Members of Princeton University's Class of 2013 gathered on Cannon Green Monday, June 3, to celebrate the conclusion of their undergraduate careers in a Class Day ceremony honoring their leadership and achievement.
The Allen Macy Dulles '51 Award was presented to Kitan Akinosho, an operations research and financial engineering major from Sanford, N.C. The award is given 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." Akinosho is a residential college adviser in Wilson College. She has worked in various roles for Campus Recreation, including serving as a student intramural sports supervisor and a volunteer youth basketball coach. In the summer of 2011, Akinosho independently created an internship supported by the University's Center for Health and Wellbeing to better identify the disparities of health care in Ghana. She conducted independent research, volunteered at a hospital in a remote area of the country and worked with nonprofit organizations on local health issues.
Sarah Xiyi Chen of Arcadia, Calif., received the Frederick Douglass Award. The award was established in 1969, at the recommendation of then-assistant dean of the college Carl A. Fields, to recognize 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. Chen, a Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs major, has been involved in many activities sponsored by the Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding. She was a member of the Princeton University Mentoring Program, the Asian American Mentoring Program and the Asian American Students Association. She is a peer academic adviser in Whitman College, a student associate with the Princeton-Harvard China World Program and co-chair of Ivy Club's leadership program. She blogged for the Princeton Alumni Weekly website and wrote for The Daily Princetonian student newspaper. Outside of Princeton, she established an English language summer program for high school students in China, was a summer intern at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations and the International Fund for China's Environment, and was a virtual intern for the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.
The Harold Willis Dodds Prize was presented to Benjamin Barron of Boulder, Colo. 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." Barron is a comparative literature major pursuing certificates in environmental studies and theater. Barron's interests focus on environmental issues, including fostering greater awareness of environmentalism through dramatic literature and theater. He has served on the University's Sustainability Steering Council, was a member of the student organization Greening Princeton and received a sustainability grant from the Grand Challenges Program. Barron also served on the Department of Comparative Literature's Student Advisory Board, was music director for the student a cappella group Princeton Footnotes, served as president of Tiger Inn, played club lacrosse and participated in a summer study abroad program in France.
Zach Beecher of Randolph, N.J., received the W. Sanderson Detwiler 1903 Prize. The award is given to the senior who, in the judgment of the student's classmates, has done the most for the class. A Wilson School major, Beecher has served as the Class of 2013 president for four years. He is a member of the Princeton Army ROTC and will become a commissioned officer following graduation. At Princeton, Beecher served on the Honor Committee, was involved in the Pace Center for Civic Engagement's Council for Civic Values and is a member of Cap and Gown. As class president, he helped institute an annual Support the Troops Week on campus and co-organized the Orange and Black Ball in fall 2011.
The Class of 1901 Medal was awarded to Bruce Easop of Flemington, N.J. The medal recognizes the senior, who in the judgment of the student's classmates, has done the most for Princeton. A politics major pursuing a certificate in values and public life, Easop served as president of the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) and also was a class senator. Among his activities as USG president, Easop initiated a Mental Health Week on campus to raise awareness about mental health issues among students. He was editor-in-chief of the undergraduate publication Princeton Journal of Bioethics, a member of the Alcohol Coalition Committee and co-chair of the freshman orientation implementation team overseen by the Office of the Vice President for Campus Life.
Marlene Morgan, of Edmond, Okla., received the Priscilla Glickman '92 Memorial Prize, which honors "independence and imagination in the area of service." An ecology and evolutionary biology major, Morgan was a student leader for the Community Action freshman orientation program, a member of the Student Volunteers Council Executive Board and a member of the Pace Center's Council for Civic Values. She also was a student coordinator for the Pace Center's Hurricane Sandy response and relief efforts. After leading a Breakout Princeton trip to the Navajo Nation in Arizona, Morgan took a year off from the University to continue working with the community.
Athletic Awards
Rory Loughran, a mechanical and aerospace engineering major from Princeton Junction, N.J., was awarded the Class of 1916 Cup. The award, which was given by the Class of 1916 on the occasion of its 50th reunion, is presented to the senior varsity letter winner with the highest academic standing. Loughran was the team captain of the 2013 men's swimming and diving team, helping lead Princeton to its fifth straight Ivy League championship.
