SENIOR AWARDS
2008 - 2007

SENIOR AWARDS 2008

Presented by Professor Wendy Weber
Senior Class Dinner
March 25, 2008

Will Howell, Jessica Mowles, Ahna Minge, Laura Bova, Clare Ryan, Momchil Jelev

The first award I'd like to present is the Humphrey-Mondale Award, which is given each year to an outstanding student whose career exemplifies the highest standards of scholarship and education for service to society. This year's recipient has an extensive record of political experience. He has worked to organize colleges and universities in the Twin Cities for local, state, and national campaigns. He has also, among other things, conducted research, designed and managed websites, and recruited volunteers for these campaigns. One particularly notable aspect of his work has been his effort to facilitate student participation in the political process. One student noted of him: "He has single-handedly encouraged many Macalester students to participate. His columns for the Mac Weekly and his radio show demonstrate his genuine commitment to politics." In his academic work, he has turned his interest and admiration of Steven Colbert and Jon Stewart into THREE semester-long research projects on the relationship between political humor and political participation – projects that utilized entirely different methods and theoretical approaches. And, he has had research papers competitively selected at two different undergraduate research conferences. To conclude, I'd like to quote another student who observed on his nomination form: "I say with little doubt that one day, the department will award a Humphrey-Mondale-Howell award!" Please join me in congratulating Will Howell, this year's recipient of the Humphrey-Mondale Award.

The next award is the Peter E. Wiseman Award which is given each year to a student who has demonstrated, by working with the underprivileged, humanitarian concern and commitment. This year's recipient has an impressive record of work she has done in the local, national, and international contexts, particularly in the areas of education and human rights. In the area of education, she has worked as a tutor at the Jane Addams School for Democracy where she tutored recently arrived immigrant adults in English, and as an AVID tutor in Saint Paul where she currently tutors high-achieving middle-schoolers who are traditionally underrepresented in higher education. She has also worked as an intern with Total Action Against Poverty in Virginia where she worked on a program to help low-income high school students prepare for college. In the area of human rights, she has worked as an intern at Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights here in the Twin Cities and also with Human Rights Watch in New York. She continued her focus on human rights issues during her semester in South Africa where, among other things, she assisted in the production of a documentary video to raise awareness of refugee rights. During her time at Macalester, and in recognition of her human rights work, she was selected as a campus coordinator for Oxfam America in 2005-06 and as a Humanity in Action Fellow in the summer of 2006. Please join me in congratulating Jessica Mowles, this year's recipient of the Peter E. Wiseman Award.

The next award is the Brent Williams Award which is given each year to a student who has debate and speech experience and who has been active in college and community political affairs. This year, we have two recipients. The first recipient has been a member of Macalester's Mock Trial team since 2004, and has served as a team captain since 2006. During these years, she has been a member of three national qualifying squads. She has also been a recipient of the Charles W. Ferguson Prize for Public Speaking in 2005, 2006, and 2007. One of her nominators said the followingabout her: "She has been a leader on the team for the past two years, teaching and mentoring new students and turning new teams around for surprising victories." Another observed: "She is a dedicated competitor in Mock Trial, and has been instrumental is some of their most successful moments." In addition to participating in Mock Trial, she is also an honors student, a member of the student manager advisory council and the senior class gift committee, and communications and press intern for the Al Franken for Senate campaign. Please join me in congratulating Ahna Minge, the first recipient of the Brent Williams Award.

The second recipient has been a member of Macalester's Mock Trial team since 2004, and has also served as a team captain. She has been a member of two national qualifying squads during these years. Comments from those who nominated her for this award suggest that the skills she brings to Mock Trial are also present in the work she does in the classroom. One nominator said the following about her participation in an in-class simulation: "Her classroom presentations give us a sense of who talented a speaker she really is. She impresses faculty with her poise, her command of the material, and her ability to engage her audience. It is no surprise that she is so successful in Mock Trial." In addition to participating in Mock Trial, she is active in the International Model United Nations Associations and she is also currently interning at the Minnesota State Senate. Please join me in congratulating Laura Bova, the second recipient of the Brent Williams Award.

The next award is the Political Science Leadership and Service Award which is given each year to the student who has best exemplified leadership and service to the Political Science department. This year's recipient is an honors student with one of the top GPAs in the department. As a scholar, she has been a Chuck Green Fellow, the recipient of a Wallace Travel and Research Grant, and one of four students commissioned to write and present papers for this year's Civic Forum. As a leader in the department, she has been a writing assistant for a first-year course, one of the co-chairs of Pi Sigma Alpha, and, in that capacity, she was one of the organizers of this year's very successful Political Science Student conference. Since 2004 she has been an office assistant in the Political Science department. A student who nominated her for this award said the following about her: "Her dedication to the Political Science department has consisted of a sustained and substantial contribution to practically every imaginable aspect of department life." What especially struck this student was the way in which "she has used her deep investment in the department as a way of building community, of making the department a little bit more like a family." Please join me in congratulating Clare Ryan, this year's recipients of the Political Science Leadership and Service Award.

The final award of the evening is the Political Science Academic Excellence Award which is given each year to the student who best exemplifies the values of academic excellence. This year's recipient is an honors student with a GPA of 3.95 overall and 3.93 in Political Science. His academic achievements have already been acknowledged in a number of ways over the past four years: In his sophomore year, he was awarded a Chuck Green Fellowship; in his junior year, he was selected as one of the first students to study abroad in the Maastricht program; and this year, he was one of four students commissioned to write and present papers for the Civic Forum. He has been praised by faculty who've worked with him for, among other things, his leadership in the classroom, especially in in-class simulations. The simulation of Iranian politics that he and two other students designed and directed in Paul Dosh's class was acknowledged in multiple course evaluations to have been the highlight of the entire semester. And, after working with him on a simulation of the United Nations Security Council in my Global Governance class, I would have to say that he is one of the two best Secretaries-General that Macalester has produced! Please join me in congratulating Momchil Jelev, this year's recipient of the Political Science Academic Excellence Award.

