Kori Strother ’15 accepts the 1819 Award from President Herbst at the awards ceremony. (Photo by Andy Daddio)
Kori Strother ’15, an Africana & Latin American studies major from Saint Louis, Mo., is the 2015 recipient of Colgate’s 1819 Award, the highest student honor granted by the university.
The 1819 Award is given annually to one student representing character, sportsmanship, scholarship, and service above and beyond their peers. While this year’s winner represents all of those qualities, she also had the courage to look Colgate in the eye to say, “you can do better.”
Colgate President Jeffrey Herbst said, “one nominator explained how this year’s 1819 Award recipient has worked tirelessly with the administration and students to promote access, inclusion, and diversity. She and countless supporters took Colgate’s mission statement to heart and called upon all of us to be the inclusive institution that we strive to be.”
Strother helped lead one of Colgate’s most powerful campus reform movements in recent memory: A peaceful 100-hour demonstration at James B. Colgate Hall in which students called for a more inclusive and welcoming campus united against racial intolerance.
The historic demonstration led to a collaboration between students and administration, resulting in a 21-point action plan titled “Colgate for All.”
In January, Strother also gave a moving keynote address during Martin Luther King Week, encouraging the Colgate community to unabashedly confront issues of race, saying “we are all going to find ourselves very, very, very uncomfortable at times, but we must stay diligent, stay inspired, and never wait [for change and progress.]”
A 2013 summer fellow with the Colgate Upstate Institute, and a 2014 Lampert Institute fellow, Strother is also captain on Colgate’s Division I women’s track team, and co-vice president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. She is distinguished in the 4×100 relay, the 4×200 relay, and the long jump. A Dean’s Award winner and member of the Raider Academic Honor roll, Strother has also worked as a community leader in Residential Life, and was an intern in the Office of LGBTQ Life.
Watch the entire 2015 Awards Convocation.
Additional outstanding students recognized at the 2015 Awards Convocation include:
Thomas J. Watson Fellowship
Sohee Ryuk ’15
US Student Fulbright Grant
Susanna Meyer ’15
Alexandria Dyer ’15
Udall Scholarship
Sara Reese ’16
Projects for Peace
Ewa Protasiuk ’15
Sarah Wooton ’15
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Awards-2014-2015
Jackson Ang’on’ga
Christelle Boursiquot
Lokelani Cummings-Watanabe
Aja Isler
Alan Kim
Peter Njeri
Liza Paudel
The Dr. Leo H. Speno Award
Edward Pavalko
Jewish Students Life awards
Dana Laxer
Gabriel Block
The Class of 1997 Award
Benjamin Cook
The Dean’s Community Service Award
Kristin Carey
Gregory Zengilowski
The Dodge Prizes
Angelica Greco
Xintong (Zoey) Liu
The Edward M. Stimets Memorial Award
Andrew DeFrank
The Voice of Conscience Award
The Association of Critical Collegians
Lampert Award for Outstanding Scholarship
Sohee Ryuk
OUS Award for Academic Excellence
Jimmy Juarez
Cleon Morgan Award
Cyierra Roldan
Departmental Awards
AFRICANA AND LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES
OAS Award for Excellence in Latin American Studies – Susanna Meyer
Arthur Schomburg Award for Excellence in Africana Studies – Victoria Linney, Kori Strother
ART AND ART HISTORY
Fitchen Award for Excellence – Elizabeth De Angelis
The Harriette Wagner Memorial Award – Janelle Bradley, Hannah Bjornson
ASIAN STUDIES
Award for Excellence in Area Studies: China – Julia Won
Award for Excellence in Area Studies: Pan-Asia – Ashley Jones
Award for Excellence in Area Studies: Japan – Ye Na Yoo
ATHLETICS
Director of Athletics Awards – Caroline Brawner, Spencer Wallach
