The Merrill Presidential Scholars Program

44 Pages·2017·1.79 MB·English

29th Annual Convocation
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
11:30 a.m.
Memorial Room
Willard Straight Hall
Cornell University

Program
Introduction
Ryan Lombardi, Vice President for Student and Campus Life
Remarks
Martha E. Pollack, President
Cathy Merrill Williams ‘91
Presentation of Scholars
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Kathryn J. Boor, Ronald P. Lynch Dean
College of Architecture, Art, and Planning
Barry Perlus, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
College of Arts and Sciences
Gretchen Ritter, Harold Tanner Dean
College of Engineering
Lance Collins, Joseph Silbert Dean
School of Hotel Administration
Kate Walsh, Bradley H. Stone Dean
College of Human Ecology
Alan Mathios, Rebecca Q. and James C. Morgan Dean
School of Industrial and Labor Relations
Kevin Hallock, Kenneth F. Kahn Dean
Closing Remarks
Ryan Lombardi, Vice President for Student and Campus Life
The Merrill Family
hilip Merrill ’55 created the Merrill Presidential Scholars
Pprogram in 1988, allowing Cornell to celebrate—on
an annual, ongoing basis—excellence in teaching and
scholarship. Since his passing in 2006, his wife of 46 years,
Eleanor Merrill, and their three children, all Cornellians, have
continued to support the program generously.
Philip Merrill ’55 was president and chief executive officer of Capital
Gazette Communications for four decades. He also served the U.S.
as assistant secretary-general of NATO, special assistant to the
Deputy Secretary of State, chairman of the U.S. Export-Import Bank,
and a member of the Department of Defense Policy Board. Phil
was a trustee of Cornell from 1992–1996, and in 2003, was named a
Presidential Councillor, the highest honor the university can bestow.
Douglas Merrill ’89, MBA ’91 is the co-founder and chief operating
officer at Sunward Systems, LLC. He is also an adjunct lecturer at
the University of Vermont and a member of the board of directors of
Orbit/FR. Doug is a member of the Cornell University Council and
an active volunteer for Cornell Community Sailing, which is housed
in the Merrill Family Sailing Center.
Catherine Merrill Williams ’91 is president and publisher of
Washingtonian Magazine, Inc. She is chair of the board of visitors of
the Philip Merrill School of Journalism at the University of Maryland,
and serves on the boards of the Starlight Children’s Foundation
and the Aspen Institute Socrates Society. Cathy is a member of the
Cornell University Council and the President’s Council of Cornell
Women. She holds an MSc from the London School of Economics.
Nancy Merrill ’96 is president of the Merrill Foundation and an
environmental educator. Previously, she worked at the Conservation
Fund and was executive director of the Maryland Association for
Environmental and Outdoor Education. Nancy holds an MS in
public administration from George Mason University.
The Merrill Presidential Scholars
Program
Class of 2017 Merrill Presidential Scholars
College of Agriculture College of Engineering
and Life Sciences Jonlin Chen
Nola C. Booth Brendan Duffy
Parth P. Detroja Robert Lee
Laura M. Kaminsky Yezy Lim
Li-Sha Lim Sarah Malek
Jaclyn M. Melvin Charles Wan
Abhinav Parakh Lucy Wang
Kyle D. Poorman
School of
Rebecca L. Schwartz
Hotel Administration
College of Architecture, Art Claire Benninger
and Planning Ethan Gabany
Hadar Sachs
College of Human Ecology
College of Arts and Sciences Christina Drakeford
Rachel Armstrong Sean Kim
Patrick Braga April Sun
Kevin Kowalewski
School of Industrial and
Vivian Kuperberg
Labor Relations
Charlotte Levine
Charlotte Barszewski
Elbert Mets
Allison Considine
Andrew Shi
Julia Krupski
Cleo Siderides
Mildred Whiteley
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Today’s Convocation
ince 1988, the Merrill Presidential Scholars Program has
Sformally and publicly honored Cornell University’s most
outstanding graduating seniors on the eve of their graduation
while also recognizing individual teachers who have played a
significant role in these students’ academic excellence.
Merrill Presidential Scholars rank among the top one percent of
the Class of 2017 in their respective schools and colleges. They
are chosen not only because of their outstanding scholastic
accomplishments, but also because they have demonstrated a
remarkable intellectual drive, energetic leadership abilities, and a
propensity to contribute to the betterment of society.
Because the pursuit of scholarly excellence is largely a communal
effort, it is particularly appropriate that the Merrill Presidential
Scholars honored today pay tribute to the teachers most influential
in their development. Cornell University also recognizes the vital
effect these educators have had on the academic careers of the
Merrill Presidential Scholars. The Cornell faculty members and
the secondary school teachers selected by the scholars therefore
participate in this celebration in a dual capacity—as witnesses
to the achievements of their students and as honorees that have
enriched their students’ educational experiences. All have earned the
admiration and gratitude of the Cornell community.
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Cornell’s STAR Scholarships
stablished in 1989, STAR (Special Teachers Are Recognized)
EScholarships celebrate the influential role that high school
teachers play in the success of Cornell’s Merrill Presidential
Scholars.
One-time scholarships will be named in honor of the outstanding
teachers recognized today by the 2017 Merrill Presidential Scholars
and will be awarded to Cornell students with financial need from the
scholar’s high school or hometown. The late Donald Berens ’47 and
his wife, Margaret Berens ’47, conceived of and sponsored the STAR
program. Additional support comes from the William Knox Holt
Foundation through the assistance of George Malti ’61, JD ’63, a
director of the foundation, and the Cornell Alumni Association of
Central New York.
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College of Agriculture
and Life Sciences
Nola Booth
Ithaca, New York
Honoring Alexis Lord of Ithaca High School
and Courtney Roby of the Department of Classics
Nola came to Cornell as a non-traditional transfer student in 2015. She
has been on the dean’s list every semester since, and received the CALS
Academic Excellence Award in Biology and Society for spring 2017. Nola is
a member of the Cornell Tradition, with whom she spent time in Nicaragua
volunteering at La Mariposa’s organic garden and reserve. She works with
