For immediate release: May 31, 2010
Media contact: Emily Aronson, (609) 258-5733, earonson@princeton.edu
Students recognized for service and leadership at Class Day
PRINCETON, N.J. – Members of Princeton's class of 2010 gathered on Cannon Green Monday,
May 31, to celebrate the conclusion of their undergraduate careers in a Class Day ceremony
honoring their service and accomplishments.
Joel Alicea of Plaistow, N.H., was presented with the Harold Willis Dodds Prize. The award
recognizes the senior who best embodies the qualities of Princeton's 15th president, Harold
Dodds, "particularly in the qualities of clear thinking, moral courage, a patient and judicious
regard for the opinions of others, and a thoroughgoing devotion to the welfare of the University
and to the life of the mind." Alicea, a politics major, has been a strong leader of the American
Whig-Cliosophic Society, the Anscombe Society, the American Foreign Policy magazine and the
Princeton Tory. He founded Cornerstone, a political magazine that spans the political spectrum.
He also has been an undergraduate fellow in the James Madison Program in American Ideals and
Institutions and a member of the Committee on Discipline.
The Allen Macy Dulles '51 Award was given to Josh Grehan of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
The award is presented to a senior whose activities while at Princeton best represent or
exemplify the University's informal motto, "Princeton in the nation's service and in the service of
all nations." A major in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Grehan
has served communities from Princeton to West Africa. On campus, he has been co-president of
the Workers Rights Organization, co-captain of the Rugby Club and a sexual health adviser at
University Health Services. In addition to volunteering at Springboard, a tutoring program run by
the Princeton Public Library, Grehan founded a summer rowing program for drug-addicted youth
aimed at teaching teamwork, discipline and racial understanding. He also has volunteered at an
orphanage in West Africa.
Jessica Gamboa of Brownsville, Texas, received the Frederick Douglass Award, which was
established in 1969 by the Association of Black Collegians. The award recognizes a senior who
has exhibited courage, leadership, intellectual achievement and a willingness to contribute
unselfishly toward a deeper understanding of racial minorities and who, in doing so, reflects the
tradition of service at Princeton. Gamboa, a Wilson School major, has been deeply committed to
studying social policy with special attention to marginalized communities. As a founding
member of the Latino Coalition, she played a leading role in urging the University to offer a
program in Latino studies. Gamboa has been president of the Chicano Caucus; coordinator of
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LUNA, a peer mentoring program for Latino students; and a volunteer tutor at the YWCA. She
also has been a summer intern for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the
National Center for Refugees and Immigrant Children.
The W. Sanderson Detwiler 1903 Prize was presented to Aditya Panda of East Brunswick, N.J.
The award is given to the senior who, in the judgment of the student's classmates, has done the
most for the class. Panda, a computer science major, was the class of 2010's vice president as a
freshman and sophomore, and class president as a junior and senior. He also served as treasurer
of the undergraduate journal Science in Society and as a member of the Student Volunteers
Council (SVC) Executive Board, Terrace Club and the International Food Co-op.
The Class of 1901 Medal was awarded to Connor Diemand-Yauman, a psychology major from
Chesterland, Ohio. The medal goes to the senior, who in the judgment of the student's
classmates, has done the most for Princeton. During his time at Princeton, Diemand-Yauman has
exhibited excellent scholarship, strength of character and effective leadership, for which he
received the University's highest undergraduate honor, the Pyne Prize. He has served as the
president of the Undergraduate Student Government (USG), the class of 2010 and the Nassoons
a cappella group. He also was the founder of the Own What You Think Campaign to combat
damaging gossip, co-founder of the Down Syndrome Conference and co-convener of the Eating
Club Task Force with President Shirley M. Tilghman.
Jenni Newbury of Hillsborough, N.J., received the Priscilla Glickman '92 Memorial Prize,
which honors "independence and imagination in the area of service." For four years, she has been
active with the SVC and has dedicated herself to working with adults and children with special
needs. Newbury, a psychology major, founded the now-annual Autism Awareness Conference,
Kids on Campus day and the student organization Princeton Disability Awareness. She also has
served as a Community Action leader and a project coordinator for multiple SVC weekly
projects in partnership with local nonprofits.
Athletic Awards
Lawrence Cheuk of Hong Kong was the winner of the Class of 1916 Cup, which is presented to
the senior varsity letter winner with the highest academic standing. It was given by the class of
1916 on the occasion of its 50th reunion. Cheuk, a physics major, was a coxswain on the men's
heavyweight crew.
