| New 21st Century Leader Awards
The newly created awards recognize graduating seniors who have demonstrated exemplary standards of achievement, initiative and social awareness. The recipients have excelled in one or more areas: as leaders uniting and inspiring others to take constructive action; as researchers in their respective fields; as community activists on or off campus; as undergraduate teaching assistants motivating others to learn; as role models in overcoming personal obstacles; or as significant creative or athletic talents. They have further demonstrated integrity, discipline, courage, compassion, and good humor. These awards are presented in the confident expectation that all of the recipients will bring further honor to themselves and the University. The inaugural group of 21st Century Leaders are:
Heather A. Berthiaume A Commonwealth College honors student who has made the Dean's List every semester, Berthiaume was drawn to the study of communication disorders by her close relationship with her youngest brother, who was born with Down's syndrome. She has conducted original research on the auditory health benefits college-age musicians might reap by wearing earplugs while practicing. Berthiaume is highly active in community service, having volunteered since 1992 in support of such events as the Special Olympics. She earned praise from faculty and students alike as an undergraduate teaching assistant for three Communication Disorders classes and for participating in the International Teaching Assistants Program.
Christina Calvaneso While serving as an associate at the Virtual Center for Supernetworks - an organization that promotes the study and application of supernet-works in academia, industry, and government - Calvaneso conducted research sponsored by a National Science Foundation grant. As president of the Isenberg School of Management's Undergraduate Leadership (ULEAD) Council, she restructured the organization, spearheaded its First Annual Leadership Forum, and oversaw food and clothing collections for local survival centers. She also has worked with underprivileged students in Kingsport, Tenn. Calvaneso helped develop the curriculum for the Isenberg School's freshman orientation and was a teaching assistant in a course on quantitative tools management.
Jorge L. Oliver Díaz A non-native English speaker, Díaz chose reading- and writing-intensive majors in pursuit of his goal of teaching Latin American history at the college level. At the Thatcher Language House, where residents immerse themselves in any of six foreign languages, he has been recognized for his efforts on the Spanish floor, conducting classes to enhance his peers' knowledge of Spanish and Caribbean cultures and generally encouraging a harmonious atmosphere. Díaz's community service has included tutoring in the Amherst schools, volunteering at the Red Cross, collecting donations for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, and taking part in the annual Walk for Hunger.
Kristin Leigh Forloney Having amassed an exemplary record of achievement in microbiological research, Forloney last year received an honor granted few undergraduates: she was asked to address the annual meeting of the American Society of Microbiology - one of the largest and most important professional meetings in the field - on the independent research she was conducting. She also has presented her work at the Undergraduate Research Conference and received many awards. During the past five years, Forloney has volunteered with the American Cancer Society and the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, tutored children in math and reading, and worked with underprivileged teens in Holyoke.
Judd E. Galloway At age 28, Galloway is a non-traditional student who during two years as president of the University chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers transformed it into one of the nation's finest student chapters. He also has worked with department professors on the campus's bridge restoration project. While serving in the Navy, Galloway specialized in cryptolog-ics, leading and directing a six-member aircrew in intelligence collection. In Bosnia he organized and instructed group training sessions and oversaw the work of 20 translators. He has held workshops on civil engineering for the Girl Scouts and taken part in five Habitat for Humanity building sessions.
Jonathan J. Laubinger Despite belonging to several honor societies, regularly making the Dean's List, and having been a Rhodes Scholarship nominee, Commonwealth College honors student Laubinger may have had his greatest moment on the night of Sept. 11, 2001, when he offered comfort and consolation to some 4,000 students attending a campus-wide vigil he organized. Laubinger also served on the Board of Trustees as student representative for the Amherst campus and represented the University in the 5-kilometer race sponsored by the 12th International Conference on AIDS/STDs in Africa. Erica Holly Mattison
Psychology Passionately interested in politics and psychology, Mattison has completed an honors thesis on public perceptions of male and female political candidates and has volunteered with several state and national political campaigns. Mattison's academic achievements have been recognized by more than 10 groups, including national honor societies, and she was a Truman Scholarship national finalist. She conceived and developed the campus's Dean's List Reception. Mattison has been a tour guide at the U.S. Capitol, the Massachusetts State House, and the Paul Revere House, and interned with the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism.
William A. Powers Having done a Political Science honors thesis on partisan "de-alignment" in Massachusetts politics, Powers has further demonstrated his interest in government by serving since 2000 in many capacities in the Student Government Association and by being the campus's student representative on the Board of Trustees. He also has been very active with the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group, helping to coordinate campus voter registration and a local energy efficiency program, and serving in several posts at the state level and on the National Student Forum. Powers is a Commonwealth College honors student and a member of several honor societies.
Heather L. Ruel The Hampshire County Conservation District chose Heather L. Ruel as the recipient of its 2002 Conservationist of the Year Award for her research and activism related to eradicating the highly invasive Asian water chestnut, which is choking rivers, streams, and ponds throughout New England. A non-traditional student, Ruel in her work blends academics, research, and outreach in a way that both derives from and celebrates this University's origins as a land-grant institution. Aside from completing an honors thesis on the Asian water chestnut, she has organized a number of "spotting and pulling" events at various sites to help fight its spread. Doug White
Management As the only varsity athlete nominated for Commonwealth College's Dean's List, White has balanced the demands of high academic achievement, playing on a Division 1-AA football team, and taking leadership positions in a startling array of extra- and co-curricular activities - 25 in all, accounting for four pages of his curriculum vitae. He is a three-time Academic All-Atlantic 10 selection and holds the all-time campus record in career field-goal percentage. He has volunteered for the Amherst Survival Center, Habitat for Humanity, and the Tobacco Control Program, and helped form an academic partnership between UMass Amherst and the University of Ulster in Ireland. Nicole Marie Yukna
History This past January, Nicole Marie Yukna traveled to South Africa to do research for her senior thesis comparing urban and rural experiences during the overthrow of apartheid and emergence of democracy in South Africa. The compassion and perceptiveness she showed there also were apparent in her revival of the campus's chapter of Amnesty International. Elected to Phi Beta Kappa as a junior, she is the only member of this year's Phi Beta Kappa class with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. She has studied at Oxford and interned with the Governor's Press Office at the Massachusetts State House and the Suffolk County Victim-Witness Advocate Program. |
leven
members of the Class of 2003 will be awarded 21st Century Leader
Awards during the Undergraduate Commencement on Sunday.