Professor Rachel Bezner Kerr on participatory action-oriented research in
Malawi studying agriculture and social outcomes, and she held leadership
positions with Nourish International at Cornell.
In my final year of high school, I chose to take an English class that
allowed me to pursue an independent study for the entirety of the
spring semester. Ms. Lord was our teacher, but she was also our
mentor. For each of the thirty kids in our class, she took the time
to understand our individual aspirations. While we were given
freedom, we were also held to high standards. Through a semester
of artful journaling and literary reflection, Ms. Lord taught me that I
have something unique and powerful to offer the world through my
writing—no matter the subject.
When I started Professor Roby’s Ancient Medicine class, I was
coping with personal stresses that made me wonder if Cornell was
worth all the effort and frustration. My first semester as a transfer
student was a rough one. Professor Roby’s class changed my
outlook entirely. I felt like I had value in lecture. My thoughts were
welcomed, and Professor Roby had a genuine interest in my future.
The material may be ancient, but the central question is fundamental
to the Biology and Society major: what the heck is science, anyway?
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Parth Detroja
Knoxville, Tennessee
Honoring William Parker of Farragut High School
and Deborah Streeter of the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied
Economics and Management
Parth studied Applied Economics and Management in the Dyson School.
During his time at Cornell, he cofounded the Cornell International Business
Association (CIBA) and served as the first ever undergraduate teaching
assistant for AEM 3429: Entrepreneurial Marketing and Strategy. Parth is
a Rawlings Presidential Research Scholar, a Dyson Scholar, and the recipient
of the CALS Academic Excellence Award. He has previously interned at
Microsoft, Amazon, and IBM and will be working at Facebook as a Product
Manager following graduation.
I was always drawn to business, but it wasn’t until I took Mr. Parker’s
class my junior year that I uncovered my passion for marketing. As
a successful part-time entrepreneur himself, Mr. Parker’s class was
extremely applied. He pushed us to explore and experiment with
both the creative and analytical sides of marketing. His passion led
to us consistently placing in competitions and ultimately qualifying
up to the international level for DECA, a global high school business
organization. What really set Mr. Parker apart was the fact that he
would regularly advise and assist me with my own entrepreneurial
ventures outside the classroom. The things I learned though those
experiences are what set me up for success at Cornell.
My freshman year, I snuck into Professor Streeter’s Entrepreneurial
Marketing and Strategy course. About halfway through the semester,
it came up that I was a first-semester freshman enrolled in a course
meant for juniors and seniors. Professor Streeter graciously allowed
me to not only stay in the course, but also helped me excel in it. My
sophomore year, she named me her first ever undergraduate teaching
assistant for the class. Since then, Professor Streeter has become my
academic advisor as well as my research advisor—but much more
importantly, she has become my mentor and a close friend.
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Laura Kaminsky
Rochester, New York
Honoring George Smith of Brighton High School
and Antonio DiTommaso of the School of Integrative Plant Sciences
Laura received the CUAES Hatch Supplement Grant and the CALS Alumni Grant to
support her honors thesis research. She studied the effect of phosphorus fertilization on
the soil microbiome of alfalfa, and expects to publish her results in the future. She has been
on the dean’s list every semester, and received the CALS Academic Excellence Award
for her major. She is an avid tree climbing instructor and outfitting assistant at Cornell
Outdoor Education, and sang in the CU Chorus. Post-graduation, she will be farming in
Connecticut before beginning a Ph.D. in Environmental Microbiology at Pennsylvania
State University in January 2018.
Of all my high school courses, Dr. George Smith’s environmental science class has
stuck with me and stood the test of time. He was never content to stay indoors,
lecturing the day away. With his guidance, we sampled invertebrates in the
stream running by our high school and measured water quality. We raced solar
cars in the tennis courts on sunny days. We planted a vegetable garden of our
own design when it warmed up in the spring. Dr. Smith was an active force in
improving the sustainability of the school. He planted and maintained a diverse
buffer strip to replace the grass sod bank of the stream, increasing its habitat and
filtration abilities. He argued to introduce green space into the parking lot to
intercept the flow of polluted runoff. He invited us students and showed us that
meaningful action can be taken at any scale, no matter how small. I was inspired
and deeply influenced by his passion, involvement, and determination. His
example shaped my desire to study environmental issues in greater depth, and I
owe everything I have since learned here to the seed that he planted.
Dr. Antonio DiTommaso was an invaluable asset to me as I navigated my
years at Cornell. As my academic advisor, he continually directed me to classes,
professors, papers, and seminars that would fuel my burgeoning interest in
sustainable agriculture. He recognized in me the skills of a scientist long before I
saw them myself, and he pushed me early and often to get involved in research.
I listened to him my junior year, and joined the lab of his colleague thanks to his
networking. This has been the single most formative experience of my education,
uncovering my passion for experiment and discovery. I attribute this growth
in myself to his guidance and encouragement. He has encouraged my pursuit
of practical farming experience, and his suggestions led to a fulfilling summer
internship on an organic farm. Beyond being an incredibly supportive mentor,
Dr. DiTommaso is an enthusiastic scientist and teacher, and a role model for me.
His work on agricultural weed management is collaborative and applicable, and
he has a gift for communicating his experiences and knowledge. To me, he is
living proof that a passion for agriculture and research can be merged, giving me
the confidence and direction to enter that field.
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