Syracuse University names 2005-06 Remembrance Scholars

Monday, May 9, 2005, By News Staff

Syracuse University names 2005-06 Remembrance ScholarsMay 09, 2005Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

Syracuse University’s Remembrance Scholars selection committee has named the students who will be the 2005-06 Remembrance Scholars.

The scholarships, among the most prestigious scholarships awarded by the University, were founded as a tribute to, and means of remembrance for, the 270 people who were killed in the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Thirty-five SU students were aboard the flight, returning to the United States from a semester of study abroad.

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 C. Jean Thompson ’66 and Richard L. Thompson G’67 in memory of Jean Taylor Phelan Terry ’43 and John F. Phelan, Jean Thompson’s parents; and by the Fred L. Emerson Foundation.

Remembrance Scholars are chosen in their junior year through a rigorous and competitive process. Applicants for the $5,000 Remembrance Scholarship were asked to highlight their University activities, including community service. They also wrote an essay and were interviewed by members of the selection committee.

“We had a particularly strong group of applicants this year. We are seeing many students who are volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, working with disabled children and undertaking a variety of on-campus tasks, such as U-100, Student Association, resident advisor duties, and so on,” says David M. Rubin, dean of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and chair of the Remembrance Scholars selection committee. “In addition, they did considerable research into the background of the terrorist attack, and they thought about its implications in our current threatening environment. We believe this group will increase knowledge and understanding of the Pan Am 103 bombing across the campus in the next academic year.”

The 2005-06 Remembrance Scholars will be recognized at convocation in Hendricks Chapel in the fall.

The Remembrance Scholars and their majors are:

  • Laura Brientall of Mt. Ephraim, N.J., policy studies and communication and rhetorical studies;
  • Michelle Brunner of Philadelphia, Pa., public relations and policy studies;
  • Milissa Carter of Utica, N.Y., psychology;
  • Elsbeth Clay of Lancaster, Pa., linguistics, advertising and German;
  • Brien Flewelling of Unity, Maine, aerospace engineering;
  • Melissa Fukushima of Oshkosh, Wis., exercise science;
  • Ryan Gerecht of Springfield, Mo., biochemistry;
  • Elizabeth Gwin of Delanson, N.Y., anthropology;
  • Amanda Harris of Summerville, S.C., music education;
  • Timothy Horak of Monroe Falls, Ohio, television-radio-film;
  • Susan Horn of Utica, N.Y., inclusive elementary and special education;
  • Christopher Joanis of Brooklyn, N.Y., policy studies and television-radio-film;
  • Kevin Kopko of Peckiomenville, Pa., bioengineering;
  • Christiane LaBonte of Chicopee, Mass., policy studies and economics;
  • Alyssa Limberakis of Ambler, Pa., political science and public relations;
  • Travis Mason of Upper Marlboro, Md., political science;
  • Sheila Menz of Webster, N.Y., political science and newspaper journalism;
  • Rachel Moran of Rochester, N.Y., history and women’s studies;
  • Rosemary Mosquea of Corona, N.Y., political science;
  • Amanda Musolino of Moorhead, Minn., inclusive elementary and special education;
  • Carlos Perez of Brentwood, N.Y., aerospace engineering;
  • Paul Rescigno of Milford, Del., drama;
  • Robert Rescigno of Milford, Del., drama;
  • Joseph Rinaldi of Easton, Pa., music education;
  • Jason Rizzo of West Seneca, N.Y., biochemistry;
  • Mark Rogers of Newark, N.Y., industrial design;
  • Rebecca Oliver of Syracuse, N.Y., psychology;
  • Olivia Sims of Coatesville, Pa., biology;
  • John Smucker III of Bird-in-Hand, Pa., television-radio-film and finance;
  • Jean Stevens of Grafton, Mass., magazine journalism, women’s studies and political science;
  • Rachel Terwilliger of Horseheads, N.Y., nutrition and hospitality management;
  • Alicia Williams-Pedersen of E. Amherst, N.Y., political science and broadcast journalism;
  • Kathryn Yohe of West Chester, Pa., drama;
  • Elizabeth Young of St. Paul, Minn., political science and French; and
  • Fonting Yu of Silver Spring, Md., environmental design.