by Xypher Pino

On April 2, Greensboro College celebrated high-achieving students by granting numerous academical awards to more than 24 individuals. Each school of GC handed out departmental awards to deserving students. In addition, the event also featured all-college awards where the Spring 2023 student marshals, the Collegian Excellence Award recipient and the Alpha Chi Award recipient were announced. 

Starting with the school of the arts, senior Sasha Cline received the Clara Dougherty Brown Art Award while Professor Benjy Springs, director of band, presented the Hunt Family Music Scholarship award to senior Aaron Partin and the Luella Pugh Knott Music Award to senior Cortney Sharpe.

Next up was the school of business – led by Dr. Karen Knoch and Professor Hasije Harris, they granted five different awards to five different students: the Dr. and Mrs. S. Laws Parks Accounting Award went to senior softball player Hannah French, the Dean’s Award for Most Outstanding Graduating Student in Accounting was given to senior softball player Olivia Davidson, the Academic Achievement in Business Award was received by junior basketball player William Morris, the Fred L. and Myrtle R. Proctor Endowed Scholarship Award went to junior softball player Veronica Nickerson and the Dean’s Award for Most Outstanding Graduating Student in Business went to senior soccer player Liam Mowers. 

Moving on to the school of humanities, all its departments granted awards to students. The department of English communication and media studies granted the Leroy Lee Smith Memorial Award in English Composition to honors freshman Xypher Pino, the Olena S. Bunn Achievement Award in English to all-American junior wrestler Josh Wilson and the Mary L. Ginn Award for Excellence in English to honors senior Rachel McGill. The history department and Dr. Allison Palmadessa chose honors senior Katharine Burgess for the Marvin L. Skaggs History Award and junior Jackson Little for the David Caldwell “Log College” Scholarship. 

Lastly, the department of religion, ethics and philosophy granted the Hardee Christian Service Award to senior George Knight, the Thelma Dixon Taylor Religion Scholarship to senior volleyball player Katrina O’ Neill and the Excellence in Religious Thought Award to honors student Nick Brotherton. The Collegian asked Josh Wilson, the recipient of the Mary L. Ginn Award, about what it is like to excel both in academics and sports at the same time: “Excelling in both academics and athletics feels fantastic. A considerable part of my success stems from my support system. My family, friends, coaches and professors always keep me goal-oriented and hungry to improve myself.”

The school of natural sciences and mathematics was headlined by the department of kinesiology and the department of mathematics. Professor Anna Carter, chair of kinesiology, presented the Mayo C. Harlow III Health Sciences Award to junior softball player Ivy Ray, the Dr. Willie Taylor Health and Physical Education Award to senior Turner Garrison and the Dr. Randy Hunt Exercise and Sport Studies Award to senior soccer player Kiernan Mowers. For the mathematics department, Dr. Stuart Davidson gave the Excellence in Mathematics Award to junior basketball player Ronan Martinek-Jenne.

The school of social sciences and education was the last school to present its awards. The department of education presented the Donna Llewellyn Memorial Scholarship in Education to junior McLaren Bristol and the Zelda C. Pemberton Education Award to senior Turner Garrison. For the psychology department, Dr. Kristin Sheridan awarded the Distinguished Psychology Student Award to honors senior Nicholas Novakovich. In her speech for Nicholas, Dr. Sheridan stated how Nicholas’ “work ethic truly separates him from other students and signifies the exemplary student he is.”

The final part of the event featured the All-College Awards recipients. Ms. Martha Bunch, Associate Vice President for Academic Administration, began by announcing the Spring 2023 student marshals. The top 15 students of the Class of 2024 were named – these students have an average combined GPA of 3.8 and will have the honor to participate and assist in this year’s commencement ceremony for the Class of 2023. Next to be announced was the Collegian Excellence Award recipient – Dr. Wayne Johns, The Collegian’s faculty advisor, gave the award to its writer, social media manager and webmaster Xypher Pino. In his speech, Dr. Johns stated that Xypher was the first freshman to win the award in the last 15 years – an impressive accomplishment. The final award was the Alpha Chi Award and it was granted to Kyla Catarineau by Dr. Stuart Davidson. Alpha Chi is GC’s chapter of the national cross-disciplinary honor society and exclusively chooses its members based on academic excellence and outstanding achievements. The Collegian asked Kyla about her thoughts on receiving one of the most prestigious awards of GC: “I am absolutely honored; I had no idea how big of a deal it was. Also, the fact that my professors all knew and made comments about me was really amazing!”

Many congratulations to all the award recipients! The immense dedication and the commitment that each of these students have towards their academic success is unmatched. It is also important to note that all of these students are involved in numerous extracurriculars – whether that be in GC’s honors program, clubs on-campus or sports. These students excel academically but they are also well-rounded and serve as excellent role models for other GC students to follow. Without a doubt, each recipient deserved their honors and have an extremely bright future ahead of them.