For immediate release: May 30, 2011
Media contact: Martin Mbugua, (609) 258-5733, mmbugua@princeton.edu
Students recognized for achievement and leadership at Class Day
PRINCETON, N.J. -- Members of Princeton's class of 2011 gathered on Cannon Green Monday,
May 30, to celebrate the conclusion of their undergraduate careers in a Class Day ceremony
honoring their accomplishments and service.
Elizabeth (Liz) Borges of Washington, D.C., 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." Borges, a psychology major and a certificate candidate in
American studies, was the student co-chair of the Alcohol Coalition Committee and helped plan
a two-day Ivy League student leader symposium on high-risk drinking. She created and
implemented the "Faces of Princeton" poster campaign, which enlisted a diverse group of student
leaders to speak frankly about alcohol use on campus. She has been a leader in the lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender community, was a Sustained Dialogue moderator since her freshman
year and also participated in a Community-Based Learning Initiative project that examined how
food availability affects the urban poor in New Jersey.
The Allen Macy Dulles '51 Award was given to Benjamin Oseroff of Buffalo, N.Y. 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 Near Eastern studies major and a certificate candidate in creative writing, Oseroff won the
Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence his sophomore year. He served as a leader and leader
trainer for Outdoor Action, participated in a Grand Challenges Program research project on
health focused on finding solutions to the pressing problems posed by infectious disease around
the globe, and was co-founder and president of "The Roundtable," a student group that brought
members together to discuss the morality and ethics of local, national and international topics.
Oseroff also tutored prisoners through the Petey Greene Prisoner Assistance Program.
Margaret Harris of Newport News, Va., an English major and a certificate candidate in African
American studies, 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. Harris has been deeply involved with the Princeton Association of Black Women and
the Black Student Union. She was the coordinator for the Princeton University Mentoring
Program and the senior coordinator for the Leadership and Mentoring Program. She was a
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member of Princeton Faith and Action and the Hallelujah! Worship committee, and she also
performed with the Gospel Ensemble and the High Steppers dance group. She also worked as a
teaching assistant last summer in the Princeton University Preparatory Program, which helps
high-achieving, low-income students prepare for college.
The W. Sanderson Detwiler 1903 Prize and the Class of 1901 Medal were presented to Alex
Rosen of Allentown, Pa. The Detwiler Prize is given to the senior who, in the judgment of the
student's classmates, has done the most for the class. The 1901 medal goes to the senior, who in
the judgment of the student's classmates, has done the most for Princeton. An economics major
and certificate candidate in finance and in global health and health policy, Rosen was co-winner
of the 2011 Moses Taylor Pyne Honor Prize, the highest general distinction conferred on an
undergraduate. Rosen served as president of the class of 2011 for four years, and was the chair
and clerk of the Honor Committee. He served on the governance committee of the Council of the
Princeton University Community, was a voting representative on the Trustee Committee on
Honorary Degrees and a member of the executive committee of the Princeton Premedical
Society. He also served as a residential college adviser at Whitman College and was a member of
the publication Business Today.
Bryan Locascio of Lynchburg, Va., received the Priscilla Glickman '92 Memorial Prize, which
honors "independence and imagination in the area of service." For three years, he has been active
with the Pace Center's Breakout Princeton civic action trips, first as a leader of an alternative
spring break trip focused on community organizing in Chicago and then as the student
coordinator for trips to Philadelphia, Detroit and New York. Locascio, a major in the Woodrow
Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, has pursued his interests in community
organizing and social change internationally, studying abroad in Bolivia, Cuba and Tanzania.
While in Bolivia he helped found and direct the first brass quintet with the Santa Cruz de la
Sierra Youth Orchestra. He has also tutored prisoners through the Petey Greene Prisoner
Assistance Program.
Athletic Awards
Robert Marsland of Madison, Wis., 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. Marsland, a physics major, was a member
of the sprint football team and was a second-team all-collegiate sprint football league defensive
lineman.
The Arthur Lane '34 Award was given to Peter Callahan, a politics major from Princeton, N.J.;
Jennifer King, a computer science major and a certificate candidate in information technology
and society from Greenwich, Conn.; John Stogin, a mathematics major from Wilmette, Ill.; and
Lauren Sykora, a mechanical and aerospace engineering major from Lake Forest, Ill. The award
is given to honor selfless contribution to sport and society by an undergraduate athlete. Callahan,
a member of the men's soccer team, won the team's 2011 Robert Myslik Award, which is given
to the member of the team who most demonstrates "passion for life, fiery competitiveness,
unwavering honesty and selfless generosity." Callahan was a member of Princeton Faith and
Action and the Student Volunteers Council. King, a member of the field hockey team, was an
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Academic All-Ivy League selection. She sang with the University Glee Club and helped launch
the Princeton student chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery and Princeton
Women in Computer Science. King also received a 2011 Spirit of Princeton award, which honors
undergraduates for their positive contributions to campus life. Stogin, a member of the men's
fencing team, helped the team advance to the NCAA championships during his four years with
the program. He earned an All-Ivy League honor this year. As an Eagle Scout, Stogin organized
a shoe drive that collected more than 1,000 pairs of shoes that were sent to Angola. Sykora, a
member of the women's lightweight rowing team, helped the team earn its perfect regular season
this spring. Sykora served as president of the Princeton student chapter of the American Institute
of Aeronautics and Astronautics and as a residential college adviser in Wilson College. She also
worked with the Athletes in Action service group.
