Student Awards 2011-2012

Elizabeth Mudd Senior Prize
Terra Mikalson
This monetary award was established in 1927 for excellence in scholarship.

Aurelia Henry Reinhardt Faculty Purse for Graduate Study
Roseanna Pealatere
Established in 1949, this award is given to an outstanding graduate provides support for graduate study abroad or in the US.

Phi Beta Kappa Society
Katrina Lynn Corbosiero, Jackqueline Nicole Frost, Kathryn Elizebeth Humphrey, Ziyong Lin, Ariadne Elizabeth Nelson, Jade Rio Sales-Lee, Patrisia Teresa Spezzaferro, Karen Elaine Tanner, Dana Caithlin Watchorn
Members are elected each year in acknowledgement of their high scholarly achievements, their pursuit of liberal learning, and their intellectual integrity and curiosity. Mills College was granted a charter by the national honor society of Phi Beta Kappa on September 12, 1928. Zeta Chapter in the State of California was installed March 16, 1929.

Fulbright Award
Vajra Alaya-Maitreya, Grace Elaine Osborne
This prize is a prestigious international award in support of research or English teaching assistantship abroad, usually for one academic year.

Departmental Awards

Art
Grace Ty Searing Dhaemers Art History Award
Paige Azarakhsh, Chelsea Baumgartner
This art history award is based on academic merit and given to juniors who will be returning to Mills as seniors in the fall.

Ralph DuCasse Endowed Scholarship
Lora ChauDavis
This scholarship is awarded to a junior or senior majoring in studio art with an emphasis in drawing and painting.

Jay DeFeo MFA Prize
Matthew Gottschalk, Michael Mersereau
Established under the terms of the artist's will through an endowment to Mills College, the Jay DeFeo Prize at Mills College is awarded annually to one (or more) graduating Master of Fine Arts student(s) in Studio Art.

Herringer Prize for Excellence - Art History
Michelle Myra Archila, Sheila Burson, Kathryn Elizebeth Humphrey
This prize is awarded for excellence in scholarship in art history.

Herringer Prize for Excellence - Art Studio
Carolyn Benedict, Larissa Canney, Maria Epstein, Camila Perez
This prize is awarded for excellence in scholarship in studio art.

Wellhausen Family Award
Morgan Johnson
This award, in honor of Dorothy Bank, is given for the Senior Show.

Eleanor E. Crum Award
Barbara Obata
This prize was established in 1968 from the estate of William L. Crum in honor of his wife. This award is given to students for excellence in ceramics.

Eugene Trefethen Award
Megan Smaker
This award recognizes the graduating senior scholar-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA.

Karen Koshak Prize
Angelica Addison
This award is given in recognition of an exemplary healthy, well-balanced and physically active lifestyle and promotion of the physical education program.

Biology
Caryl Parker Haskins Prize
Jade Rio Sales-Lee
This prize was established in 1966 in honor of former Trustee Dr. Haskins for distinction in the life sciences.

Vera Long Prize
Karen Elaine Tanner
This prize was established in 1987 and given in honor of an outstanding paper written on environmental biology.  It is named for a Mills Alumna and lifelong Trustee.

Book Art
Rosalind Keep Book Art Award
Colette Pare-Miller
This award recognizes general excellence in the area of book art as well as a substantial contribution to the program.

Center for the Book Award for Excellence in Book Art
Leia Reedijk
This award sponsored by Mills College Center for the Book, recognizes a student who has made a significant commitment to book art throughout her undergraduate studies and has demonstrated overall excellence in her classes and projects.

Chemistry
Alie Ogborn Jackson Barry Prize
Jade Rio Sales-Lee
Established by a gift from Mrs. Aphia Wallan in memory of her mother, this is awarded to an outstanding chemistry student.

Computer Science
Helen Pillans Award
Mary Moon
This award is given in honor of Helen Pillans, who taught at Mills for many years and was responsible for the establishment of the computer science program in the 1960's.

Lenox-McEntyre Award
Jodessa Lanzaderas
This award is given for excellence in computer science and contributions to the computer science community. Formerly Diane McEntyre Award, recently renamed the Lennox-McEntyre Award, in honor of the late Carol Lennox.

Dance
Dance Department Merit Award
Prudence Amsden, Thea Anderson, Jacqueline de Kuijper, Kimberley Ip, Heather Stockton
This award is given for overall artistic and academic merit.

