College Faculty Recognize Former Students at Alumni Weekend

by Rashad Mulla

College Faculty Recognize Former Students at Alumni Weekend

About 85 people were on hand for the first-ever presentation of the college GOLD (Graduates of the Last Decade) awards, which took place on Saturday, October 2, at George’s Restaurant in the Johnson Center. The award presentation, which was preceded by a wine-tasting, was a part of Alumni Weekend 2010.

To decide on the GOLD award winners, College of Humanities and Social Sciences academic departments each chose one recent alum who was an outstanding student during his or her academic career. The award recipients were based on faculty recommendations, said Toby Hettler, alumni gifts manager for the college.

The department also presented the first ever Dean’s Award for Public Service to Christina Markish, BA history ’10, who currently works for the autism advocacy organization Autism Speaks. Markish won the award for a packed volunteering resume, which includes service for Autism Speaks, Habitat for Humanity, the Capital Area Food Bank, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington. She also volunteered for numerous on-campus organizations.

Jack Censer, dean of the college, congratulated the awardees, and Tennille Parker, BA government and politics ’97 and president of the Alumni Association, presented the GOLD awards.

Hettler said the college plans to host the GOLD awards again next year.

Here is the complete list of GOLD award winners, listed by name, graduation year and department:

  • Amanda Hubert, BS ’09, Criminology, Law and Society
  • Isaac Pacheco, BA ’09, Communication
  • Ludy Grandas, PhD ’10, Cultural Studies
  • Ana Isabel Barillas, BS ’05, Economics
  • Arsalan Jafree, BA ’07, History and Art History
  • Patrick Bingham, BA ’08, Latin American Studies
  • Liana Montecinos, BA ’09, Modern and Classical Languages
  • Ryan Hubbard, BA ’06, Philosophy
  • Afra Saeed Ahmad, BA ’08, Psychology
  • Fernando Menendez, BA ’09, Individualized Studies (BIS)
  • Matt Bruno, MA ’08, Interdisciplinary Studies (MAIS)
  • Dan Forbes, BA ’00, Russian Studies

Image: The GOLD award winners. Photo by Jennifer Keltz-Lambrecht.