The Dean's Leadership Awards honor ten exemplary students from each of the Programs for High School Students' Summer Immersion sessions. The winners were chosen based on nominations from our educators and staff.
Here are a few words from each of the winners' nominators on the characteristics that allowed these students to stand out during the intensive programming this summer.
Aura Whittier
“Aura found out about the programs here at Columbia of her own volition, and through her ambition to learn and explore. She is the first in her school in Trinidad y Tobago to attend these sorts of summer immersion programs. She has expressed that, on her return to Trinidad y Tobago, she might raise awareness of these programs in her school and in her community, the benefits they have for high achieving high school students, and the fact that people from any walk of life have the opportunity to participate in them. She is an excellent example of an independent minded, driven student who also wants to give back to her community.”
Ruijie (Jerry) Huang
“Jerry has an insatiable curiosity and bubbly, gregarious character. His enthusiasm for the subject matter carries the entire class along. During group activities, he engages at a very high level--both intellectually and motivationally--routinely explaining and illustrating concepts to his classmates, he challenges them to follow along. And they go willingly.”
Sophie Sacks
“Sophie is one of the very few females in the advanced section of the course and in a field dominated by males, she manages to stand out with her intelligence and charisma. Her work ethic is second to none as she pushes herself to finish all the assignments given, despite the fact that some of them are very challenging. In addition, her proposed solutions are always clear and clever and most importantly, she comes up [with] questions about the material that show a deep understanding. On top of that, Sophie will always help her fellow students when they have questions or when they are stuck while solving a problem and is not afraid to take the lead during a group discussion. To conclude, Sophie is a brilliant and talented student. In fact I would go on to say that she is one of smartest high school students I've ever taught and I believe that she has a bright future in whichever field she decides to get involved with.”
Grace Bo-Youn Hwang
“Grace is a student in Language and Identity. As with many of the other students in the class, she brings a multilingual and multicultural background to her study of linguistics. This student, however, also welcomes the multidisciplinary nature of linguistics. Her work in class and on assignments demonstrates her acknowledgment of the interconnectedness of the study of language to, among others, the scientific method, the study of social structures, as well as pragmatic failures and their large and small consequences for interpersonal relationships. Hence, Grace is an "A" student who looks beyond the work at the moment to the principles of the field, applying those principles to her work. “
Brooke Deasy
“In our creative writing workshop, Brooke has been an incredibly thoughtful reader, writer, editor, critic, and friend to her peers. She exhibits many qualities of a leader, and she is always willing to make herself vulnerable to help her peers in the classroom. Almost immediately, I recognized Brooke’s commitment to helping others through her willingness to ask questions and challenge others to be the best writers and students they can be. Brooke has been extremely supportive of her creative writing community during this short time, and she always aims to celebrate the strengths of others.”
Karnav Khanna
“Karnav is an international student and fully demonstrates the requirements outlined for this award. He has shown great new technologies and doing his own work in exploring these technologies. It is rare to meet a high school student who is so mature, focused and organized. I can whole-heartedly support Karnav for this award and strongly urge you to award her the Dean's Leadership Awards.”
Camila Gomez
“Camila has exemplified academic excellence in the Creative Writing Program Workshop and Craft Class this summer. She is punctual, sharp and a frequent contributor in class. Her engagement serves as an example to her classmates. Often, her comments highlight significant details within the work of art being considered during class workshops and discussions. Camila is joy to have as a student and she possesses a work ethic and vigor that make her worthy of consideration for this award.”
Lindsay Porter
“From the first day Lindsay exhibited an exemplary work ethic, outstanding interpersonal skills and a superb aptitude for legal reasoning. She was one of the first to volunteer in group discussions, sharing her astute observations which served to benefit her classmates. Her insightful questions have shown a hunger to delve deeply into complex subjects. Lyndsay has taken the initiative, on behalf of herself and her groupmates in collaborative exercises to ascertain that she is doing as much, substantively and as a 'de facto' leader of her group, as possible. She has tactfully inspired and directed collaborative work on behalf of her peers in their addressing of their concern for the shooting by law enforcement of unarmed civilians. Lyndsay's personal characteristics of patience, confidence and intelligence have been well-received by a diverse collection of classmates from around the world, and she has been very generous with help for peers.”
Ivan Grega
“Ivan is a constant source of critical inquiry and curiosity in the classroom, presenting substantive questions in every lecture and about every topic he's exposed to. He demonstrates to his fellow students what intellectual interest and academic engagement should look like, and goes above and beyond in his work to truly grasp the material. Without provocation he even took it upon himself to derive an important equation in psychophysiology completely from scratch, a feat that would be challenging even for most advanced graduate students. I have no doubt he will go far in his academic pursuits and be an inspiration for his colleagues.”
Diego Santamarina
"In a large class, Diego shined as a truly selfless and hard-working student who embodied leadership. From the beginning, he was a vocal leader in his project group, who worked to design a platform that made the gift searching and giving process easier. While the group's entrepreneurial idea was clear, Diego was instrumental in seeing the team through many challenges. When working in this team, Diego artfully assumed large responsibility in leading the group to success, but did not do so in a way that overpowered the dynamic. Additionally, he did not boast of his own achievements or seek recognition for the work that he did, though it was clear how much effort he put into the project. He not only spoke with frankness among his peers, but also with sincerity and kindness. A true pleasure to work with, I am honored to nominate Diego and look forward to seeing what he brings to the world in the future."
The second round of Dean's Leadership Award winners will be announced in August.
