An exemplary student and a fierce advocate for LGBTQ awareness and promoting positive sexuality, Providence A. Ryan ’16, a biology and philosophy double major from Schenectady, N.Y., is the 2016 recipient of Colgate’s highest student honor, the 1819 Award.
The 1819 Award is given annually to one student representing character, sportsmanship, scholarship, and service above and beyond their peers.
“Our 1819 Award winner has worked tirelessly to break down traditional academic barriers and has dedicated herself to key efforts meant to extend learning beyond the traditional classroom,” said Interim President Jill Harsin.
Ryan left an indelible mark on campus as president of the Advocates Club, planning and implementing programs focused on LGBTQ awareness, and she was a production manager and cast member of The Vagina Monologues and This is Not a Play About Sex.
One nominator wrote that, “Colgate will forever be impacted by the way she upholds standards of leadership, support, and service.”
Another wrote, “When I think about someone who has single handedly helped individuals on this campus, I think of Providence Ryan because of her involvement, kindness, and downright motivation to make wherever she is a better place for all.”
A Dean’s Award winner and a previous recipient of the George W. Cobb Award, Ryan embraced opportunities to work in the lab and in the field. In the summer of 2015, Ryan traveled with Professor Carrie Woods to study rain forest soil ecology. Ryan also spent time conducting research in Costa Rica, collecting soil samples and climbing trees to collect leaf samples from the forest canopy.
Ryan also had an influential role in helping new students adjust to campus life. She served as a resident coach for the Office of Undergraduates Studies, mentoring incoming students, and worked as a community leader for the Sophomore Residential Seminars, helping to shape that formative program designed to connect living and learning in new ways.
Watch the entire 2016 Awards Convocation.
Additional outstanding students recognized at the 2016 Awards Convocation include:
US Student Fulbright Grant
William Andrews
Carolyn Skelly
Projects for Peace Grant
Woohee Kim ’18c
Rangel International Affairs Graduate Fellowship
Ranissa Adityavarman
Gilman Scholarship
Louise Zhang ’18
Coro Fellowship
Samantha Hom
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Awards-2015-2016
Alexandria (Aidan) Davis
Providence Ryan
Charity Whyte
Dr. Leo H. Speno Award
Danielle Putur
Jewish Student Life Awards
Renée Berger
Jessica Friedberg
Jake Pulver
Class of 1997 Award
Alain Cruz
Jennifer Dias
Usman Ghani
Samantha Hom
Julia Yarrington
Dean’s Community Service Awards
Emily Luba
Danielle Putur
Deans’ Community Commitment Awards
David Kim
Charity Whyte
Dean of College Special Recognition Awards
Dayna Campbell
Rachel Drucker
Bailey Graves
Susan Miller
Monica Murphy
Madison Paulk
Voice of Conscience Awards
Bailey Graves
Samantha Hom
Charity Whyte
The Dodge Prizes
Dana Michelle Chan
Asad Jamil
The Edward M. Stimets Memorial Award
Michael Vitale
The Upstate Institute Awards
Kayleigh Bhangdia
Jennifer Dias
Academic awards
Phi Beta Kappa Daniel H. Saracino Prize for Scholarship of Exceptional Merit
Lillian Pentecost
Charity Whyte
The Beckman Scholar Award
Amanda Liberman
Lampert Award for Outstanding Scholarship
Alexander Pustelnyk (in absentia)
OUS Award for Academic Excellence
Providence Ryan
Cleon O. Morgan Award
John Wilkins
Departmental/Program Awards
Africana and Latin American Studies
OAS Award for Excellence in Latin American Studies – Jamie Gagliano
Arthur Schomburg Award for Excellence in African Studies – Madison Paulk
Caribbean Studies Award – Dlorean Lemon-Riggs
Art and Art History
Fitchen Awards for Excellence in Art and Art History – Daniel Berry, Kristine Pfister
Harriette Wagner Memorial Award – Holland Reynolds
Asian Studies
Award for Excellence in Area Studies: South Asia – Gautam Bhagat
Award for Excellence in Area Studies: Pan-Asia – Helen Jatho
Award for Excellence in Area Studies: China – Hailey Savage
Athletics