Dance Department Innovator Award
Ada Langley
This award is given for exceptional originality in performance and choreography.

E. L. Wiegand Foundation Award
Garth Grimball, Natalie Morales, Cuauhtemoc Peranda, Judene Small
This award is given for excellence in performance and choreography.

Economics
Marion Ross Merit Scholarship
Monikanka Alem
This award is given in honor of Dr. Marion Ross, respected alumna and former economics professor at Mills. It is awarded for excellence in economics.

Nancy Thornborrow Endowed Prize
Morgane Bradley
This award is named in honor of Professor Nancy Thornborrow for her creative leadership, and is awarded to one or more undergraduate alumna/e, outstanding students enrolled in the 4+1 who plans to earn an MBA from Mills in two semesters of full-time graduate study.

Omicron Delta Epsilon
Miriam Adamec-Ostlund, Ava Anderson, Morgane Bradley, Katrina Corbosiero, Keeley Driscoll, Jessica Hernandez, Jodessa Lanzaderas, Amanda McFarland, Hannah Muenchau, Jaia Orient, Katie Smith
Omicron Delta Epsilon is the International Honorary Society in Economics. Students are selected based on their performance in economics courses and are selected from economics, business economics and PLEA-econ majors.

Education
Joan Henry Endowed Scholarship
Rebecca Johnson
This award recognizes an undergraduate child development major who demonstrates a strong history and continuing commitment to early childhood education.

Jane Bowyer Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teacher Education
Annie Lebowitz
This award is for excellence in undergraduate teacher education

Alpha Delta Kappa Excellence in Student Teaching Scholarship
Lauren Fischer, Thao Chung
This is given by the Peralta Council chapters of Alpha Delta Kappa, an international honorary sorority. It is a scholarship for the professional development of outstanding female teachers during their student teaching experience.

English
Mary Merritt Henry Prize
Undergraduate Poetry - Tarin Griggs
Graduate Poetry - Maya Weeks
Honorable Mention - Brittany Billmeyer-Finn
Established in 1921, these prizes are awarded for a group of poems by students.

Ardella Mills Prize for Literary Composition
Fiction:
Undergraduate - Ashley Shaffer
Honorable Mention - Chorel Centers
Graduate - Marcus Lund
Honorable Mention - Michael Canterino

Creative Nonfiction:
Undergraduate - Hannah Norby
Honorable Mention - Desire Johnson
Graduate - A. Evan Nichols
Honorable Mention - Garrett Croker, Owen Poindexter, Michelle Geck, Claudia Heron

Critical Essay:
Undergraduate - Jessica Glennon
Graduate - Elizabeth Greeniaus
Prizes given for excellence in literary composition was established in 1931, by a bequest of Maria Elizabeth Mills, in memory of her daughter.

Marion Hood Boess Haworth Prize
Undergraduate - Sheila Burson
Honorable Mention - Leia Reedijk
Graduate - Jennifer Franklin
The award is given for excellence in fiction for children's and young adult literature.

English I Essay Prize
Jenna Pinel
Honorable Mention - Gabriella Amberchan, Iva Dubyak
This award is for an essay written in English 001 class for both fall and spring semesters.

Journalism Prize
Diana Fay Arbas
Honorable Mention - Stephanie Scerra
This prize is given for excellence in reporting and writing.

Amanda Davis MFA Thesis in Fiction Award
Camille Graves
Honorable Mention - Terra Brigando
This thesis prize for fiction is in memory of Mills English professor Amanda Davis who died in a plane crash while promoting her first novel in March 2003.

Ethnic Studies
Ethnic Studies Outstanding Academic Scholar Award
Terra Mikalson, Stephani Waidelich
This award recognizes a student(s) who has achieved overall academic excellence in the department.

Reaching Beyond Award
Lauren Bartlett
This award recognizes excellence in building coalitions between communities of color on campus and through service to the community. This award highlights the importance of building unity in diversity in order to achieve social change.

The Spirit of Dolores Huerta Award
Isabel Cortes
This award recognizes the student who has demonstrated the kind of courageous and conscientious pursuit of justice as evinced in the person of Dolores Huerta.

French and Francophone Studies
Germaine Thompson Prize
Louise Cazedessus, Rachel Draznin-Nagy, Ariana Samuel
This award was established by Germaine K. Thompson in 1985 in admiration of the excellent teaching of Martha Cottam. It is awarded for excellence in French.