The William Winston Roper Trophy was shared by Justin Frick, an English major from
Freehold, N.J.; Jack Leonard, an English major from Blue Bell, Pa.; and Zane Kalemba, a
sociology major from Saddle Brook, N.J. The award goes to "a male senior of high scholastic
rank and outstanding qualities of sportsmanship and general proficiency in athletics." Frick, an
All-America high jumper, won the Ivy League championship in the event four times during his
Princeton career and was runner-up twice, competing indoors and outdoors. His personal best is
2.20 meters, which ranks in the top five at Princeton. He was a 2009 Academic All-Ivy League
selection and has gone to the NCAA championships four times. Leonard has guided Princeton to
consecutive Ivy League men's lightweight rowing titles and a national title in 2009. Leading the
team to 20 straight regular-season race victories from 2008 to 2010, Leonard was the lone
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captain this year. He twice was a first-team All-Ivy selection and a 2009 first-team All-America
honoree. Kalemba, the men's hockey goalie, was one of the top players in Princeton hockey,
ranking first or second in every career category for goalies. He holds the record for wins (57),
shutouts (nine) and save percentage (.912). In 2009, he was the Eastern College Athletic
Conference (ECAC) and Ivy League Player of the Year, the Ken Dryden Award winner as
ECAC's top goaltender, a second-team All-America Selection and a candidate for the 2009
Hobey Baker Award as college hockey's top player. In 2008, Kalemba was the Most Valuable
Player of the ECAC tournament, which Princeton won.
The C. Otto von Kienbusch Award was given to Alicia Aemisegger, a politics major from
Oreland, Pa., and Liz Costello, a chemical engineering major from Strafford, Pa. The award goes
to a "senior woman of high scholastic rank who has demonstrated a general proficiency in
athletics and the qualities of true sportsmanship." Aemisegger, one of Princeton's all-time top
female swimmers, was a 13-time All-America selection and was 12-for-12 in Ivy League
championship events. She also was the Ivy League's Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet four
times, while leading Princeton to three Ivy League championships and a spot in the top 25
national team rankings. She placed in several events at the NCAA championships in her
freshman year, including a second-place finish in the 400-meter individual medley that was the
best finish ever by a Princeton woman swimmer. Beyond Princeton, Aemisegger finished fourth
in two events at the World University Games in 2007 and reached the Olympic trials in the 400meter individual medley in 2008. Costello, a member of the cross-country and track and field
teams, is one of the greatest distance runners in Ivy League history. She was the Ivy League
cross-country champion all four of her years at Princeton, a feat only accomplished once before
in the league's history. Costello led the team to four Ivy League team titles and four NCAA
appearances, including top-five national team finishes in her last two seasons. Individually, she
finished 11th and 18th in her final two NCAA appearances, among more than 5,500 competitors.
She holds the Princeton record in the mile, 1,000-meter run and distance medley relay, and
earned All-America honors in cross-country and track and field.
The Arthur Lane '34 Award was given to Tina Bortz, a politics major from Kutztown, Pa.; Aran
Clair, a politics major from Cincinnati, Ohio; Reilly Kiernan, a sociology major from Pelham,
N.Y.; and Eric Plummer, an economics major from Plainfield, N.J. The award is given to honor
selfless contribution to sport and society by an undergraduate athlete. Bortz, a member of the
field hockey team, was a key student leader on the organizing committee of the Princeton Sports
Symposium in 2006 and 2007 and an adviser in 2008. She also was a residential college adviser,
a class senator in the USG, president of the Princeton chapter of the National Society of
Collegiate Scholars, and a member of Athletes in Action and Students in Free Enterprise. Clair, a
member of the men's lightweight crew, has served in a mentoring capacity for local youth.
Through the Corner House counseling center, he participated in a high-school student leadership
program, and he worked with the Princeton Alcohol and Drug Alliance, teaching students that it
is possible to enjoy college substance-free. Kiernan, a member of the cross-country and track and
field teams, has performed extensive service work at Princeton. She was the service chair of
Forbes College, Tower Club and the USG; led the Prospect Alliance for Community Action and
the Varsity Athletes Charity initiative; and co-chaired the Pace Council for Civic Values.
Kiernan has interned with Isles Inc., a Trenton-based nonprofit community and environmental
organization, and the Center for Constitutional Rights. She also was an associate editor of The
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Daily Princetonian student newspaper and a member of the Alcohol Coalition Committee and the
executive board of the Orange Key Guide Service. Plummer, a member of the track and field
team, was honored in April with the Spirit of Princeton Award for his positive contributions to
campus life. Plummer has been a residential college adviser and served in leadership positions in
the Black Men's Awareness Group, the Ivy Athletic Charity Team, the Black Student Union, the
Princeton chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Fields
Center, Community House, the Princeton University Mentoring Program, the Hallelujah
Worship Service and the Campus Club Advisory Board.
Honorary class members
The class of 2010 also named six people as honorary class members: Charles Gibson, a 1965
alumnus, University trustee, veteran television journalist and Class Day speaker; Jim Consolloy,
recently retired manager of grounds; Janet Dickerson, who is retiring as vice president for
campus life June 30; Mark Oresic, a janitor in Building Services; Devon Wessman-Smerdon,
program coordinator in the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students and a member of the
class of 2005; and Marjorie Young, director of Community House in the Pace Center.
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