Annual Awards & Prizes

"A Cuban Agricultural Revolution"
Faculty Sponsor: Michelle Hersh

Manuel From the Corner" (podcast)
Faculty sponsor: Ann Heppermann

"La representación de la pobreza en cinco películas latinoamericanas"
Faculty sponsor: Dana Khromov

Olaf is an extremely focused and original artists. His paintings, drawings, and sculptures straddle the line between form, function, and narrative. His work is inventively strange and funny with a formal rigor that is rare for someone with such diverse interests. –John O’Connor, Faculty in Visual and Studio Arts 

 

A resident of Chesapeake, VA, Nicholle Chew came to Sarah Lawrence with interests in Environmental Studies and Dance.  During her first year, she discovered a passion for Organic Chemistry and changed the focus of her studies accordingly.  Since that time, Nicholle has taken a great variety of Physical Science and Environmental Studies courses.  She has also pursued many leadership initiatives within the science community at Sarah Lawrence, including acting as the president of the SLC Chapter of the American Chemical Society and co-chair of the STEMming Women student group. Since her sophomore year, Nicholle has also been one of the organizers of the SciMath Poster Symposium, and has tutored for several chemistry classes. She also served on search committees for faculty hires in Biology, Environmental Science, and Physics.  Since last summer, Nicholle has undertaken chemistry research under the supervision of Professor Patrick Holland at Yale University as part of her Senior Thesis work.  Nicholle has been accepted into the chemistry graduate program of Indiana University, Bloomington where she will be conducting research in the field of catalysis towards her PhD.  –Colin Abernethy, Faculty in Chemistry 

View Nicholle's Work

• Sample 1
• Sample 2

A silver 2009 Ford passenger van outfitted to be a home and an artists’ studio has been Oliver’s Sarah Lawrence this covid year. Sleeping in truck stops and parking lots, he has diligently pursued his course work while simultaneously photographing and eloquently writing about “the much-erased history of Chinese migrant laborers in the 19th and early 20th centuries, from the gold miners of the Sierras, to the railroad workers of the Rocky Mountains, to the plantation workers along the Mississippi River.”  His photographs are quiet, thoughtful, and ultimately brilliant. In our sad epoch of prejudice and violence towards persons of perceived Asian origins, the book that Oliver is humbly and bravely creating will surely be a work of art, writing, and understanding. – Joel Sternfeld, Faculty in Photography

Junior Zaria Katz was awarded the Ian Lipkin ’74 Science Prize to conduct bioinformatics research on the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy under the mentorship of Dr. Ross Parker. In her time at Sarah Lawrence, Zaria has developed a passion for bioinformatics, especially when applied to data related to medical information and diabetes. Her goal for this research project is to develop a machine learning program capable of analyzing medical imagery related to diabetic retinopathy, a condition that manifests in discoloration of the retina, which can cause blindness for diabetics. Following this summer project, Zaria will begin her coursework at Columbia University, as part of their 3-2 Biomedical Engineering program. – The Ian Lipkin ’74 Science Prize Committee: Colin Abernethy, Merideth Frey, Bernice Rosenzweig, and Cecilia Toro

Madison Barnes’s insightful essay, “The Last Whispers of Immutable Clay: Linear A and Returning Language to the Unspoken,” explores the challenges but also argues for the necessity of translating the ancient Minoan script known as Linear A. Demonstrating sophisticated research and a robust engagement with both historical methodologies and translation theory, the essay offers a useful review of strategies for decoding unknown scripts and emphasizes what we might learn about ancient civilizations by taking serious consideration of their languages. -- Gillian Adler, Literature Faculty, and Roy Ben-Shai, Philosophy Faculty

Jake Lunn’s essay, “The Love of God and its Relation to the Third Kind of Knowledge in Spinoza,” advances a bold and original thesis, arguing for an interconnection between two key distinctions in the philosopher’s work—an epistemological distinction between kinds of knowledge and an ethical distinction between kinds of love. With argumentative clarity and an impressive command of the nuances of Spinoza’s Ethics and the contemporary literature about it, the essay makes a helpful contribution to our understanding and ongoing appreciation of this canonical text.-- Gillian Adler, Literature Faculty, and Roy Ben-Shai, Philosophy Faculty

"These poems are rangy and wide-- containing deep feeling and observation, they turn misunderstanding and self-correction into revelatory surprise.”– Chessy Normile, Judge

"Full of lush, gorgeous lines and insightful self-discoveries, these poems meditate on gender, identity, love, and language, all with careful introspection, tenderness, and lyricism. The skill with which the author uses formal variation and literary devices such as repetition demonstrates a strong sense of craft and intention, as well as affection for the poetic genre." –Emily Jungmin Yoon, Judge

Izzy Hardin (they/them) is a focused, accomplished manager who has worked in a number of facets of the Sarah Lawrence Theatre production department. Izzy has produced and developed programming for Downstage, stage managed for courses and SLC Theatre productions (most recently the musical, Spring Awakening), and produced and managed for the Musical Theatre Ensemble and Melancholy Players. Outside of SLC Izzy has worked as an assistant stage manager at the Oxford Playhouse, and a set and props manager at the Burton Taylor Studio. Izzy will be attending the University of Oxford in the fall to pursue a master’s degree in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and hopes to do more stage management with the theatre companies there as well. They are a great liaison between the program and students, and it has been a pleasure to watch them grow and refine their distinct management style. – The Sarah Lawrence Theatre Faculty

Rachel Palmer (they/them) is a highly effective, approachable manager who has taken advantage of a wide variety of production opportunities and used them to grow and thrive as a generous, organized leader. Here at Sarah Lawrence Rachel has produced and stage managed for Downstage, served as a stage manager for SLC Theatre and Musical Theatre Ensemble, and acted as Production Manager for the MFA Thesis festival. Outside of SLC Rachel has worked as a stage manager for Broadway Upstate, and as Associate Company Manager for the Adirondack Theatre Festival. This summer, Rachel will be returning to Adirondack Theatre Festival for their Summer '24 season as the Company Manager, and will also stage manage a developmental reading, Worth: An Intimate Exhibition, written and performed by Jessica Frances Duke. Rachel leads with sincerity and professionalism and their subtle, honest approach translates into a highly effective management style. – The Sarah Lawrence Theatre Faculty

"These narrative, lyric poems build towards metaphorical transformation, the teeth becoming nervous horses, the speaker turning into a moth in the dark." – Chessy Normile, Judge

"This playful yet dark poem deftly illustrates the precarity of a night out for "we girls." I was on the edge of my seat the whole poem, as the girls in the poem sat on their own seats feeling and fielding men's desires. By the end, as the girls emerge from the "alleyway," we are left uneasy and unsure of whether they have escaped danger, or they are carrying a sense or experience of violence and violation inside them." – Emily Jungmin Yoon, Judge

"These direct and quiet poems speak from the bone, the orange, the iron water-- they resonate with an emotional clarity of vision.” – Chessy Normile, Judge