The Wilson School Congratulates the GREAT Class of 2016

Jun 01 2016
By B. Rose Kelly
Source Woodrow Wilson School

The Woodrow Wilson School awarded 83 graduate students and 144 undergraduate students with degrees at its May 31 Commencement and through the 2015-16 academic year.

The Wilson School congratulates the five Ph.D. students, 60 Master in Public Affairs (MPA) students and 18 Master in Public Policy (MPP) students who graduated.  

Both graduate and undergraduate students were recognized through prestigious awards. They are as follows.


GRADUATE AWARDS & DISTINCTION

High Distinction

Wylie Timmerman (Field III) received high distinction on the second-year qualifying exam.

Distinction

The following students achieved distinction in their second-year qualifying exams: Amal Karim (Field II); Roger Low, Miles Patrie and Katharine Richardson (Field III); and Michael Carlson and Aya Silva (Field IV).

Certificates

Seven MPA students received Certificates in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy (STEP): Benjamin Birnbaum, Lisa Cabral, Minsun Hahn, Gareth Jones, Bonnie Krenz, Lauren Rhode and Alejandro Rodriguez Ramirez.

One MPP student received a STEP certificate: Andrew Domingue.

Five MPA students received Health and Health Policy Certificates: Cooper Allton, Sara Bencic, Patrick Linn, Marlise Pierre-Wright and Alexander Sheff.

Four MPA students earned a Certificate in Urban Policy: Colin Felsman, Anna Friedman, Evan Goldstein and Katharine Richardson.

Vanessa Lehner earned a Certificate in Demography.

Graduate Prizes

The Bradford Prize was awarded to Bonnie Krenz. At the Wilson School, Krenz concentrated in international relations and science, technology and environmental policy (STEP). This award –named for the late David Bradford, a former associate dean and distinguished colleague – goes to the STEP student who has achieved both a distinguished academic record and a record of service in the School.

The Master in Public Policy Prize was given to Jennifer Williams. Williams came to the MPP program from the U.S. Department of State as a foreign service officer. For six years, she focused on Middle East political security and humanitarian issues, most recently serving as special assistant to the deputy secretary of state. This award is given to a student who has achieved both an outstanding academic record and demonstrated a commitment to public service and community building at the Wilson School.

The Somers Prize was awarded to Roger Low. Low concentrated in domestic policy and achieved distinction on both the Qualifying Exam 1 in May 2015 and the Qualifying Exam 2 this year. The Somers Prize – established by the late Anne Somers to honor the memory of her husband, the late Herman M. “Red” Somers, a former Wilson School faculty member – is awarded to a student with domestic policy interests who has a distinguished academic and public service record.

The Stokes’ Award was awarded to Michael Carlson and Kabira Namit. Carlson and Namit concentrated in economics and public policy at the Wilson School and served on the Woodrow Wilson Action Committee and the Wilson School Graduate Student Government. Carlson came to the Wilson School after spending four years working for the Federal Reserve Board in Washington. After Princeton, he will return to D.C. to work on economic and financial policy. Before coming to the Wilson School, Namit worked as an economic adviser in Accra, Ghana, for the Ministry of Education. He also spent a year working on projects for the World Bank in Ghana and Ministry of Health in Malawi. After Princeton, Kabira will work for the World Bank as a consultant.

The Stokes’ Prize recognizes both academic achievement and public service leadership and is awarded to the graduating MPA student/s whose achievements best exemplify the world of the late Donald E. Stokes, former dean of the Wilson School.


UNDERGRADUATE AWARDS & DISTINCTION

Thesis Awards

The Myron T. Herrick Prize which is the highest thesis honor for an undergraduate at the Wilson School was awarded to Benjamin Dinovelli for his thesis, “A Tale of Two Internets: An Analysis of Exogenuously Introduced Internet Access on Local Economic Outcomes.” Dinovelli’s adviser was Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, Theodore A. Wells ’29 Professor of Economics and International Affairs, and the second reader was Oleg Itskhoki, associate professor of economics and international affairs. This prize is awarded to the writer of the best senior thesis overall in the Woodrow Wilson School.

The Lieutenant John A. Larkin Memorial Prize was given to Brian Bernard, whose thesis title was “An Empirical Analysis of Trade in the U.N. Security Council,” and Matthew Kelly for “If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late: Hospital Consolidation and Antitrust in the United States.” This award is given to a senior or seniors who has or have written the best thesis in the field of political economy or on a broadly interdisciplinary subject in which economics plays the most important part.

