Students, faculty, staff, and donors of the Division of Social Sciences gathered Friday, May 31, to celebrate excellence in student scholarship and creativity. Hosted by Dean Katharyne Mitchell, the annual Student Award Luncheon honored undergraduates and graduate students across the division.
“This is such an exciting time each year when we get to honor our students who have made outstanding contributions in their departments,” said Mitchell, who presented divisional awards, as well as campuswide dean's and chancellor's awards.
“I’m continually impressed by what the students achieve in this division and honored to be able to recognize them with these awards," added Mitchell.
Division of Social Sciences Awards
Gabriel Zimmerman Memorial Scholarship: This scholarship was established to honor Gabriel "Gabe" Zimmerman, the alum who was shot and killed in the 2011 attack on Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Zimmerman was working as Giffords' community outreach director at a constituent-engagement event he had organized when gunshots rang out; he ran towards Giffords, who was gravely wounded in the assassination attempt. Gabe was killed. The scholarship was established in the weeks after the shooting by UC Santa Cruz graduates Jonathan Klein (Merrill '89, politics) and Alex Clemens (Porter '89, international politics) and has since attracted support from more than 520 donors. It supports undergraduates who are passionate about social issues and committed to social service.
- Alyssa Scarsciotti, Stevenson College, Sociology and Linguistics
- Alyssa Tamboura, College Ten, Legal Studies
Walsh Family Scholarship: This scholarship was established by Economics Professor Carl Walsh and his wife, Judy Walsh (MS, '90, applied economics), in honor of Carl's parents Eugene and Bessie Walsh. The award is presented to one or more undergraduates within the Division of Social Sciences, based on academic merit and financial need.
- Emma Cunningham, Merrill College, Psychology
- Helana Kearns, Porter College, Psychology
- Maria Hernandez, Porter College, Psychology
Weiss Family Scholarship: The Weiss Family Scholarship was established in 2005 by Timothy and Jean Weiss to support students in Colleges Nine and Ten. It is presented to one or more students who are working directly with faculty who are affiliated with a divisional research center.
- Katherine Lê, College Nine, Legal Studies, Politics, and Sociology
- Andrea Rosas, College Ten, Latin American & Latino Studies and Politics
Benjamin Quaye Memorial Award: The Benjamin Quaye Memorial Endowment for Social Justice was established in 2016 to honor the memory of UC Santa Cruz undergraduate Benjamin Quaye. Ben had a strong commitment to spreading values of tolerance and social justice, and this scholarship supports students pursuing educational and career goals in these areas. This is the first year a scholarship is to be awarded from this endowment.
- Gianna Defelice, Rachel Carson College, Community Studies and Sociology
- Hugh McCormick, Kresge College, Sociology/GISES
Keeley Coastal Scholars Award: The Keeley Coastal Scholars Award supports underrepresented undergraduates by providing the financial assistance needed to engage in summer research and policy work related to coastal sustainability. Former Assemblyman and Santa Cruz County Treasurer/Tax Collector Fred Keeley is a widely recognized champion of the coastal environment and author of the Marine Life Management Act.
- Emma Clabby, Rachel Carson College, Environmental Studies
- Vanessa Orozco, Oakes College, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Edris Sherdil, Rachel Carson College, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Milam-McGinty-Kaun Award for Teaching Excellence: Professor Emeritus of Economics David Kaun established this award in 1999 to recognize two talented teaching assistants each year. He was inspired to endow the award and name it after the first recipients, international economics graduate students Garrett Milam and Matt McGinty, who were TA's in Kaun's Intermediate Microeconomic Theory course. Recipients are selected each year based on academic merit, one from Economics and one from another department in the Social Sciences Division.
- Fernando Chertman, Economics
- Josephine Lesage, Environmental Studies
In addition, students in the Division of Social Sciences received the following campuswide Deans' and Chancellor's Awards: These awards recognize outstanding achievement by undergraduates in each academic division. Each student or team works on a senior research or milestone project under the mentorship of a faculty member. A committee in each division selects ten Deans' Award recipients; of those, up to three in each division may be selected to receive a Chancellor's Award.
Chancellor’s Award for Undergraduate Research:
- Laurel Levin, Stevenson College, Community Studies and Environmental Studies
- Shannon Nichols, College Nine, Politics
- Alejandra Zeiger, College Nine, Psychology
Deans' Award for Undergraduate Research:
- Carmelle Bareket-Shavit, Stevenson College, Psychology
- Yeun Byun, Rachel Carson College, Environmental Studies
- Sara Kelley, College Ten, Community Studies
- Edward Kim, Crown College, Psychology
- Karen Lazo, Merrill College, Politics and Legal Studies
- Tina Milz, Kresge College, Sociology
- Manfred Sy, Crown College, Sociology