Director of Athletics Awards – Michael Borkowski, Randyll Butler
Joseph Huther Prize – Julia (Katelyn) Parker
John T. (Jack) Mitchell Memorial Award – Tyler Edmond
Thomas M. Wilson ’67 Memorial Leadership Award – Andrew Aicher
Gottesman Award for Excellence in the Sciences & Athletics – Alexandra Gadiano
Team Academic Excellence Awards – Men’s Football, Women’s Ice Hockey
Biology
Oswald T. Avery Awards – Nathanial Larson, Catherine Morris
Raymond J. Myers Awards – Julia Ceglowski, Jennifer Dias, Lindsey Sagasta
Christopher Oberheim Memorial Awards – Lindsay McCulloch, Christine Olivero, Sara Reese
Chemistry
Haskell Schiff Memorial Prizes – Scott Adler, Tianyi (Mike) He, Clare Lee, Alexa Werner, Elizabeth Riley, Sophia Gallucci,
Edwin Foster Kingsbury Prizes – Kathleen Burke, Linh Le,
Lawrence Chemical Prizes – Yuqi (Maya) Cao, Young-Woo (Leo) Cho, Linh Le, Sydney Loria
Roy Burnett Smith Prize in Chemistry – Andrew Thompson
McGregory Fellowship in Chemistry – Haochuan Wei
American Chemical Society’s Division of Organic Chemistry Undergraduate Award in Organic Chemistry – Tia Cervarich
American Chemical Society’s Division of Analytical Chemistry Undergraduate Award in Analytical Chemistry – Megan Tigue
The Classics
J. Curtiss Austin Latin Prizes – Hillary Huggins, Elizabeth Johnson
Awards for Excellence in the Classics – Gordon Denis, Jee Hun (Henry) Kim, Yingsi (Erin) Lai, Sydney Loria, Kevin Shannon
Baldwin Greek Prizes – Zixing Chen, Benjamin Hack, Jiarong (Sophie) He, Daniel Mahoney
Newton Lloyd Andrews Prizes – Gabriella Bianchi, Erin Burnett, Hillary Huggins, Joseph Mays, Andrew Moshos
Computer Science
Awards for Excellence in Computer Science – Jiayang Li, Lillian Pentecost
Awards for Outstanding Contribution to the Computer Science Community – Courtney McGill, Samantha Spano
Laura Sanchis Award Excellence in Research – Lillian Pentecost
Edward P. Felt ’81 Memorial Prizes in Computer Science – Michael Lese, Jiayang Li, Lillian Pentecost, John Sneeringer
East Asian Languages and Literatures
Awards for Excellence in Chinese Language – Caleb Eckenwiler, Anna Olson
Award for Excellence in Japanese Language – Katy Lin
Mori Family Award for Excellence in Japanese Language – Elizabeth Johnson
Economics
Chi-Ming Hou Award for Excellence in International Economics – Julia O’Neil
Marshall-Keynes Award for Excellence in Economics – Melissa Haller
J. Melbourne Shortliffe Prize – Bradley Miles
Educational Studies
Charles H. Thurber Awards – Jungmin Kang, Jaqueline Macy, Mary Clare Manfred, Tylor Spinks, Tyson Spinks
Past 1819 Award recipients
- Kori Strother ’15
- 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
Lasher Prize – Jessica Nuthmann
Lasher Prize for Distinction in English Composition – Brittney Wittmer
Scott Saunders Prizes for Excellence in Literature – Alison Bean, Anastassia Bougakova
Jonathan H. Kistler Memorial Curricular Innovation Prizes in English – Emma (Lee) Tremblay, Jaime Gelman, Sarah Chandler
Theater
Howard W. & Anne T. Pike Memorial Prizes – Tanner Holley, Allison Spanyer
Environmental Studies
Awards for Excellence in Environmental Studies – Mallory Hart, Kristina McNamara, Sara Reese
Film and Media Studies
Film and Media Studies Awards – Ian Lynch, Hang (Colin) Ren , Brittney Wittmer
Geography
Shannon McCune Prize in Geography – Melissa Haller
Peter Gould Award in Geography – Kayleigh Bhangdia
Kevin Williams ’10 Endowed Memorial Fellowship Award – Ana Tobio
Geology
Award for Excellence in Geology – Sarah Katz
Robert M. Linsley Prize for Excellence in Geology – Tiong Hua (Andy) Sia
Norma Vergo Prizes in Geology – Katherine Hardock, Kevin Varga
Kevin Williams ’10 Endowed Memorial Fellowship Award – Lily Daggett
German
Valentine Piotrow German Prizes- William Andrews, Rachel Ernst, Conrad Thallner
Health Sciences
Bernard and Sydell Citron Pre-Medical Scholastic Prize – Tyler Edmond
History
Award for Excellence in History – Kate Dugdale
History Honors Award – Zoë Zissu
Scott Saunders Prize for Excellence in History – Allison Chapin
Douglas K. Reading History Prize – Warren Dennis
International Relations