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SENIOR AWARDS 2007

Presented by Professor Wendy Weber
Senior Class Dinner
March 28, 2007

Nisha Krisnan, Trudy Rebert, Herschel Nachlis, Natalia Espejo, Emily Hedin

The first award I’d like to present is the Humphrey-Mondale Award which is given each year to an outstanding student whose career exemplifies the highest standards of scholarship and education for service to society. This year’s recipient is, to quote one of her professors: an outstanding student and a skilled researcher [whose work is] focused on understanding key social and political issues, identifying practical solutions to social problems, and promoting more effective organizing and community development. This work includes an honors project she is currently completing and an EXCO course she is co-teaching, both on the topic of immigration, as well as research projects she has done here at Macalester and for NGOs. She also already has an impressive history of work in community development, both in the US and internationally, and activist organizing. In her junior year, she was awarded a Truman scholarship for graduate studies, an achievement which recognized her leadership potential and commitment to a career in public service. Professors who have worked with her have spoken of her dedication and her “quiet and effective capacity to lead.” Please join me in congratulating Trudy Rebert, this year’s recipient of the Humphrey-Mondale Award.
 
The next award is the Peter E. Wiseman Award which is given each year to a student who has demonstrated, by working with the underprivileged, humanitarian concern and commitment. This year’s recipient has an impressive record of volunteer work. For the past four years, she has volunteered at the Jane Addams School for Democracy, tutoring East African immigrants in English, and at Open Arms of Minnesota where she works on programs for African-born persons living with HIV/AIDS. These programs are a continuation and expansion of an original service project for which she was awarded the Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation Scholarship in 2005. She has also been active in student organizations here on campus, working with both Amnesty International and Habitat for Humanity. Finally, I’m pleased to announce that she has just received an Upper Midwest Human Rights Fellowship from the University of Minnesota to spend the summer in Peru implementing an original human rights education and advocacy project. Please join me in congratulating Emily Hedin, this year’s recipient of the Peter E. Wiseman Award.
 
The next award is the Brent Williams Award which is given each year to a student who has debate and speech experience and who has been active in college and community political affairs. This year’s recipient has been a member of Macalester’s Mock Trial Program since the fall of 2003 and has served as the team’s captain over the course of this past academic year. He has received a number of prizes for public speaking, including the Charles W. Ferguson Prize in 2005 and the Lowell C. Thomas Prize in 2004 and 2006. He has also been very active in college affairs, serving most notably as a student representative on Macalester’s Board of Trustees and the Editor-in-Chief of the Mac Weekly. Professors he has worked with have spoken of the quality of his intellect as well as the respect he has earned from his peers as a leader in the classroom, with one professor noting: “When I found out I’d be teaching at Macalester, I knew that I’d meet with excellent students. But when I encountered [this student] in my first semester, I realized that I had not set my expectations for Macalester students high enough.” Please join me in congratulating Herschel Nachlis, this year’s recipient of the Brent Williams Award.

The next award is the Political Science Leadership and Service Award which is given each year to the student who has best exemplified leadership and service to the Political Science department. This year we have two recipients. The first recipient is a double major in Political Science and Economics who has worked in the Political Science Department since the fall of 2004, as an office assistant, a preceptor, and a research assistant. Students have described her in the following ways. One student said: “She is one of most helpful and caring people that I know... She is at every Political Science event ready to help set up and to keep things running smoothly. She knows more about what is going on in the department than anyone – besides Roxy, of course.” Another student said of her: “she is always friendly and helps students, professors, and visitors with the same generous amount of enthusiasm. She shows real leadership in organizing events in the department, she can ‘play’ Roxy if need be.” Now, I don’t think that there’s a higher compliment in this department than to have your institutional knowledge and organizational skills compared to Roxy’s! Please join me in congratulating Nisha Krishnan, one of this year’s recipients of the Political Science Leadership and Service Award.

The second recipient is a double major in Political Science and International Studies who has played an important leadership role on campus, both inside and outside the Political Science department. She has served as an elected representative on the Legislative Body and as a student representative on the Educational Policy and Governance Committee. She was a visible and articulate spokesperson in the debate over need-blind admissions, and in the context of this debate, was called upon to give a presentation to the Board of Trustees on the matter. She is currently serving as one of the co-presidents of Pi Sigma Alpha and has played a key role in organizing the upcoming Macalester-Carleton conference. One professor noted of her: “She has provided exceptional leadership to the Political Science department. She shares her wisdom and political insight with young, easily-rattled student employees in the office. Additionally, in her role as a preceptor she has helped students navigate the dangers of writing papers for Professor Adler!” Please join me in congratulating Natalia Espejo, one this year’s recipients of the Political Science Leadership and Service Award.

The final award of the evening is the Political Science Academic Excellence Award, which is given each year to the student who best exemplifies the values of academic excellence. You have already heard about the work that this student has done outside of the classroom, but let me say a bit about her academic work. Perhaps the best way to summarize this work is to note that her GPA in Political Science is currently 3.96 (overall 3.92). Professors who have worked with her have spoken of this student’s exceptional research and writing skills, her skill and confidence in public speaking, and her work ethic. One professor said of her: “her written work is routinely among the most professional encountered among our students and the analytic and theoretical creativity with which she approaches political science makes her research papers sparkle with excellence.” Please join me in congratulating Emily Hedin, this year’s recipient of the Political Science Academic Excellence Award.