ’15
English
The Elizabeth Babcock Poetry Prize for the best group of poems to Taylor Marks ’15
The Anne Bradstreet Prize from the Academy of American Poets for the best poem or group of poems submitted by an undergraduate to Jamie Samdahl ’15
The Eleanor Cederstrom Prize for the best poem by an undergraduate written in the traditional verse form to Madison Chafin ’17J
The Ethel Olin Corbin Prize to an undergraduate for the best original poem or informal essay in English to Gabrielle Wolinsky ’16
The Elizabeth Drew Prize for the best honors thesis to Shalimi Abayasekara ’15 and Josephpina Lee ’15; for the best fiction to Heather Rick AC; for the best critical essay to Gavriella Levy Haskell ’15; and for the best first-year essay to Brittany Collins ’18 and Sage Walund ’18
The Ruth Forbes Eliot Poetry Prize for the best poem submitted by a first-year student or sophomore to Riley Boeth ’17
The Clara French Prize to a senior who has advanced furthest in the study of English language and literature to Ivy Croteau ’15 and Elisabeth Makishima ’15
The Helen Kate Furness Prize for the best essay on a Shakespearean theme to Mia Ruf ’15J
The Elizabeth Wanning Harries Prize to a graduating Ada Comstock Scholar for academic distinction and demonstrated commitment to the study of literature in any language to Ingrid Brioso-Rieumont AC ’15
The Vernon Harward Prize to the best student scholar of Chaucer to Gwendolyn Baltera ’16 and Hannah Bernhard ’16J
The James T. and Ellen M. Hatfield Memorial Prize for the best short story by a senior majoring in English to Mary Hill ’15
The Mary Augusta Jordan Prize to a senior for the most original piece of literary work in prose or verse to Hannah Young ’15
The Norma M. Leas, Class of 1939, Memorial Prize to a graduating English major for excellence in written English to Grace Kim ’15, Amanda Tornatore ’15J and Margaret Wack ’15
The Emogene Mahoney Memorial Prize for the best essay on a literary subject written by a first-year student to Emily Farquhar ’18 and Emma Pacchiana ’18
The Elizabeth Montagu Prize for the best essay on a literary subject concerning women to Tanvi Kapoor ’17J
The Gertrude Posner Spencer Prize for excellence in writing fiction to Ruth Allard AC; and for excellence in writing nonfiction prose to Ruth Allard AC and Melissa Hoffman AC
The Rosemary Thomas Poetry Prize for the best group of poems to Hannah Bernhard ’16J and Stefana Breitwieser ’15
French
The Césaire Prize for excellence in an essay or other project in French by a junior or a senior on campus to Kristen De Lancey ’15 and Grace Kim ’15
Ruth Alpern Leipziger Prize to an outstanding French major participating in the Smith Junior Year Abroad Program in Paris to Isabelle Galdone ’16, Yvonne Ho ’16, Celine Rosak ’16, Yinan Song ’16, Kathryn Wells ’16 and Tiejin Zhang ’16
The Josephine Ott Prize to a junior participating in the Smith Junior Year Abroad Program in Paris or Geneva for her commitment to the French language and European civilization to Catherine Ellsberg ’16, Zhiting He ’16, Rui Huang ’16, Arcadia Kratkiewicz ’16, Meredith Shanoski ’16, Madison Tierney ’16 and Ke Zhang ’16
The Rousseau Prize for academic excellence to a Smith or non-Smith student participating in the Smith Junior Year Abroad Program in Geneva to Elise Smith ’16
The Voltaire Prize to a first-year student or a sophomore for an essay or other project in French that shows originality and engagement with her subject to Eunjung Choi ’17 and Yu Zhang ’17
Geosciences
The Mineralogical Society of America Undergraduate Award for excellence in the field of mineralogy to Clémentine Hamelin ’15
The Marshall Schalk Prize in the Department of Geosciences for achievements in geological research to Kelsey Moore ’15
German
The Anita Luria Ascher Memorial Prize to a senior major who started German at Smith, taken it for four years and made unusual progress to Nianhezi Liu ’15 and Irena Wight ’15; and to a student who knew some German when she arrived and whose progress in four years has been considerable to Chloe Vaughn ’15
Government
The Dawes Prize for the best undergraduate work on political science to Mercer Gary ’15
History
The Vera Lee Brown Prize for excellence in history to a senior majoring in history in regular course to Elaine Kuoch ’15
The Merle Curti Prize for the best piece of writing on any aspect of American civilization to Tanvi Kapoor ’17J
The Hazel L. Edgerly Prize to a senior honors history student for distinguished work in that subject to Chloe Vaughn ’15
The Thomas Corwin Mendenhall Prize for an essay evolving from any history course, excluding special studies, seminars and honors long papers, to Catherine Bradley ’17
Italian
The Michele Cantarella Memorial “Dante Prize” to a Smith College senior for the best essay in Italian on any aspect of The Divine Comedy to Emily Biffis ’15 and Carolina Martinez Orozco ’15
The Anacleta C. Vezzetti Prize to a senior for the best piece of writing in Italian on any aspect of the culture of Italy to Viviana Aluia ’15 and Caitlyn Levine ’15
Jewish Studies
The Sidney Balman Prize for outstanding work in the Jewish Studies Program to Christine Roth ’15 and Suri Roth-Katz ’15
Landscape Studies
The Susan Cohen ’62 and Paula Deitz ’59 Prize in Landscape Studies for excellence in a thesis, paper or project that examines the science, design or culture of the built environment to Claire Horne ’17, Emily Kim ’15, Eve Pan ’15 and Laura Thurber ’16
Mathematics
The Suzan Rose Benedict Prize to a sophomore for excellence in mathematics to Ana Martinez ’17 and He Yun ’17
The Ann Kirsten Pokora Prize to a senior with a distinguished academic record in mathematics to Sara Stoudt ’15
Office of Multicultural Affairs
The Unity Award of the Office of Multicultural Affairs to the student who has made an outstanding contribution toward promoting diversity and multiculturalism in the Smith College community to Milanes Morejon ’15 and Monica Muñoz ’15J
Music
The Margaret Collins Stoop Adesso Prize for the best new choral work composed by a Smith student to Yunzhu Chen ’16
The Harriet Dey Barnum Prize for outstanding work in music to the best all-around student of music in the senior class to Anna Hirschi ’15
The Carlile Prize for the best original composition or transcription for carillon to Noah Blohm ’16
The Constance Kambour Edwards Prize to the student who has shown the most progress in organ to Bella Chou ’18
The Settie Lehman Fatman Prize for the best composition in music in small form to Joanna Giordano ’16 and Anna Hirschi ’15
The Heidi Fiore Prize to a senior student of singing to Anna Hirschi ’15
The Ida Deck Haigh Memorial Prize for distinguished achievement in piano to Jody Lee ’15
The Sarah Hamilton Memorial Prize for the best essay on music to Anna Hirschi ’15
The Emogene Mahony Memorial Prize for proficiency at the organ to Laura Rosenbauer ’18
The Judith Raskin Memorial Prize for the outstanding senior voice student to Patricia Kopko ’15
The Ernst Wallfisch Prize to a student of music for outstanding talent, commitment and diligence to Patricia Kopko ’15
Philosophy
The Florence Corliss Lamont Prize for excellent work in philosophy to Yiqian Wang ’15
The John S. Mekeel Memorial Prize to a senior for outstanding work in philosophy to Jana Chan ’15, Paige Christie ’15, Madeleine Lifsey ’15 and Yiqian Wang ’15
Physics
The Adelaide W. Bull Paganelli ’30 Prize for outstanding work in physics and high potential for further study to Isabel Lipartito ’15, Danika Luntz-Martin ’15, Elizabeth Mulder ’15 and Frances Yang ’15
The Frank A. Waterman Prize to a senior for excellent work in physics to Isabel Lipartito ’15 and Danika Luntz-Martin ’15
Psychology
The William Sentman Taylor Prize for significant work in human values, a quest for truth, beauty and goodness in the arts and sciences to Elizabeth Atkins ’15 and Lucy-Lynn Graves ’15
Religion
The James Gardner Buttrick Prize for the best essay in the field of religion and biblical literature to Emma De Lisle ’15 and Krithika Venkataraman ’15
Russian
The Department of Russian Prize for the best work in Russian literature by a senior majoring in Russian to Chloe Jones ’15
Sociology
The Samuel Bowles Prize for the best paper on a sociological subject to Molly Grover AC ’15
The Arthur Shattuck Parsons Memorial Prize to the student with the outstanding paper in sociological theory or its application to Ellen Bryer ’15 and Yee Won Nyon ’15
South Asia Concentration
S. Mona Ghosh Sinha Prize, for the best paper, from any academic discipline, written by a Smith undergraduate on a subject concerning South Asia to Afreen Gandhi ’15 and Nikita Samaratunga ’15J
Theatre
The Yvonne Sarah Bernhardt Buerger Prize to the students who have made the most notable contribution to the dramatic activities of the college to Amelia Fitch ’15 and Catherine Hwang ’15
The Marilyn Knapp Campbell Prize to the student excelling in stage management to Catherine Hwang ’15
The Denis Johnston Playwriting Award for the best play or musical written by an undergraduate at any of the Five Colleges to: First Prize—Elisabeth Makishima ’15; Second Prize—Alyniece Siemion ’17; Third Prize—Ana Darrow ’15; Honorable Mention—Afreen Gandhi ’15
The Peggy Clark Kelly Design Prize for a student demonstrating exceptional achievement in lighting, costume or set design to Rebecca Firkser ’15, Amelia Fitch ’15, Ellen Gallos ’15 and Jennifer Graessle ’15
The Jill Cummins MacLean Prize to a drama major for outstanding dramatic achievement with a comic touch in writing, acting or dance to Ellen Davis ’16 and Siobhan McManamon ’17
The Rita Singler Prize for outstanding achievement in technical theatre to Rebecca Davidson ’16 and Elisabeth Makishima ’15
The Denton Snyder Acting Prize to a student who has demonstrated distinguished acting in the theatre to Madison Barker ’15, Ivy Croteau ’15 and Camilla Skalski ’15
Program for the Study of Women and Gender
The Jeanne McFarland Prize, awarded annually, by the Program for the Study of Women and Gender and the Project on Women and Social Change for excellent work in the study of women and gender to Mercer Gary ’15 and Sarah Orsak ’16
The Meg Quigley Prize, awarded annually for the best work in SWG 150 Introduction to the Study of Women and Gender to Michelle Hu ’18 and Kimberly Vassalo AC ’15
The Valeria Dean Burgess Stevens Prize, awarded annually by the Program for the Study of Women and Gender and the Project on Women and Social Change, for excellent work in the study of women and gender to Christine Roth ’15 and Hana Sarfan ’17