Government
Phi Sigma Alpha
Miriam J. Adamec-Ostlund, Morgane Bradley, Shelby T. Duncan, Amina Dzano, Jessica A. Naimark, Lauren-Marie Sliter
Phi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society was founded in 1920 at the University of Texas for the purpose of bringing together students and faculty interested in the study of government and politics. Today there are over 600 chapters throughout the country. Mills College is home to the Phi Eta chapter.

Lawrence Shrader Prize
Hadley A. Clarke
This award was established in 2007 for the outstanding senior thesis in government or international relations.

History
Anne Hummel Sherrill Scholarship
Dorothy Lundberg, Jessica Stewart
This scholarship is awarded to the top junior student in history. The award is determined in the spring and applied toward senior year tuition.

Reynold M. Wik Prize
Rana Razek
Established in 1998, this prize is awarded to the outstanding senior in history.

William Warner Henry Prize
Melanie Weston
This award is for the best essay about New England in the role of American history.

Phi Alpha Theta
Chelsea Baumgartner, Traci Boozer, Samantha Chicca, Emily Dixon, Chelsea Ekholm, Victoria Gibson, Emily Kaput, Maria Mejia, Jessica Poe, Elspeth Ralls, Rana Razek, Rachel Rojas
Phi Alpha Theta is the national honor society for history whose mission is to promote the study of history through the encouragement of research, good teaching, publication and the exchange of learning and ideas among historians.

Mathematics
Lenore Blum Award
Savannah Smith
Formerly George Backus Brown Award, this is awarded for outstanding scholastic achievement in mathematics.

Music
Elizabeth Mills Crothers Award
Sarah Davachi, Ryan Smith
Endowed in 1931 by Maria Elizabeth Mills in memory of her daughter, this is awarded for outstanding musical composition.

Maurthea Friedberger Cup
Ziyong Lin
This award is given to the most outstanding senior music major.

Paul Merritt Henry Prize
Giselle Eastman, Xo Nguyen
This prize was established in 1928 by Aurelia Henry Reinhardt during her presidency at Mills as a memorial to her brother. It is awarded for excellence in the musical composition of stringed instruments.

Frog Peak Collective Experimental Music Award
Ashley Bellouin
This is awarded to a graduate student who has completed an outstanding thesis on experimental music or who has contributed to the community of experimental musicians.

Margaret Lyon Music Student Prize
Shani Aviram, Shaina Elster, Dana Maralason, Lydia Martin, Devon Thrumston, Jennifer Wilsey
Established in 2004 in memory of Dr. Margaret Lyon, head of the music department for twenty-five years, by her family, friends and students. This prize is awarded to outstanding music students.

Donna Petersen Vocal Prize
Meaghan Leferink
This is awarded in honor of Donna Petersen, opera singer and beloved Mills voice teacher, for excellence in vocal performance.

Music Department Community Spirit Award
Grace Osborne, Rachel Condry
This award is given to students for excellence in performance.

Myrta Bennett Wieland Prize
Bonnie Horgos
This award is given for excellence in vocal performance.

Natural Sciences and Mathematics Division
Bruce McCollum Prize
Roseanna Pealatere, Karen Elaine Tanner
Established in 1960 by Mrs. Bruce McCollum in memory of her husband, this award is given to a senior majoring in science or mathematics with the highest attainment in scholarship.

Scheffler Junior Scholar Award
Jillian K. Steele
This award is given to a student majoring in Chemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, or Biology who has done outstanding work in her natural science coursework at Mills.

Psychology
Cheryl Sundheim Psychology Undergraduate Research Award
Ruth Carter, Erin Connolly, Kiya Komaiko, Ziyoung Lin
This award is presented for undergraduate research in psychology.

Queer Studies
Queer Studies Essay Prize
Ashley Redfield
This award is presented for the best queer studies essay or nonfiction paper.

Sociology and Anthropology
Anthropology Students of the Year
Kirby Holberg, Sheila Thomas
This award is given for outstanding contributions and volunteer service in anthropology.

Sociology Students of the Year
Rachel Bareiss, Gema Cardona
Established in 1998, this honor is awarded for active contributions to the sociology program at Mills in addition to the achievement of academic excellence.

Spanish and Spanish-American Studies
Gabriela Mistral Prize
Sasha Pettigrew
In honor of Gabriela Mistral, the first Latin American woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1945. She received a Doctorate Honoris Causa from Mills College in 1947. Awarded to graduating seniors for excellent academic work in the field of Hispanic letters.

