School of Arts and Sciences Honors Convocation
On April 9, the School of Arts and Sciences announced the winners of the David C. Evans Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Scholarship and the Creative Arts at the school’s Honors Convocation.
Associate Dean Vincent Wang presented the awards. History professor John L. Gordon Jr., who will retire this year after 46 years of service to the University, and Sandra Zuniga Guzman, ’13, an international studies and political science major, made opening remarks at the event.
Mary McDonnell, ’13, was awarded the David Evans Award for Outstanding Achievement in Creative Arts. McDonnell is a double major in theatre and dance and business administration with a concentration in marketing. Known for her acting talents, she played a lead role in the recent production of Spring Awakening. Her work directing The Waiting Room earlier this year earned her praise from the Department of Theatre and Dance, which nominated her for the Evans Award. She is an active member of the improv group Subject to Change and conducted research last summer on creating an improv festival.
Aleah Goldin, ’13, and Alexander Hahn ’13, were awarded the David Evans Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Scholarship.
Goldin is an interdisciplinary studies major, concentrating in global health, with minors in creative writing and anthropology. She has conducted research with faculty from psychology, leadership studies, and anthropology, leading to a co-authored publication in a cognitive science journal. She spent a semester studying abroad in Mongolia, where she lived with a local family and researched Mongolian traditional medicine known as bone-setting. Her resulting paper was presented at the 2013 annual meeting of the Southern Anthropological Association and won their student paper competition. She plans to continue her research as a Fulbright scholar to Mongolia and then study medical anthropology at the graduate level.
Hahn, a chemistry major, is also a recipient of the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship given to exceptionally qualified scientists pursuing research in their fields. For several summers he has conducted research under the mentorship of Dr. Carol Parish. He has presented his findings at leading national and regional conferences and jointly published his findings with his professors and colleagues. He was invited to participate in a Proctor & Gamble summer research seminar that led to a prestigious internship with their family care department. He will enroll in Harvard’s School of Dental Medicine this fall.
The David C. Evans Awards are named for former history professor and associate dean of Arts and Sciences David Evans, whose contributions to the University included expanding opportunities and supporting independent student scholarship and creative activity.