Syracuse University to honor 2009-10 Remembrance Scholars during Nov. 13 convocation in Hendricks Chapel

The 2009-10 Convocation for Remembrance Scholars, honoring 35 outstanding Syracuse University students from this year’s senior class, will be held Friday, Nov. 13, at 3:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel.

The Remembrance Scholarships, among the most prestigious awarded by the University, were founded as a tribute to the 270 people–including 35 SU students returning from a semester of study abroad–who were killed in the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

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

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 my privilege to review the accomplishments of the young scholars who have come forward for this award, which is so close to the hearts and minds of the Syracuse University community. Each one takes on a special responsibility to live the dreams of those we lost in this tragedy,” says Suzanne Thorin, University librarian, dean of libraries and chair of the Remembrance Scholar Selection Committee.

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

Thorin will preside over the convocation. SU Vice Chancellor and Provost Eric F. Spina and Sinéad MacNamara, assistant professor in the School of Architecture and L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science and a member of the selection committee, will deliver messages. A Remembrance Scholar will speak on behalf of the group, and Thorin will present the scholars.

The 2009-10 Remembrance Scholars, and their hometowns and majors, are:

• Patricia Abraham of Queens, N.Y., African American studies and English and textual studies;
• Wilson Idahosa Aiwuyor of Bronx, N.Y., economics and international relations;
• Sandra Appiah of Bronx, N.Y., television, radio and film;
• James Armstrong of Fair Haven, N.J., advertising;
• DaShawn Monae’ Babbs of Bronx, N.Y., accounting and finance;
• Laura Borgwardt of Madison, Wis., drama;
• Alicia Bourne of Pine Island, N.Y., biology and psychology;
• Kate Pettitt Callahan of Willimantic, Conn., nutrition and policy studies;
• Stephanie Claytor of Twinsburg, Ohio, international relations, broadcast journalism and Spanish language, literature and culture;
• Robin A. Clutters of Mount Prospect, Ill., international relations, broadcast journalism and Spanish language, literature and culture;
• Alexander Coulombe of Bethlehem, N.H., architecture;
• John J. Crandall of Syracuse, anthropology;
• Sarah DiGiulio of Barrington, Ill., political science and magazine journalism;
• Eileen Finn of Southington, Conn., sport management and television, radio and film;
• Bertille Gaigbe-Togbe of Hazlet, N.J., biology;
• Auyon Ghosh of Jamesville, N.Y., economics and physics;
• Gregory Klotz of Rochester, N.Y., advertising and marketing management;
• Jennifer Gramer of Portland, Ore., art history and history;
• Caitlin Farrell Guthoff of Wappinger Falls, N.Y., television, radio and film;
• Scott Kuzdeba of South Deerfield, Mass., electrical engineering and economics;
• Helen Cawai Liang of Daly City, Calif., advertising and communication and rhetorical studies;
• Regina M. Maturo of Syracuse, management and marketing management;
• Shannon Marie McCool of Ewing, N.J., policy studies and psychology;
• Amy E. Rabideau of Yorktown Heights, N.Y., chemistry and biology;
• Courtney M. Raeford of Syracuse, policy studies;
• Michelle San Miguel of Miami, international relations and broadcast journalism;
• Gregory D. Sides of Manns Choice, Pa., advertising and women’s and gender studies;
• Alec Sim of West Chester, Ohio, economics and finance and music history and cultures;
• Christina A. A. Simmons of Parsippany, N.J., communication sciences and disorders, psychology and Spanish language, literature and culture;
• Danton Spina of Clementon, N.J., architecture;
• Samuel A. Staton of Sacramento, Calif., sport management ;
• Theresa N. Thomas of East Orange, N.J., biology;
• Zachary T. West of Cobleskill, N.Y., political science;
• George J. Williams of Mendham, N.J., international relations and magazine journalism; and
• Timeka N. Williams of Detroit, international relations and magazine journalism.