Joseph Huther Prize – Jenna Gibney
John T. (Jack) Mitchell Memorial – Alex Lagowitz
Thomas M. Wilson ’67 Memorial Leadership Award – Carole Harris
Gottesman Award for Excellence in the Sciences & Athletics – Rachel Siciliano
Team Academic Excellence Awards – Softball, and Men’s Basketball
BIOLOGY
Oswald T. Avery Awards – Changchang Liu, Peter Juviler (in absentia)
Raymond J. Myers Awards – James Paris, Kelly Pittenger
Christopher Oberheim Memorial Awards – Mabel Baez, Katherine Cascino, Mae Staples
CHEMISTRY
Haskell Schiff Memorial Prizes – Linh Le, Yutong Jiang, Benjamin Apple, Sarah Anderson, Abigail Ross, Claudia Pena, Hope van Bree
Edwin Foster Kingsbury Prize – Colin Shipley
Lawrence Chemical Prizes – Gian Paolo Sepulveda, Courtney Benoit, Kayla Oliver,
Maia Dinsmore
Roy Burnett Smith Prize in Chemistry – Joseph VanGalen
McGregory Fellowship in Chemistry – Daniel Kim
American Chemical Society’s Division of Organic Chemistry Undergraduate Award in Organic
Chemistry – Madison Powers
American Chemical Society’s Division of Analytical Chemistry Undergraduate Award in Analytical Chemistry – Tia Cervarch (in absentia)
CLASSICS
J. Curtiss Austin Latin Prizes – Emily Taft, Joshua Paul
Awards for Excellence in the Classics – Terence Sino, Daniel Mahoney, Amanda Kummeth, Sydney Parker
Baldwin Greek Prizes – Megan Delaney
Newton Lloyd Andrews Prizes – Zachary Abt, Erica Hiddink
COMPUTER SCIENCE
Awards for Excellence in Computer Science – Mackenzie Baler, John Lannin, Tuan Anh Dau,
Samuel Daulton, Dang Minh Mguyen
Awards for Outstanding Contribution to the Computer Science Community – Farah Fouladi,
Lauren Yeary
Edward P. Felt ’81 Memorial Prizes – John Lannin, Charles Jennings, Anindya Guha
EAST ASIAN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES
Award for Excellence in Chinese Language – Emily Chambers
Award for Excellence in Japanese Language – Jasmine Hwang
Mori Family Award for Excellence in Japanese Language – Mac Baler
ECONOMICS
Chi-Ming Hou Award for Excellence in International Economics – Sagar Saxena
Marshall-Keynes Award for Excellence in Economics – Mia Goldstone
J. Melbourne Shortliffe Prize- McKenzie Hume
EDUCATIONAL STUDIES
Charles H. Thurber Awards – Kristi Carey, Natasha Torres, Michelle Sagalchik, Sarah Wooton
Past 1819 Award recipients
- Evan Chartier ’14
- Maggie Dunne ’13
- Vic Krivitski ’12
- Kiki Koroshetz ’11
- Emily Bradley ’10
- Mark Anderson ’09
- Anna Keegan ’08
- Winners from 2007 and prior
ENGLISH
Allen Prize in English Composition – Lucy Sandwick
Lasher Prizes – Jessica Benmen(in absentia), Anastassia Bougakova, Jaime Gelman(in absentia), Brittney Wittmer
Lasher Prizes for Distinction in English Composition – Kathy Chao, Caitlyn Hartigan, Miri
Reinhold
Scott Saunders Prizes for Excellence in Literature – Emma Staples, Caroline Main, Gabriel Zetter
Jonathan H. Kistler Prize – Natalie Sportelli
ENGLISH/THEATER
Howard W. & Anne T. Pike Memorial Prize – Margaret Schuelke
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
Award for Excellence in Environmental Studies – Mabel Baez, Sarah DeFalco, Rachel Hangley
FILM AND MEDIA STUDIES
Film and Media Studies Awards – Andrew Aaronson, Dan Kwartler, Dave Purdy
GEOGRAPHY
Shannon McCune Prize in Geography – Sarah Byer
Peter Gould Award in Geography – Kayla Weinstein
Kevin Williams Memorial Fellowship Award – Alexander Pustelnyk
GEOLOGY
Award for Excellence in Geology – Jennifer Godbout, Alexander Wrobel
Robert M. Linsley Prize for Excellence in Geology – Julia Horne
Norma Vergo Prize in Geology – Duncan Keller
Kevin Williams Memorial Fellowship Award – Jackson Lucas
GERMAN
Valentine Piotrow German Prizes- Samantha Wary, Margaret Schuelke, Kory Beach
HEALTH SCIENCES
Bernard and Sydell Citron Pre-Medical Scholastic Prize – Joseph Van Galen
HISTORY
Award for Excellence in History – Nichole Schroeder