The William Winston Roper Trophy goes to "a male senior of high scholastic rank and outstanding qualities of sportsmanship and general proficiency in athletics." The award was shared this year by Peter Callahan, a history major from Evanston, Ill.; Mike Catapano, a psychology major from Bayville, N.Y.; Todd Harrity, a psychology major from Wayne, Pa.; Ian Hummer, a sociology major from Vienna, Va.; Mark Linnville, a religion major from Boone, N.C.; Matija Pecotic, a politics major from Sliema, Malta; and Jonathan Yergler, a psychology major from Winter Park, Fla. Callahan, of the men's cross country and track and field teams, is a seven-time Ivy League champion and a two-time All-America. He helped Princeton win its first national title in indoor track since 1979 and earn nine Ivy League team titles. Catapano, a defensive lineman for the football team, became Princeton's first NFL draft pick since 2001 when the Kansas City Chiefs selected him in the 2013 draft. He was named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year following the 2012 season, won the Asa S. Bushnell Cup, and is a three-time All-Ivy honoree. Harrity, of the men's squash team, is a four-time All-America, a two-time Ivy League Player of the Year and the 2010 Ivy League Rookie of the Year. He also was an individual national champion. Harrity helped Princeton win the 2012 national team championship, as well as the 2012 and 2013 Ivy League team titles. Hummer finished his men's basketball career with 1,625 points, the second-most in program history. He has been honored as Ivy League Player of the Year and is a three-time All-Ivy champion. Linnville was captain of the men's soccer team for two years. He is a four-time All-Ivy player, and helped Princeton earn an undefeated Ivy League season in 2010 and NCAA tournament appearances in 2009 and 2010. Pecotic, of the men's tennis team, is a three-time Ivy League Player of the Year. He has competed in the NCAA individual tournament and the NCAA singles championship. Yergler, of the men's fencing team, won the NCAA epee championship in 2012, is a three-time All-Ivy honoree and a four-time All-America. He also helped Princeton win the combined men's/women's NCAA fencing championship in 2013.
The C. Otto von Kienbusch Award, which recognizes the top senior sportswomen at Princeton, was shared by Greta Feldman, an anthropology major from Haddonfield, N.J.; Jen Hoy, an economics major from Sellersville, Pa.; Niveen Rasheed, a politics major from Danville, Calif.; Katie Reinprecht, a sociology major from North Wales, Pa.; Heidi Robbins, an ecology and evolutionary biology major from Hanover, N.Y., Kathleen Sharkey, a sociology major from Moosic, Pa.; and Eliza Stone, a politics major from Chicago. Feldman is captain of both the women's cross country and track and field teams. She is a nine-time Ivy League champion and has won 12 All-Ivy honors. Feldman helped Princeton win five Ivy League championship titles. Hoy, of the women's soccer team, is an Ivy League Player of the Year and a three-time All-Ivy honoree. She helped Princeton advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament this year. The Chicago Red Stars selected Hoy in the National Women's Soccer League's inaugural draft this winter. Rasheed was a two-time Ivy League Player of the Year with the women's basketball team. She was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year her first season, is a four-time All-America and was the first Princeton women's basketball player to be named an AP All-America. Reinprecht, of the field hockey team, competed in the 2012 London Summer Olympics with the U.S. National Team. At Princeton, she helped guide the team to its first NCAA national championship. Reinprecht is a three-time Ivy League Player of the Year, a four-time All-Ivy honoree and a four-time All America honoree. Robbins, of the open women's rowing team, is an All-America honoree. She helped Princeton win the Ivy League title this year and competed with her team in this year's NCAA championship May 31 through June 2, finishing in second place in the grand final and with the team finishing in third place overall. Sharkey, also of the field hockey team, is the most prolific scorer in Ivy League history. A two-time Ivy League Player of the Year, she is a four-time All-Ivy player and four-time all-America player. Sharkey also is a member of the U.S. National Team and helped Princeton win its first NCAA national championship. Stone, of the women's fencing team, is a four-time All-America and was named the Ivy League Most Outstanding Performer in 2013. She helped Princeton win the combined men's/women's NCAA fencing championship in 2013.
The Arthur Lane '34 Award was given to Ben Foulon, a chemistry major from Potomac, Md., and Kathy Qu, a sociology major from Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada. The award honors selfless contribution to sport and society by an undergraduate athlete. Foulon, of the men's sprint football team, was recognized for his work on the offensive line with All-Collegiate Sprint Football League honors in 2012. Foulon also is involved in environmental organizations, serving as an Eco-Rep to promote recycling on campus. He also was a peer adviser in Whitman College and a staff writer for the student journal American Foreign Policy. Qu was co-captain of the women's swimming and diving team, helping Princeton earn the 2013 Ivy League championship. On campus, Qu has been involved in education and community service organizations. She has organized the Collegians for the Cure race, which raises funds and awareness for the Susan G. Komen Foundation; was a participant in Weapons of Mass Construction, a large-scale community service project organized by the Princeton Varsity Club; and worked with Community-Based Learning Initiative.
Honorary class members
The Class of 2013 recognized the following people as honorary class members during the Class Day ceremony: Larry Haber, owner and operator of the Princeton Garden Theatre; Helen Joynes, bus operator for First Transit, the service provider for TigerTransit; Joseph Ramirez, program coordinator in the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students; David Remnick, Class of 1981, editor of The New Yorker and Class Day speaker; Princeton President Shirley M. Tilghman; and Oscar Torres-Reyna, data services specialist at Firestone Library.
The following individuals also have been named honorary class members during other graduation events this month: Debbie Bazarsky; director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Center; Erhan Çinlar, the Norman Sollenberger Professor in Engineering; Rick Curtis, director of the Outdoor Action program; Erin McDermott, deputy director of Athletics; Janet Neglia, associate director for medical services at University Health Services; Josue Lajeunesse, lead janitor, Building Services; and Anne-Marie Slaughter, the Bert G. Kerstetter '66 University Professor of Politics and International Affairs.
