Members of Princeton's class of 2011 gathered on Cannon Green Monday, May 30, to celebrate the conclusion of their undergraduate careers in a Class Day ceremony honoring their accomplishments and service.
Elizabeth (Liz) Borges of Washington, D.C., was presented with the Harold Willis Dodds Prize. The award recognizes the senior who best embodies the qualities of Princeton's 15th president, Harold Dodds, "particularly in the qualities of clear thinking, moral courage, a patient and judicious regard for the opinions of others, and a thoroughgoing devotion to the welfare of the University and to the life of the mind." Borges, a psychology major and a certificate candidate in American studies, was the student co-chair of the Alcohol Coalition Committee and helped plan a two-day Ivy League student leader symposium on high-risk drinking. She created and implemented the "Faces of Princeton" poster campaign, which enlisted a diverse group of student leaders to speak frankly about alcohol use on campus. She has been a leader in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, was a Sustained Dialogue moderator since her freshman year and also participated in a Community-Based Learning Initiative project that examined how food availability affects the urban poor in New Jersey.
The Allen Macy Dulles '51 Award was given to Benjamin Oseroff of Buffalo, N.Y. The award is presented to a senior whose activities while at Princeton best represent or exemplify the University's informal motto, "Princeton in the nation's service and in the service of all nations." A Near Eastern studies major and a certificate candidate in creative writing, Oseroff won the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence his sophomore year. He served as a leader and leader trainer for Outdoor Action, participated in a Grand Challenges Program research project on health focused on finding solutions to the pressing problems posed by infectious disease around the globe, and was co-founder and president of "The Roundtable," a student group that brought members together to discuss the morality and ethics of local, national and international topics. Oseroff also tutored prisoners through the Petey Greene Prisoner Assistance Program.
Margaret Harris of Newport News, Va., an English major and a certificate candidate in African American studies, received the Frederick Douglass Award, which was established in 1969 by the Association of Black Collegians. The award recognizes a senior who has exhibited courage, leadership, intellectual achievement, and a willingness to contribute unselfishly toward a deeper understanding of racial minorities and who, in doing so, reflects the tradition of service at Princeton. Harris has been deeply involved with the Princeton Association of Black Women and the Black Student Union. She was the coordinator for the Princeton University Mentoring Program and the senior coordinator for the Leadership and Mentoring Program. She was a member of Princeton Faith and Action and the Hallelujah! Worship committee, and she also performed with the Gospel Ensemble and the High Steppers dance group. She also worked as a teaching assistant last summer in the Princeton University Preparatory Program, which helps high-achieving, low-income students prepare for college.
The W. Sanderson Detwiler 1903 Prize and the Class of 1901 Medal were presented to Alex Rosen of Allentown, Pa. The Detwiler Prize is given to the senior who, in the judgment of the student's classmates, has done the most for the class. The 1901 medal goes to the senior, who in the judgment of the student's classmates, has done the most for Princeton. An economics major and certificate candidate in finance and in global health and health policy, Rosen was co-winner of the 2011 Moses Taylor Pyne Honor Prize, the highest general distinction conferred on an undergraduate. Rosen served as president of the class of 2011 for four years, and was the chair and clerk of the Honor Committee. He served on the governance committee of the Council of the Princeton University Community, was a voting representative on the Trustee Committee on Honorary Degrees and a member of the executive committee of the Princeton Premedical Society. He also served as a residential college adviser at Whitman College and was a member of the publication Business Today.
Bryan Locascio of Lynchburg, Va., received the Priscilla Glickman '92 Memorial Prize, which honors "independence and imagination in the area of service." For three years, he has been active with the Pace Center's Breakout Princeton civic action trips, first as a leader of an alternative spring break trip focused on community organizing in Chicago and then as the student coordinator for trips to Philadelphia, Detroit and New York. Locascio, a major in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, has pursued his interests in community organizing and social change internationally, studying abroad in Bolivia, Cuba and Tanzania. While in Bolivia he helped found and direct the first brass quintet with the Santa Cruz de la Sierra Youth Orchestra. He has also tutored prisoners through the Petey Greene Prisoner Assistance Program.
Athletic Awards
Robert Marsland of Madison, Wis., was the winner of the Class of 1916 Cup, which is presented to the senior varsity letter winner with the highest academic standing. It was given by the class of 1916 on the occasion of its 50th reunion. Marsland, a physics major, was a member of the sprint football team and was a second-team all-collegiate sprint football league defensive lineman.
The Arthur Lane '34 Award was given to Peter Callahan, a politics major from Princeton, N.J.; Jennifer King, a computer science major and a certificate candidate in information technology and society from Greenwich, Conn.; John Stogin, a mathematics major from Wilmette, Ill.; and Lauren Sykora, a mechanical and aerospace engineering major from Lake Forest, Ill. The award is given to honor selfless contribution to sport and society by an undergraduate athlete. Callahan, a member of the men's soccer team, won the team's 2011 Robert Myslik Award, which is given to the member of the team who most demonstrates "passion for life, fiery competitiveness, unwavering honesty and selfless generosity." Callahan was a member of Princeton Faith and Action and the Student Volunteers Council. King, a member of the field hockey team, was an Academic All-Ivy League selection. She sang with the University Glee Club and helped launch the Princeton student chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery and Princeton Women in Computer Science. King also received a 2011 Spirit of Princeton award, which honors undergraduates for their positive contributions to campus life. Stogin, a member of the men's fencing team, helped the team advance to the NCAA championships during his four years with the program. He earned an All-Ivy League honor this year. As an Eagle Scout, Stogin organized a shoe drive that collected more than 1,000 pairs of shoes that were sent to Angola. Sykora, a member of the women's lightweight rowing team, helped the team earn its perfect regular season this spring. Sykora served as president of the Princeton student chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and as a residential college adviser in Wilson College. She also worked with the Athletes in Action service group.