History Honors Award – Elma Hajric
Scott Saunders Prize for Excellence in History – John Schnettler
Douglas K. Reading History Prize – Rachel DiSalvo
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Paul O. Stillman ’55 Award – John Murphy
JEWISH STUDIES
Jewish Studies Awards – Dana Laxer, Ariel Sherry
LGBTQ
LGBTQ Studies Award for Academic Excellence – Tess Cumpstone
LIBERAL ARTS CORE CURRICULUM
Core 151 Prize – Rachael Shook (in absentia)
Core CI – Madeline Clough, Abby Balfour
MATHEMATICS
Allen First-Year Mathematics Prize – Linh Le, Ruiyan Tang
Sisson Mathematics Prizes – Jiayang li, Yingqi Zheng, Ha Vu
Edwin J. Downie ’33 Awards for Mathematics – Dang Minh Nguyen
MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE STUDIES
Awards for Excellence in Medieval and Renaissance Studies – Andrada Danila, Caitlyn Hartigan, Mary Beehm
MIDDLE EASTERN AND ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION STUDIES
Awards for Excellence in Middle Eastern and Islamic Civilization – Ifeyinka Morakinyo, Philip
Steinberg
MUSIC
Class of 1909 Music Prizes – Fiona Evans(in absentia), Soo Bin Kwon(in absentia), Shelby Saunders
Robert G. Ingraham Memorial Music Prizes – Matthew Brauner, Adam Berk, James Carrol
Donald Lloyd Cotton Prize – Luc Herbowy, Benjamin Phelps, David Wall
Lorey Family Senior Music Prize – Adam Berk
NATIVE AMERICAN STUDIES
Award for Excellence in Native American Studies – Jordan Kolinski
NEUROSCIENCE
William E. & Nellie K. Edmonston Neuroscience Awards – Malin Lilley, Solomon Tesfaye
PEACE AND CONFLICT STUDIES
Dag Hammarskjold Prize in Peace Studies – Sarah Loy
Clarence Young Award – Sarah Loy
Sterling Prize – Skylar Lindsay
PHILOSOPHY
M. Holmes Hartshorne Memorial Awards for Excellence in Philosophy – Haeun Kim, Schuyler
Lyon, Juliane Wiese
M. Holmes Hartshorne Memorial Award for Excellence in Post Graduate Studies – Jucas Luttman
Balmuth Award for Philosophical Engagement – Hashim Rainey
PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY
Physics & Astronomy Alumni Awards – Jackson Ang’ong’a
Edwin Foster Kingsbury Prizes – Kelly Haberl, Derek Sherry, Linh Le
Physics and Astronomy Department Founders Awards – Matthew LeGro, Gregory Zengilowski
POLITICAL SCIENCE
Dr. William Boyle Jr. Awards – Justin LoScalzo
Herbert J. Storing Memorial Award – Emily Taft, Lauren Fong
PSYCHOLOGY
Phil R. Miller Prize – Ariel Sherry
Service Award in Psychology – Chelsea Dale
RELIGION
M. Holmes Hartshorne Memorial Award for Excellence in Religion – Emmett Potts, Susanna Kvam
M. Holmes Hartshorne Memorial Award for Excellence for Postgraduate Study in Religion – Dana
Laxer
ROMANCE LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES
Charles A. Choquette Memorial Prizes – Genevieve Trahan, Kelly Gerson
David B. Jutten Prizes – Alexandra Pfiffner, Olivia Gamble
Awards for Excellence in Spanish Studies – Sharlene Disla, Gisselle Perez-Leon
Awards for Excellence in French Studies – Lara Ozdemirci, Margretta Willemin
Awards for Excellence in Italian Studies – Jordan Kolinski, Katherine O’Malley
RUSSIAN and EURASIAN STUDIES
Robert L. Murray Award in Russian Studies – Jacob Ellison
SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY
Award for Excellence in Sociology and Anthropology- Erik Jurado
Ramshaw Service Award – Cindy Gaete
Read more from SOAN
WOMEN’S STUDIES
Women’s Studies Award for Academic Excellence – Tess Cumpstone
Elizabeth Cady Stanton Award – Natasha Torres, Emily Hawkins, Liza Paudel
WRITING AND RHETORIC
Joseph and Carol Trimmer Awards – Peter Muturi Njeri (in absentia-Paul Sirma will receive this award
on his behalf), Andrea Vega, Susan Waltz
Trimmer Senior Scholar Award – Madeline Peck, Kelly Reid
Phi Eta Sigma Professor-of-the-Year
Assistant Professor of Educational Studies Mark Stern
Colgate Alumni Corporation 1819 Award
Kori Strother