The Richard H. Ullman Prize was given to Mallory Remick for her thesis, “America Unmanned: The Dynamic Relationship Between the Media and United States Policy on Remotely Piloted Aircraft.” This award is given to a senior who writes the best senior thesis on U.S. foreign policy.

The Woodrow Wilson Senior Thesis Prize was given to Joanna Mieczkowska, whose thesis title was “A Region Divided: The Role of Threat Perception in Central and Eastern European Responses to Russian Aggression in Ukraine,” and Lillian Xu for “Promotion with Reservations: An Analysis of Western-Educated Returnee Prospects in the Chinese Communist Party.” This prize is awarded to a senior/s who writes a thesis of unusual merit.

Awards and Prizes

The Gale F. Johnston Prize in Public Affairs was presented to Jameil Brown. This prize is awarded to a senior who has shown both great improvement and achieved excellence in work at the Wilson School.

The Class of 1924 Award went to Anya Gersoff and Tucker Jones. This prize is awarded to the senior whose contribution to a Policy Seminar has been judged most outstanding.

The Donald E. Stokes Dean’s Prize was given to Ella Cheng and Duncan Hosie. This award recognizes a senior or seniors who has/have displayed extraordinary leadership and made the most significant contributions to the Undergraduate Program and to the Woodrow Wilson School.

Prizes Awarded by Other Departments

The following Wilson School graduates received awards and recognitions from other departments:

Evan Kratzer was co-winner of the American Studies’ Asher Hinds Prize. His thesis was titled “Vote Here? Immigrants to the United States and the Civic Duty to Vote.” This prize is awarded to a senior in the program who does the best work in the humanities.

Leigh Anne Schriever was co-winner of the American Studies’ Willard Thorp Thesis Prize for her thesis, “How to Expand Labor’s Toolbox: Alternative Forms of Organizing in the Modern Economy.” This prize is awarded to the senior in the program who prepares the most outstanding thesis of a clearly interdisciplinary nature.

The Dean Hank Dobin Prize was awarded to Melody Qiu for “To Push or To Cut? Decision-Making in Childbirth Amid the Brazilian Cesarean Epidemic.” This award is given to students who produce an outstanding piece of community based independent work in the junior or senior year. Qiu also received the Kenneth Maxwell Senior Thesis Prize from the Program in Latin American Studies. She was an honorable mention for the Program in Latin American Studies’ Stanley J. Stein Senior Thesis Prize as well as an honorable mention for the Global Health & Health Policy Senior Thesis Prize.

The European Union Program Senior Thesis Prize went to Joanna Mieczkowska. This award is given to the best thesis on the European Union.

The Frederick Barnard White Prize in Architecture was awarded to Alexandra Zoe Zabor for the thesis, “Rethinking Infrastructure: From Public Sector Vision to Private Sector Execution in New York City.” This award is given to the best thesis on an architectural topic.

The Hellenic Studies Senior Thesis Prize was given to George Papademetriou for his thesis, “Turkey’s ‘Little Brother’: Evaluating the Impact of Domestic Turkish Politics on Settlement Negotiations in Cyprus.” This prize is given to the best senior thesis written on a topic in Byzantine or Modern Greek Studies.

The Law in Public Affairs Program’s J. Welles Henderson ’43 Senior Thesis Prize went to Matthew Kelly for “If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late: Hospital Consolidation and Antitrust in the United States.” This prize is awarded to the senior who has written the most outstanding thesis on a law-related subject.

The Program in African Studies Senior Thesis Prize was awarded to Justin Ziegler for “The Effect of ICT on Premature Deindustrialization in Sub-Saharan Africa.” This prize is given for a thesis which demonstrates exceptional research on Africa.

The University Center for Human Values Senior Thesis Prize was awarded to Jonathan Wu for his thesis, “Following the Money: National Economic Self-Interest and Minority Human Rights Compliance in Eurasia.” This prize is awarded to the student who has written the best thesis in the areas of ethics and human values.

The Walter C. Sauer ’28 Prize was awarded by the Department of Economics to Meiran “Melissa” Yin for her thesis, “Regime Type Effect on Adjudication Outcome of the World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Body.” This award is given to the most creative research project on U.S. foreign trade. Yin also received an honorable mention for the Law in Public Affairs Program’s J. Welles Henderson ’43 Senior Thesis Prize.


For more information about Princeton’s Commencement, click here