Northeastern Voice

President meets with newest Presidential Scholars

President Aoun greets students, parents and faculty at the April 18th Presidential Scholarship and Hodgkinson Awards Presentation. / CRAIG BAILEY

Full of excitement and promise, the newest Presidential Scholars and Hodgkinson Award winners turned out April 18 with parents and mentors to ring in the newest chapter of their educational careers.

In a late-afternoon ceremony at 340 Egan, honorees mingled with president Joseph Aoun, college deans and faculty leaders in a ceremony recognizing their accomplishments thus far.

In welcoming remarks, Aoun spoke of the value of an American education in rounding out a student with creative experience. He also spoke of the value of a co-op education. Describing the university’s role as one that “activates your genes” — he emphasized the importance of “nurturing” a student to capitalize on their innate aptitude.

“Our job is not only to get you ready for the world, it is to get you ready for life,” Aoun said.

Students already showed themselves to be formidable talents, said Susan Powers-Lee, executive vice provost.

“They’re all just wonderful students. We had so many great applications it was difficult to make the final cut,” she said.

The presidential Scholarship is a merit-based, highly competitive scholarship awarded to only eight of 200 applicants. The Hodgkinson Award is based on scholastic achievement, character, leadership and cooperative work experience.

Presidential Scholar Tom Cinq-Mars, who was in attendance with his mother Susan Jay, has had a world of experience already. In 2007, he traveled to Salamanca, Spain to study the Spanish-Soviet history from1935 to 1945, and soon he will travel to Russia for a study-abroad program.

Majoring in history and Spanish with a minor in Russian and Eastern European studies, Cinq-Mars said Northeastern professor Jeffrey Burds helped him carve out a research niche. “Northeastern was one of the top schools everybody wanted to apply to when I was in high school, and with good reason. I’ve been very happy here.”

Other scholars recognized during the ceremony were Susan Dye, Bouvé; Kareem Ghobrial, engineering; John Griffith, engineering; Carolina Morgan, arts and sciences; Michael Paradiso, business; Kristen Ripple, Bouvé; and Robert Uvanovic, arts and sciences.

In addition to the presidential scholars, Hodgkinson Achievement Award winners were also recognized. This year’s winners are Kate Allstadt, arts and sciences; Mischa Bauermeister, arts and sciences; Richard Desmond, professional and continuing studies; Elizabeth Fang, Bouvé; Stacey Markovic, engineering; Kevin Roche, computer and information science; Kiette Tucker, business; and Allison Wyman, criminal justice.