The Princeton Varsity Club Special Award of Valor was presented to Jordan Culbreath, a mechanical and aerospace engineering major from Falls Church, Va. The award is a special recognition given this year. A two-time All-Ivy League running back with the football team, Culbreath has fought a battle with life-threatening aplastic anemia. After withdrawing from Princeton in October 2009 to receive medical treatment, Culbreath returned to campus for the spring 2009-10 semester and was able to rejoin the football team in fall 2010, having a productive season before a torn knee ligament ended his career. He recently was honored by the organization Uplifting Athletes with its Rare Disease Champion Award, which is given to an individual or organization in college football that has made a positive and lasting impact on the rare disease community.
The C. Otto von Kienbusch Award is given annually to the top senior sportswomen at Princeton. The award this year was shared by: Sarah Cummings, an economics major from Newport Beach, Calif.; Ashley Higginson, a politics major from Colts Neck, N.J.; Addie Micir, a psychology major from Newtown, Pa.; Megan Waters, a politics major from Derwood, Md.; and Lauren Wilkinson, an ecology and evolutionary biology major from North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. As a member of the women's cross country team, Cummings was named first-team All-Ivy League twice and second-team All-Ivy League once. She also earned All-America honors in 2009 as a member of the women's track and field team. Cummings has been a member of nine Ivy League team championships, and helped Princeton complete its first "double triple crown," which saw the Tigers win cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field championships for both men and women this year, something only 10 schools in NCAA history have ever done. Higginson also was a key member of Princeton's first "double triple crown" for cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field. She was an eight-time Ivy League champion and holds Princeton records in both the steeplechase and the 4x1,500-meter relay. Micir was selected unanimously as the 2011 Ivy League Player of the Year in women's basketball, making her the first player in Princeton history to receive the honor. Micir helped the team earn two Ivy League championships and two trips to the NCAA tournament. Waters, a member of the women's swimming and diving team, holds Princeton records in the 50-meter freestyle, the 100-meter freestyle and the 100-meter butterfly. Waters helped Princeton earn three Ivy League championships during her four years and earned All-Ivy recognition each season. Wilkinson, a member of the women's open crew team, helped lead the team to a 13-0 season this year. She was a two-time All-America honoree and also a second-team All-Ivy League honoree.
The William Winston Roper Trophy was shared by Mark Amirault, a molecular biology major from Walpole, Mass.; Taylor Fedun, a mechanical and aerospace engineering major from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Kareem Maddox, an English major from Oak Park, Calif.; Robin Prendes, an economics major from Miami; and Josh Walburn, a sociology major from St. Louis. The award goes to "a male senior of high scholastic rank and outstanding qualities of sportsmanship and general proficiency in athletics." Amirault, a member of the men's cross country and track and field teams, has been a member of six Ivy League championship teams, and was part of Princeton's first "double triple crown" in cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field. Amirault was the Ivy League champion in both the 1,500- and 5,000-meter relays and was the Ivy League champion for indoor track and field in both the mile and as a member of the distance medley relay. In addition, he has earned three second-team All-Ivy honors. Fedun, a member of the men's hockey team, was a two-time All-Eastern College Athletic Conference and All-Ivy selection and was named a second-team All-America this year. He also was a four-year member of the Eastern College Athletic Conference All-Academic Team and an Academic All-Ivy selection. Maddox was named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year this past season after leading the men's basketball team to its league-record 26th Ivy League championship. He twice earned the Class of '59 Bob Rock Sixth Man Award and shared the B.F. Bunn 1907 Trophy, the most prized honor of the men's basketball program. Prendes helped the men's lightweight crew team win the 2010 eastern and national championships. During the fall of his senior season, Prendes also led the Tigers to a record-setting victory at the Head of the Charles regatta. Walburn helped the men's soccer team earn back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances as a junior and senior. This past fall, he helped the Tigers to the first undefeated Ivy League season in the program's history. He was named first-team All-Ivy the past two seasons, and has earned all-region honors twice.
Honorary class members
The class of 2011 also recognized the following people as honorary class members during the Class Day ceremony: actress Brooke Shields, a class of 1987 graduate and the Class Day speaker; Tony Cifelli, a supervisor in Building Services; Jeff Nunokawa, a professor of English and master of Rockefeller College; Paul Raushenbush, former associate dean of religious life; and Ed Zschau, a class of 1961 graduate and a visiting lecturer with the rank of professor in electrical engineering and the Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education.
The following individuals also were named honorary class members at other events this month: Marni Blitz, assistant director of the Center for Jewish Life; Beth "Kiki" Jamieson, the Class of 1951 director of the Pace Center; Thomas Mullelly, director of the Aquinas Institute; Jerome Silbergeld, the P.Y. and Kinmay W. Tang Professor in Chinese Art, professor of art and archaeology, and director of the Tang Center for East Asian Art; Erik Sorensen, the Arthur Allen Patchett Professor in Organic Chemistry; and Delia Vayansky, former associate director of Richardson Auditorium.