Certificado De Honor Prize
Taylor Herrera, Esther Honig, Miriam Obermeyer, Verónica Perry
This award is for academic excellence in and commitment to the Spanish and Spanish American Studies Program.

Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies
Essay Prize
Jessica Glennon
This award is given to an undergraduate student for the best women's, gender and sexulity studies essay or nonfiction paper.

Zimmer Prize
Giselle Ordaz
This is awarded for outstanding scholarship and community service in women's, gender and sexuality studies.

Outstanding Teaching Award
Rachael Stryker, Jared Young
The Outstanding Teaching Award recognizes a faculty member(s) who has created an inclusive classroom environment that supports the academic success of all students

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Leadership and Service Awards

Outstanding Senior Award
Modesta Tamayo
This award was established to honor a graduating senior who has demonstrated strength in scholarship and extraordinary service to Mills and the local community. Criteria are divided into four areas: scholarship, on-campus activities, off-campus activities, and special initiative.

Student Organization of the Year
Black Women's Collective
This award is presented to an organization that has demonstrated campus leadership; collaboration with other student organizations, faculty, and staff; and devotion to educating its members and the broader community. This organization's events, activities, and presence help support both the college's and the ASMC's mission.

Student Organization Advisor of the Year
Britta Bullard, Monica Wilson
This award recognizes a campus advisor(s) who dedicates time and resources to the advancement of a club or organization. This person exemplifies the college's mission, acts as a positive change agent, fosters high ideals, and provides sustained support to a club or organization. This person offers support to students through mentorship, guidance, and advocacy. She or he serves as an educator and role model for undergraduate students at Mills College.

Christine LaFia Award
Lauren Bartlett, Kirstyne Lange
This award is given to students for outstanding service to Mills College.

Palladium
Angelica Addison, Chelsea Baumgartner, Sheila Burson, Amanda Clark, Stephanie Der, Keeley Driscoll, Rebecca Freeman, Renee Gallison, Aisha Gonzalez, Desire Johnson, Sarah Knight, Ziyong Lin, Sarah Lombardo, Elizabeth Mauerman, Mary Moon, Kehontas Rowe, Kate Smith, Modesta Tamayo, Daisy Wong
Founded in 1930, this distinctive honor society recognizes juniors and seniors who combine academic excellence with service to Mills.

Peg Dean Award
Soo Choi
This award was established by alumna Edyth Chang to recognize an Asian American student for leadership on campus.

Helen Carroll Award
Myles Luber
This is an award given to a faculty, staff or student for dedication to securing equal rights and combating discrimination of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Coleen Gragen Award
Isabel Cortes
Created in honor of a Mills College Personal Defense Instructor, this award recognizes Mills faculty, staff, or student who exemplify Gragen's lifelong dedication to the advocacy of women.

Patrice Griffin Aquatics Award
Emily Kaput, Dorothy Lundberg, Lauren McDougald
This prize was established in 1989 by Chris and Edy Hum for outstanding enthusiasm and support for aquatic programs in the department of athletics, physical education and recreation.

Shirley Weishaar Award
Maria Mejia
Created in honor of a former Dean of Students, this award recognizes outstanding service to the Division of Student Life.

Student Leadership in Campus Sustainability
Lora ChauDavis, Claire Matthews
Awarded in honor of outstanding stewardship of the Mills College campus and for encouraging the local community to create sustainable practices.

Mills of Color Awards
Mills of Color Awards recognizes students, faculty or staff of color for outstanding achievement and service. Each of the following categories honors both individual accomplishments and the creation of community change:

MOCA Freshwoman Leader of the Year: Thalia Moore

MOCA Sophmore Leaders of the Year: Phuong Tseng

MOCA Junior Leader of the Year: Aisha Gonzalez

MOCA Senior Leader of the Year: Gema Cardona

MOCA Graduate Leader of the Year: Karl Debro

MOCA Student Organization of the Year: Mills Giving Tree

MOCA Outstanding Athlete: Aisha Gonzalez

MOCA Artist of the Year: Desire Johnson

MOCA for Community Service: Stephani Candelaria-Waidelich

MOCA for Community Activism: Tamara Chukes

MOCA Staff Member of the Year: Sabrina Kwist

MOCA Faculty Member of the Year: Julia C. Oparah, Priya Shimpi

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