Paul O. Stillman ’55 Award – Elizabeth Kilbride
Jewish Studies
Jewish Studies Award – Samantha Sloane
LGBTQ Studies
LGBTQ Studies Awards for Academic Excellence – Toni Stickler, Catherine Williams
Core Curriculum Prizes
Core 151 Prize – Catharine Strong
Core 152 Prize – Jee Hun (Henry) Kim
Core SP – Alexander Pustelnyk (in absentia), Sarah Wylie
Core Cultures – Olivia Acker (in absentia)
Mathematics
Allen First-Year Mathematics Prize – Asad Jamil
Sisson Mathematics Prizes – Zhuting Jiang, Dong Mai, Eric Palmerduca, Daoyang Shan, Jinxin Shou, Quan Vu, Baiyu Zhou
Edwin J. Downie ’33 Award for Mathematics – Jacob Mayle (in absentia)
Medieval and Renaissance Studies
Award for Excellence in Medieval and Renaissance Studies – Erin Burke
Middle Eastern and Islamic Civilization Studies
Awards for Excellence in Middle Eastern and Islamic Civilization Studies – Madison Grant
Muhammad Eissa Prizes for Excellence in Arabic – Ashley Brekke, Meredith Reynolds
Music
Class of 1909 Music Prizes – Madeleine Cuddy, Luc Herbowy, Benjamin Phelps
Robert G. Ingraham Memorial Music Prizes – Fiona Evans, Nathan Fritz, Logan Keig
Donald Lloyd Cotton ‘36 Prizes – Zixing (Elva) Chen, Erin Hoffman, Isaiah Keyes
Lorey Family Senior Music Prize – Soo Bin Kwon
Native American Studies
Award for Excellence in Native American Studies – Andrew Kil
Neuroscience
William E. & Nellie K. Edmonston Neuroscience Awards – Tyler Edmond, Rachel Goldberg
Peace and Conflict Studies Awards
Dag Hammarskjold Prize in Peace Studies – Kerri Santero
Clarence Young Award – MacKenzie Neeson
Sterling Prizes – Dorothy (Quincy) Pierce, Meredith Reynolds
Philosophy
M. Holmes Hartshorne Memorial Awards for Excellence in Philosophy – Brett Christensen, George (Myles) Coen, Claire Grace
M. Holmes Hartshorne Memorial Award for Excellence in Postgraduate Study in Philosophy – Se Min Her
Balmuth Award for Philosophical Engagement – George (Myles) Coen
Robinson Essay Prize – Trevor O’Bryan
Physics and Astronomy
Physics and Astronomy Department Founders Awards – Brendan Sheehan, Jovana (Luna) Zagorac
Edwin Foster Kingsbury Prizes – Jonathan Schuldt, Kristina Wittler, Saiyang Zhang
Physics and Astronomy Alumni Awards – Sean Foster, Lillian Pentecost
Political Science
Dr. William Boyle Jr. Awards – Benjamin Antenore (in absentia)
Herbert J. Storing Memorial Award – Justin LoScalzo
Politics and Citizenship Award – Justin LoScalzo
Psychology
Phil R. Miller Prizes – Rachel Neal, Julia Yarrington
Sarah Kulkofsky Awards – Margaret Gorman, Julia Kurtz
Kevin Carlsmith Prizes – Sierra Larson, Hannah Winslow
Service Awards in Psychology – Alison Scalzo, Julia Yarrington,
Religion
M. Holmes Hartshorne Memorial Awards for Excellence – Julia Queller, Joanna Howe
Robinson Essay Prize—Jessica Benmen
Romance Languages and Literatures
Charles A. Choquette Memorial Prizes – Jessica Capwell, Lacey Williams
David B. Jutten Prize – Christian Quattrociocchi
Awards for Excellence in Spanish Studies – Jennifer Dias, John Nuveen
Awards for Excellence in French Studies – Kerry Houston, Elizabeth Gwilym
Award for Excellence in Italian Studies – Alyse Kalish
Russian and Eurasian Studies
Robert L. Murray Award in Russian and Eurasian Studies – John McCaslin
Anton Checkov Prize – John Simoni
Richard Sylvester Award for First-Year Students – William Stowers
Sociology and Anthropology
Award for Excellence in Sociology and Anthropology – Anastassia Bougakova
Ramshaw Service Awards – Kellyann Hayes, Sylvie Lauzon, Michaela Murphy
Women’s Studies
Women’s Studies Awards for Academic Excellence – Monica Murphy, Toni Stickler
Elizabeth Cady Stanton Awards – Alexandria Davis, Susan Miller, Monica Murphy, Noufo (Stephanie) Nabine, Charity Whyte
Writing and Rhetoric
Joseph ’63 and Carol Trimmer Awards for Excellence in Expository Writing and Rhetoric– Leah Robinson, Brianna Torres, Grace Western (in absentia)
Trimmer Senior Scholar Award for Outstanding Achievement in Writing and Rhetoric – Alexis (Lexi) Panepinto
Professor-of-the-Year Award
Bob Turner, Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies
1819 Award
Providence Ryan