Oglethorpe’s annual Honors and Awards celebrate the academic and leadership contributions of students, faculty, and staff throughout the academic year. This year’s celebration took place virtually through a Facebook watch party on May 7.

Congratulations to the 2020 honorees who were recognized.

Instrumentalist of the Year Award in memory of Jack Strouss, Jr. ’51 – Sarah Davidson
Oglethorpe University Singer of the Year – Samantha Foster
Core Teaching Award – Dr. Rebecca Schmerer
Core Instructor Award – Elizabeth Hetzel
Leo Bilancio Award – Annelies Van Linden
The LeConte Award – Jose Trinidad
Rich Foundation Urban Leader in Action Award – John “Grady” Thiels
Mary Whiton Calkins Award – Raquel Battaglia
Outstanding Senior in Communication Studies – Ansley Dyer
Outstanding Traditional Undergraduate Senior Business Major – Morgan Grindle
Outstanding Adult Degree Program Senior Business Major – Melissa Hollingsworth
Outstanding Senior Human Resource Management Major – Taylor Cranford
Outstanding Senior in English – Lexi Covalsen
Outstanding Senior in Biopsychology – Andrew Aycock
Outstanding Senior in Politics – John “Grady” Thiels
Outstanding Economics Major – Ruby Philippaerts
Anne Rivers Siddons Prize for Short Fiction – Lexi Covalsen
Sidney Lanier Prize for Poetry – Dani Lindmier
Outstanding Improvement in French Studies – William Mann
Ronald Carlisle Prize in Mathematics and Computer Science – Zoe Nelson
Ronald Carlisle Prize in Mathematics and Computer Science – Christina Minor
J. Frederick Agel, Sr. ’52 Endowed Scholarship – Ian Wilson
J. Frederick Agel, Sr. ’52 Endowed Scholarship – Talia Weinstein
Compass Student of the Year – David Swillum
Compass Student of the Year – Kimberly Buruse
Compass Advisor of the Year – Melinda Peerboom
Compass Advisor of the Year – Elizabeth Hetzel
Adult Degree Program Student Award – Laura Crowley
A_LAB Award – Fernanda Stelzer Rodrigues
Omicron Delta Kappa Emerging Leadership Award – Justin Bennett
Omicron Delta Kappa Outstanding Leadership Award – Clara Grimaldo
Omicron Delta Kappa Outstanding Staff Member Award – Natasha Byrd
Omicron Delta Kappa Outstanding Faculty Member Award – Dr. Jessica Handler
Spirit of Alpha Phi Omega – Clara Grimaldo
Spirit of Alpha Phi Omega – Dr. Dustin Peone
Spirit of Alpha Phi Omega – Asia Anderson
Charles M. MacConnell Award – Natasha Byrd
Donald C. Agnew Award – Eli Arnold
Student Government Association Community Appreciation Award – Jordan Madison
O-Pin Recipients – Marissa Burts, Patrick Dubose, Alejandra Canas Escobar, Amelia Holley, Melinda O’Connor, Jackson Reilly, Fantasia Smith
Keith Baker Endowed Award – Calvin Schneider
The Mary Mildred Sullivan Award – Syeda Bano
The Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award – Jax Wright

The Sullivan Awards are one of Oglethorpe’s top honors given to two graduating seniors annually. For more than 125 years, the Sullivan Awards have honored those who put service above self. That spirit was the driving force in the lives of the Sullivans, and the awards recognize those who keep that spirit alive today.

Sullivan Awards are highly prized and have been won by people whose lives of service have changed the world with little fanfare, as well as those who have become household names. Recipients include First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, television icon Fred Rogers, and Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell.