Prizes & Awards 2014
The following prizes were awarded at the Ivy Day Awards Convocation, May 17, 2014.
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 Margaret King AC ’16, Samantha Page ’17 and Mary Patterson ’16
The Gladys Lampert ’28 and Edward Beenstock Prize to a student who excels in either American studies or American history to Jeanne Lowrey ’14
The Eleanor Flexner Prize for the best piece of work by a Smith undergraduate using the Sophia Smith Collection and the Smith Archives to Katherine Sumner ’14
The Nancy Boyd Gardner Prize for an outstanding paper or other project in American studies by a Smithsonian intern or American studies major to Niyati Dave ’15, Julia Fernandez ’14 and Tess Frydman ’15
The Donald H. Sheehan Memorial Prize for outstanding work in American studies to Anna Olkovsky ’14
Anthropology
The Samuel Bowles Prize for the best paper on an anthropological subject to Kylie Boazman ’14 and Devikara Devakula ’14
Art
The Megan Hart Jones Studio Art Prize for judged work in drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, graphic arts or architecture to Susan Carter ’15
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 Ashton Fancy ’14, Margaret Kean ’14 and Sarah Seligman ’14
The Elizabeth Killian Roberts Prize for the best drawing by an undergraduate to Susan Carter ’15
The Enid Silver Winslow ’54 Prize in Art History for the best student paper written in an art history course taught at Smith to Hope Fried ’14
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 Katherine Trudeau ’14
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: Marta Rudoph AC ’14J; Honorable Mention: Yingying Deng ’16, Izabel Nielsen ’14 and Emma Sisson ’16
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 Jennifer Podel ’14
Athletics
The Sarah Winter Pokora Prize to a senior who has excelled in athletics and academics to Lauren Hilton ’14 and Abigail Mosca ’14
Biological Sciences
The Margaret Wemple Brigham Prize to a senior for excellence in the study of microbiology or immunology to Naihan Chen ’14, Lindy Jensen ’14, Da Yae Lee ’14, Caroline Keroack ’14, Hanna Mogensen ’14, Kristine Trotta ’14, Marika Witkus ’14J, Jenna Wurster ’14, Jing Zhang ’14 and Xinzhu Zhou ’14
The Amey Randall Brown Prize in Botany for the best honors thesis to Emily Barbour ’14 and Hanna Mogensen ’14; for a poster presentation to Greylin Nielsen ’14; and for a research paper to Riley Gage ’15
The Esther Carpenter Biology Prize in general biology to a first-year woman graduate student to Melissa Torres GR
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 Divya Chand ’14
Helen Hills Hills Chapel
The Newman Association Prize for outstanding leadership, dedication and service to Corinne Ducey ’14
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 Alison Brauner ’14 and Lilith Siegel ’14
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 Emily Branton ’14 and Allison Wessells ’14
Center for Community Collaboration
The Kathleen Bostwick Boyden Prize, awarded by the Community Service Office, to a student demonstrating initiative in her volunteer contributions to the community to Kara Auclair ’14 and Cheri Eshete ’14
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 Talia Abner ’14 and Sibyl Brown ’14
Chemistry
The American Chemical Society Analytical Chemistry Award to a chemistry major who has excelled in analytical chemistry to Rebecca Gerdes ’15
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 Shimu Liu ’15
The American Chemical Society Division of Organic Chemistry Award in Organic Chemistry to Gloria Ortiz ’14
The American Chemical Society/ Polymer Education Division Organic Chemistry Award to Emilia Arguello ’16
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 Alexandra Gatsios ’14 and Yuan Ji ’14
The American Institute of Chemists/New England Division Prize to an outstanding chemist, biochemist or chemical engineer in the graduating class to Madeleine Beasley ’14
The C. Pauline Burt Prize to a senior majoring in chemistry or biochemistry who has shown high potential for further study in science to Mariam Bhuiyan ’14 and Virginia Diaz ’14
The CRC Press Introductory Chemistry Achievement Award in introductory chemistry to Katherine Blackford ’17, Ghida El-Banna ’17, Jingyi Sui ’17 and Alice Yang ’17
The Hause-Scheffer Memorial Prize to a senior majoring in chemistry with the best record in that subject to Clarke Knight ’14
The Hellman Award in Biochemistry for outstanding achievement in the second semester of biochemistry to Yuan Ji ’14
The Rosenfeld Award in Organic Chemistry for excellence in the first semester of organic chemistry to Emilia Arguello ’16 and Arcadia Kratkiewicz ’16
Classics
The John Everett Brady Prize for excellence in translation of Latin at sight to Olivia Blais ’16; and for the best performance in the beginning Latin course to Alexandra Galarza ’17 and Erin Pratt ’17
The Julia Harwood Caverno Prize for the best performance in the beginning Greek course to Marianna Mapes ’16 and Erin Pratt ’17
The Alice Hubbard Derby Prize to a member of the junior or senior class for excellence in translation of Greek at sight to Olivia Blais ’15; and for excellence in the study of Greek literature in the year in which the award is made to Ashley Achauer ’14J
The George E. Dimock Prize for the best essay on a classical subject to Natalie Kolber ’17
Computer Science
The Bert Mendelson Prize for excellence in the computer science major to a senior to Emily Flynn ’14 and Zella Henderson ’14; and for excellence in computer science to a sophomore to Kaitlyn Stumpf ’16 and Thu Trinh ’16
Office of the Dean of the College
The David C. Burres Memorial Law Prize to a senior or an alumna accepted at law school intending to practice law in the public interest to Cassandra Bazile ’14
The Arthur Ellis Hamm Prize awarded on the basis of the best first-year student’s record to Anna Marie Beatty ’16, Thu Do ’16, Sarah Emigh-Doyle ’16, Zhiting He ’16, Sadie Gold-Shapiro ’16, Arcadia Kratkiewicz ’16, Catherine McGeough ’16, Rebecca Ryder ’16 Eirini Tsekitsidou ’16, Yijin Wei ’16 and Xuan Wen ’16
The Barbara Jordan Prize for the Study of Law and Public Policy to a senior or an alumna to Sabine Jean ’11
The Juliet Evans Nelson Award to graduating seniors for their contributions to the Smith community and demonstrated commitment to campus life to Wiame El Bouhali ’14, Ellina Nektalova ’14 and Allison Wessels ’14
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 Fiona Druge ’14 and Lilith Siegel ’14
Debate Society
The Andrew C. Slater Prize for excellence in debate and for distinguished service to the team to Katya Raffensperger ’14
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 seek to pursue a career in education and/or service to immigrant and needy communities to Danielle Atchison ’14, Fan Meyerson ’14 and Lingyan Xu ’14
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 Mallory Durlauf ’16
Economics
The Samuel Bowles Prize for the best thesis on an economics subject to Linh Dinh ’14J and Isabel Huff ’14
The Sidney S. Cohen Prize for outstanding work in the field of economics to Aaina Bansal ’14, Isabel Huff ’14, Jisoo Kim ’14, Ji Ah Lee ’14, Xinyi Liu ’14, Guoyi Pu ’14, Fan Wu ’14, Yuting Zhao ’14
The Larry C. Selgelid Memorial Prize for the greatest contribution to the Department of Economics by a Smith senior to Rohini Ray ’14
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 Ellena Baum ’14 and Raisa Rubin ’14
The Nancy Hellman Prize to the Smith engineering student who has made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of women in engineering to Wiame El Bouhali ’14
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 Lawren Gamble ’14, Lauren Hilton ’14, Jinjin Lu ’14 and Julia Signell ’14
English
The Anne Bradstreet Prize from the Academy of American Poets for the best poem or group of poems submitted by an undergraduate to Emma Kelley ’14
The Elizabeth Babcock Poetry Prize for the best group of poems to Savannah Grant ’14 and Jamie Samdahl ’15
The Eleanor Cederstrom Prize for the best poem by an undergraduate written in the traditional verse form to Meredith Nnoka ’14
The Ethel Olin Corbin Prize to an undergraduate for the best original poem or informal essay in English to Hannah Bernhard ’15
The Elizabeth Drew Prize for the best honors thesis to Aqdas Aftab ’14, Tess Grogan ’14 and Harriet Low ’14; and for the best classroom essay to Kaja Katamay AC ’14J
The Ruth Forbes Eliot Poetry Prize for the best poem submitted by a first-year student or sophomore to Gabrielle Wolinsky ’16
The Clara French Prize to a senior who has advanced furthest in the study of English language and literature to Tess Grogan ’14
The Helen Kate Furness Prize for the best essay on a Shakespearean theme to Tess Grogan ’14
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 Kaja Katamay AC ’14J
The Vernon Harward Prize to the best student scholar of Chaucer to Harriet Low ’14
The James T. and Ellen M. Hatfield Memorial Prize for the best short story by a senior majoring in English to Savannah Grant ’14
The Mary Augusta Jordan Prize to a senior for the most original piece of literary work in prose or verse to Ellena Baum ’14
The Norma M. Leas, Class of 1939, Memorial Prize to a graduating English major for excellence in written English to Tess Grogan ’14
The Emogene Mahoney Memorial Prize for the best essay on a literary subject written by a first-year student to Madeleine Britton ’17
The Elizabeth Montagu Prize for the best essay on a literary subject concerning women to Mary Lawrence ’14 and Harriet Low ’14
The Gertrude Posner Spencer Prize for excellence in writing fiction to Rachel Simmons ’14; for excellence in writing nonfiction prose to Niyati Dave ’15; and for the best critical essay to Emma Kelley ’14 and Lindsey Osburnsen ’15
The Rosemary Thomas Poetry Prize for the best group of poems to Hanae Jonas ’14J and Meredith Nnoka ’14
French
The Césaire Prize for excellence in an essay or other project in French by a junior or a senior on campus to Hannah Trumbo ’14
The Ruth Alpern Leipziger Prize to an outstanding French major participating in the Junior Year Abroad Program in Paris to Kristen De Lancey ’15, Grace Kim ’15 and Alice Ng ’15
The Josephine Ott Prize to a junior in Paris or Geneva for her commitment to the French language and European civilization to Hannah Carlson ’15, Faith Donaher ’15, Jiete Li ’15, Anna Secino ’15, Naomi Sinnathamby ’15 and Katherine Wilson ’15
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 Alicia Bowling ’17
Geosciences
The Mineralogical Society of America Undergraduate Award for excellence in the field of mineralogy to Emma Hall ’14
The Marshall Schalk Prize in the Department of Geosciences for achievements in geological research to Paula Burgi ’14
German
The Anita Luria Ascher Memorial Prize to a senior major who started German at Smith and made exceptional progress to Amanda Pelletier ’14; and to a student who knew some German when she arrived and whose progress in four years has been considerable to Mariah Prescott ’14 and Rusanda Soltan ’14
Government
The Dawes Prize for the best undergraduate work in political science to Fiona Druge ’14 and Anya Rosenberg ’14
History
The Vera Lee Brown Prize for excellence in history to a senior majoring in history in regular course to Noa Gutterman ’14
The Merle Curti Prize for the best piece of writing on any aspect of American civilization to Julia Fernandez ’14
The Hazel L. Edgerly Prize to a senior honors history student for distinguished work in that subject to Jennifer Guerin ’14
The Thomas Corwin Mendenhall Prize for an essay evolving from any history course, excluding special studies, seminars and honors long papers, to Calla Bowles ’16
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 Francesca Petronio ’14
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 Sofia Contino ’14, Emilia Gambardella ’14 and Laura Seegerer ’14
Jewish Studies
The Sidney Balman Prize for outstanding work in the Jewish Studies Program to Emma Cooke ’14
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 Ellena Baum ’14 and Emily Kim ’15
Mathematics
The Suzan Rose Benedict Prize to a sophomore for excellence in mathematics to Jaime Cyr ’16, Zhiting He ’16 and Yijin Wei ’16
The Ann Kirsten Pokora Prize to a senior with a distinguished academic record in mathematics to Nealy Bowden ’14, Yu Jin ’14 and Jize Zhang ’14
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 Mylasha Furlonge ’14 and Anna Jimenez ’14
Music
The Harriet Dey Barnum Prize for outstanding work in music to the best all-around student of music in the senior class to Lydia Warren AC ’14J
The Settie Lehman Fatman Prize for the best composition in music in small form to Anna Hirschi ’15 and Seema Samawi ’15
The Heidi Fiore Prize to a senior student of singing to Cerella Gonzalez ’14
The Ida Deck Haigh Memorial Prize for distinguished achievement in piano to Jinglin Huang ’14
The Sarah Hamilton Memorial Prize for the best essay on music to Jihyun Shim ’14
The Emogene Mahony Memorial Prize for proficiency at the organ to Seongyeon Bae ’14
The Judith Raskin Memorial Prize for the outstanding senior voice student to Katherine Lipow ’14
The Ernst Wallfisch Prize to a student of music for outstanding talent, commitment and diligence to Katherine Lipow ’14
Philosophy
The Florence Corliss Lamont Prize for excellent work in philosophy to Angela Navarro Fusillo ’14
The John S. Mekeel Memorial Prize to a senior for outstanding work in philosophy to Salome Kokoladze ’14 and Ellina Nektalova ’14
Physics
The Adelaide W. Bull Paganelli ’30 Prize for outstanding work in physics and high potential for further study to Jennifer Podel ’14
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 Antonela Cesar Giordana ’14, Mia Copeland-Brock ’14, Katherine Margulis ’14 and Laura Romanowski ’14
Religion
The James Gardner Buttrick Prize for the best essay in the field of religion and biblical literature to Dinah Lensing-Sharp ’16 and Sarah Seligman ’14
The Henry Lewis Foote Memorial Prize for excellence in biblical studies to Emily Branton ’14
The Jochanan H. A. Wijnhoven Prize for the best essay on a subject in Jewish religious thought written for a course in the Department of Religion or in the Program in Jewish Studies to Melissa Hoffman AC ’15J
Russian
The Department of Russian Prize for the best work in Russian literature by a senior majoring in Russian to Katharine Perris ’14
Sociology
The Samuel Bowles Prize for the best paper on a sociological subject to Sarah Iverson ’14 and Allison Logan ’14
The Arthur Shattuck Parsons Memorial Prize to the student with the outstanding paper in sociological theory or its application to Jihyun Shim ’14
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 Erin Byrne ’15, Nazpari Sotoudeh ’14 and Yiqian Wang ’15
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 Jessica Hodder ’14, Emma Kelley ’14, Panagiota Scordilis ’14 and Chase Trumbell ’14
The Marilyn Knapp Campbell Prize to the student excelling in stage management to Catherine Hwang ’16J
The Denis Johnston Playwriting Award for the best play or musical written by an undergraduate at any of the Five Colleges to—First Prize: Jessica Hodder ’14 and Rebecca Holtz ’14J; Second Prize: Tess Ornstein, Hampshire College; Third Prize: Afreen Gandhi ’15 and Emma Kelley ’14; Honorable Mention: Emma Kelley ’14 and Jack Spagnola, Hampshire College
The Samuel A. Eliot, Jr./Julia Heflin Award for distinguished directing in the theatre to Emma Kelley ’14
The Peggy Clark Kelly Design Prize for a student demonstrating exceptional achievement in lighting, costume or set design to Beryl Brachman ’14, Rebecca Firkser ’15, Emily Singer ’14 and Chase Trumbell ’14
The Jill Cummins MacLean Prize to a drama major for outstanding dramatic achievement with a comic touch in writing, acting or dance to Rebecca Holtz ’14 and Allison Ristaino ’14
The Rita Singler Prize for outstanding achievement in technical theatre to Panagiota Scordilis ’14 and Chase Trumbull ’14
The Denton Snyder Acting Prize to a student who has demonstrated distinguished acting in the theatre to Emma Driller-Colangelo ’14
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 Calla Bowles ’16 and Tess Grogan ’14
The Meg Quigley Prize, awarded annually for the best work in SWG 150 Introduction to the Study of Women and Gender to Tanvi Kapoor ’16 and Isabella Levy ’17
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 Olivia Capello ’14, Miriam Mosher ’14 and Katherine Sumner ’14