The Princeton Varsity Club Special Award of Valor was presented to Jordan Culbreath, a
mechanical and aerospace engineering major from Falls Church, Va. The award is a special
recognition given this year. A two-time All-Ivy League running back with the football team,
Culbreath has fought a battle with life-threatening aplastic anemia. After withdrawing from
Princeton in October 2009 to receive medical treatment, Culbreath returned to campus for the
spring 2009-10 semester and was able to rejoin the football team in fall 2010, having a
productive season before a torn knee ligament ended his career. He recently was honored by the
organization Uplifting Athletes with its Rare Disease Champion Award, which is given to an
individual or organization in college football that has made a positive and lasting impact on the
rare disease community.
The C. Otto von Kienbusch Award is given annually to the top senior sportswomen at Princeton.
The award this year was shared by: Sarah Cummings, an economics major from Newport
Beach, Calif.; Ashley Higginson, a politics major from Colts Neck, N.J.; Addie Micir, a
psychology major from Newtown, Pa.; Megan Waters, a politics major from Derwood, Md.;
and Lauren Wilkinson, an ecology and evolutionary biology major from North Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada. As a member of the women's cross country team, Cummings was
named first-team All-Ivy League twice and second-team All-Ivy League once. She also earned
All-America honors in 2009 as a member of the women's track and field team. Cummings has
been a member of nine Ivy League team championships, and helped Princeton complete its first
"double triple crown," which saw the Tigers win cross country, indoor track and field, and
outdoor track and field championships for both men and women this year, something only 10
schools in NCAA history have ever done. Higginson also was a key member of Princeton's first
"double triple crown" for cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field. She
was an eight-time Ivy League champion and holds Princeton records in both the steeplechase and
the 4x1,500-meter relay. Micir was selected unanimously as the 2011 Ivy League Player of the
Year in women's basketball, making her the first player in Princeton history to receive the honor.
Micir helped the team earn two Ivy League championships and two trips to the NCAA
tournament. Waters, a member of the women's swimming and diving team, holds Princeton
records in the 50-meter freestyle, the 100-meter freestyle and the 100-meter butterfly. Waters
helped Princeton earn three Ivy League championships during her four years and earned All-Ivy
recognition each season. Wilkinson, a member of the women's open crew team, helped lead the
team to a 13-0 season this year. She was a two-time All-America honoree and also a secondteam All-Ivy League honoree.
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The William Winston Roper Trophy was shared by Mark Amirault, a molecular biology major
from Walpole, Mass.; Taylor Fedun, a mechanical and aerospace engineering major from
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Kareem Maddox, an English major from Oak Park, Calif.; Robin
Prendes, an economics major from Miami; and Josh Walburn, a sociology major from St.
Louis. The award goes to "a male senior of high scholastic rank and outstanding qualities of
sportsmanship and general proficiency in athletics." Amirault, a member of the men's cross
country and track and field teams, has been a member of six Ivy League championship teams,
and was part of Princeton's first "double triple crown" in cross country, indoor track and field,
and outdoor track and field. Amirault was the Ivy League champion in both the 1,500- and
5,000-meter relays and was the Ivy League champion for indoor track and field in both the mile
and as a member of the distance medley relay. In addition, he has earned three second-team AllIvy honors. Fedun, a member of the men's hockey team, was a two-time All-Eastern College
Athletic Conference and All-Ivy selection and was named a second-team All-America this year.
He also was a four-year member of the Eastern College Athletic Conference All-Academic Team
and an Academic All-Ivy selection. Maddox was named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the
Year this past season after leading the men's basketball team to its league-record 26th Ivy League
championship. He twice earned the Class of '59 Bob Rock Sixth Man Award and shared the B.F.
Bunn 1907 Trophy, the most prized honor of the men's basketball program. Prendes helped the
men's lightweight crew team win the 2010 eastern and national championships. During the fall of
his senior season, Prendes also led the Tigers to a record-setting victory at the Head of the
Charles regatta. Walburn helped the men's soccer team earn back-to-back NCAA tournament
appearances as a junior and senior. This past fall, he helped the Tigers to the first undefeated Ivy
League season in the program's history. He was named first-team All-Ivy the past two seasons,
and has earned all-region honors twice.
Honorary class members
The class of 2011 also recognized the following people as honorary class members during the
Class Day ceremony: actress Brooke Shields, a class of 1987 graduate and the Class Day
speaker; Tony Cifelli, a supervisor in Building Services; Jeff Nunokawa, a professor of English
and master of Rockefeller College; Paul Raushenbush, former associate dean of religious life;
and Ed Zschau, a class of 1961 graduate and a visiting lecturer with the rank of professor in
electrical engineering and the Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education.
The following individuals also were named honorary class members at other events this month:
Marni Blitz, assistant director of the Center for Jewish Life; Beth "Kiki" Jamieson, the Class of
1951 director of the Pace Center; Thomas Mullelly, director of the Aquinas Institute; Jerome
Silbergeld, the P.Y. and Kinmay W. Tang Professor in Chinese Art, professor of art and
archaeology, and director of the Tang Center for East Asian Art; Erik Sorensen, the Arthur Allen
Patchett Professor in Organic Chemistry; and Delia Vayansky, former associate director of
Richardson Auditorium.
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