Campus & Community

2010-11 Remembrance Scholars to be honored at Oct. 22 convocation

Thursday, October 14, 2010, By Kelly Homan Rodoski

The 2010-11 Convocation for Remembrance Scholars, honoring 35 outstanding Syracuse University students from this year’s senior class, will be held Friday, Oct. 22, at 3:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel.

The Remembrance Scholarships, among the most prestigious scholarships awarded by the University, were founded as a tribute to the 270 people, including 35 SU students, who were killed in the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. This year marks the 22nd anniversary of the tragedy.

The scholarships are funded through an endowment supported by gifts from alumni, friends, parents and corporations. Significant support for the Remembrance Scholarships has been provided by the Fred L. Emerson Foundation; and C. Jean Thompson ’66 and SU Trustee Richard L. Thompson G’67 in memory of Jean Taylor Phelan Terry ’43 and John F. Phelan, Jean Thompson’s parents.

Applicants for the $5,000 scholarship were asked to highlight their academic achievements and University activities, including community service. They also wrote essays and participated in interviews with members of the selection committee.

“It has been a privilege for all of us who reviewed the applications to get to know our wonderful students,” says Suzanne Thorin, University librarian, dean of the library and chair of the Remembrance Scholars Selection Committee. “The students who were selected from that very competitive pool represent all of the victims of Pan Am 103, including the 35 SU students who lost their lives.”

Additionally, each year two students from Lockerbie are selected as Lockerbie Scholars. They spend one year studying at SU on a scholarship before returning to the United Kingdom to complete their university degrees. This year’s scholars, Allison Donaldson and Duncan McNab, will also be recognized at the convocation. Both SU and the Lockerbie Trust support this award.

Thorin will preside over the convocation, and SU Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor will deliver a message. A Remembrance Scholar will speak on behalf of the group, and Thorin will present the scholars. A reception will follow the convocation in the lobby of the Heroy Geology Laboratory.

The 2010-11 Remembrance Scholars (and their hometowns and colleges/schools) are:

  • Emily Allen of Smithfield, R.I., The College of Arts and Sciences (A&S);
  • Ahmed Al-Salem of Niskayuna, N.Y., the School of Information Studies and the Martin J. Whitman School of Management;
  • Ryan Balton of Milford, Pa., A&S and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications;
  • Alonna Berry of Magnolia, Del., A&S;
  • Timothy Biba of Hanover, Pa., A&S and the Newhouse School;
  • Kelsie Bouchard of Fort Kent, Me., A&S and the Whitman School;
  • Jonathan Chan of San Francisco, the Whitman School and the Newhouse School;
  • Amanda Cohen of Penn Valley, Pa., the Whitman School and the Newhouse School;
  • Caitlin Cronin of The Woodlands, Texas, A&S;
  • Janae DeRusso of Irvine, Calif., the Newhouse School;
  • Joseph Galea of Blue Bell, Pa., A&S and the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science;
  • John Giammatteo of Southbury, Conn., A&S and the Newhouse School;
  • Teffera Girma of Silver Spring, Md., A&S;
  • Maggie Gleason of Nicollet, Minn., A&S, the Whitman School and the Newhouse School;
  • Kevin Hirst of Erie, Pa., the Whitman School and the Newhouse School;
  • Michael Jiang of Sharon, Mass., the Whitman School and the Newhouse School;
  • Katherine Lewinski of Cumberland, R.I., A&S;
  • Qi Li of Brooklyn, A&S;
  • Nicole Loring of Barrington, N.H., A&S and the Newhouse School;
  • Marlei-Krizelle Martinez of Kathleen, Ga., the Newhouse School;
  • Carolyn McChesney of Inverness, Ill., A&S and the Newhouse School;
  • Gregory Miller of Orange, Va., the Newhouse School;
  • Jennifer Monti of Florence, Italy, A&S;
  • Kimberly Ndombe of Manchester, N.H., A&S and the Newhouse School;
  • Lyuba Polinkovsky of Fayetteville, N.Y., A&S;
  • Ashley Robbins of Leominster, Mass., the Newhouse School and the College of Human Ecology;
  • Jessica Santana of Brooklyn, N.Y., the Whitman School;
  • Teresa Soldner of Marquette, Mich., A&S;
  • Paul Stanley of Niskayuna, N.Y., the Whitman School and the Newhouse School;
  • Arkie Tassew of Carrizo Springs, Texas, A&S;
  • Julia Terruso of Wynnewood, Pa., A&S and the Newhouse School;
  • Na’Tasha Webb-Prather of East Cleveland, Ohio, A&S;
  • Sarah Wendel of Vienna, Va., A&S;
  • Andrew Woodbury of Somerville, N.J., A&S and the Newhouse School; and
  • Marina Zarya of Brooklyn, N.Y., the Newhouse School.