Students honored for service and achievement at Class Day

The class of 2005 gathered on Princeton's Cannon Green Monday, May 30, to celebrate the conclusion of their undergraduate careers in a Class Day ceremony honoring their achievements and service.

Matthew Shapiro, a Woodrow Wilson School major from Menands, N.Y., received the Harold Willis Dodds Achievement Award, recognizing the senior who best embodies the qualities of Princeton's 15th president, Harold Dodds, "particularly in the qualities of clear thinking, moral courage, a patient and judicious regard for the opinion of others and a thorough devotion to the welfare of the University and the life of the mind." Shapiro, who worked as project coordinator for a program that tutors middle school students and served as a residential adviser at Mathey College, is known for his devotion to the University and to engaging others in serious intellectual exploration.

The Allen Macy Dulles '51 Award was given to Joseph Robinson, a sociology major from Mahwah, N.J. The award goes to the senior whose activities best represent or exemplify the University's informal motto: "Princeton in the nation's service and in the service of all nations." Robinson has been a volunteer with six organizations that help children. He also created his own community service project that brought children from the Trenton area to campus one or two nights a week for tutoring in reading and basketball.

Antoinette Seaberry, a French major from Baton Rouge, La., received the Frederick Douglass Service Award, which is given to the senior who has exhibited "courage, leadership, intellectual achievement and a willingness to contribute unselfishly toward a deeper understanding of the experiences of racial minorities and who, in so doing, reflects the tradition of service embodied in education at Princeton." Seaberry, who served as vice president of her class, has been active in the Black Student Union, the Chapel Choir and the Martin Luther King Day Planning Committee.

The Class of 1901 Medal, which goes to the senior who, in the judgment of his or her classmates, has done the most for Princeton, was awarded to Matthew Margolin, a politics major from Portola Valley, Calif. Margolin, the president of the student body, has been a member of the Undergraduate Student Government since 2002.

Azalea Kim, president of the class for the last two years, received the W. Sanderson Detwiler 1903 Prize, awarded to the senior who, in the judgment of his or her classmates, has done the most for the class. A Woodrow Wilson School major from Yonkers, N.Y., Kim served as a team leader for the Arts Alive program, a core member of the University Honor Committee and a leader of the Outdoor Action program.

The Priscilla Glickman '92 Memorial Prize, which honors "independence and imagination in the area of community service," was given to Meridel Bulle and Brandon Nicholson, both Woodrow Wilson School majors. Bulle, who is from Garden City, N.Y., established the University’s first service link with the neighboring community of Hightstown, helped expand the scope of the freshman pre-orientation program Community Action and worked to raise $150,000 for reconstruction projects in areas devastated by last year's tsunami. Nicholson, who is from Oakland, Calif., has served as coordinator of Community House's middle school tutoring program and for the past two years has played a leadership role in the Big Brothers Big Sisters project there.

Athletic awards

Neil Mehrotra won the Class of 1916 Cup, which goes to the senior varsity letter winner with the highest academic standing. Mehrotra, an economics major from Eden Prairie, Minn., is a member of the men's lightweight crew team.

The William Roper Trophy, which honors "a Princeton senior of high scholastic rank and outstanding qualities of sportsmanship and general proficiency in athletics," was given to Soren Thompson and Will Venable. An art and archaeology major from San Diego, Calif., Thompson is a fencer who advanced to the quarterfinals in the men's epee individual event at the 2004 Olympics. Venable, an anthropology major from San Rafael, Calif., was a first-team All-Ivy League selection and NCAA tournament participant in both basketball and baseball.

The Otto von Kienbusch Award was shared by Stephanie Hsiao, Avery Kiser, Esmeralda Negron and Elizabeth Pillion. The award goes to "a senior woman of high scholastic rank who has demonstrated a general proficiency in athletics and the qualities of a true sportswoman." Hsiao, the 2005 Ivy League Championships Swimmer of the Meet, is an East Asian studies major from Irvine, Calif. Kiser, the only Ivy League golfer to win the league title three years in a row, is an operations research and financial engineering major from Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. Negron, the all-time leading scorer in soccer at Princeton for men and women, is a Spanish major from Harrington Park, N.J. Pillion, a two-time, first-team All-America and two-time, unanimous first-team All-Ivy selection in women's lacrosse, is a psychology major from Villanova, Pa.

Alexandra Brown, Chanel Lattimer and Joseph Robinson shared the Arthur Lane '34 Award, which is given by the Princeton Varsity Club to honor selfless contribution to sport and society by undergraduates. Brown, an ecology and evolutionary biology major from Los Altos, Calif., is a member of the women's volleyball team. Lattimer, a sociology major from Severn, Md., is a member of the women's track and field team. Robinson, a sociology major from Mahwah, N.J., is a member of the football team.

Honorary class members

The class of 2005 also named five people as honorary members: Don Betterton, director of undergraduate financial aid; Chevy Chase, a comic actor who spoke at Class Day; Charles Jones, who works in dining services at the Butler Wilson dining hall; Ben Stiller, a comic actor and director who participated in a program on campus in April to kick off senior week; and Shirley M. Tilghman, Princeton's president.