During the week of May 11th, 2020, 75 outstanding Rutgers University-Newark students who received one or more of the 2020 School of Arts & Sciences-Newark (SASN) Annual Awards were celebrated with a virtual "Senior Tribute Week" featuring a series of congratulatory videos released daily. The videos included congratulations from their faculty and mentors and acknowledgements of the award recipients selected by each department.
Every year, the Office of Academic Services (OAS) works together with the Office of the Dean and the academic departments across the School of Arts & Sciences-Newark (SASN) to present awards to a select group of students, mostly seniors, for going above and beyond in their chosen areas of study. The awards are a combination of scholarships, monetary awards and plaques or certificates. Usually, these awards are presented at the SASN Annual Awards Banquet, but due to COVID-19, this year's in-person event was cancelled. However, that didn't stop the school from getting creative and honoring their outstanding achievements virtually.
Sofia Pinto-Figueroa, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education, in a letter to the students, said "We are fortunate to have had you as scholars in our school, and while we will not be able to physically celebrate this accomplishment with you this month, we want you to be aware that the SASN faculty and staff could not be more proud of this graduating class, especially for the resilience and determination you have displayed over the last few months."
The week began with a special message to the Class of 2020 from faculty and staff, and continued with videos featuring students throughout the week.
"I wish you all much success with your remaining final exams this week and with completing the remaining coursework. Please know that you will always have a home at Rutgers University-Newark and within the School of Arts & Sciences-Newark. Keep making us proud and stay in touch! Much success with your future endeavors as you embark on the next step of your career," said Pinto-Figueroa.
The full list of 2020 awards and recipients are as follows:
Academic Foundations (EOF)
Community Service Award - EOF
Lorenzo Nash
African American and African Studies
Wendell A. Jean-Pierre Award of Excellence
Ine Collins
Merit Award
Natalie Guions, Aisha Dukureh
Arts, Culture and Media
Creative Achievement in Fine Arts
Emmanuel Amoakohene
Creative Achievement in Graphic Design
Nadezda Andrianova, Gisela Ochoa, Emily Corson
Journalism Excellence Award
Christopher Goodlof
Theatre Excellence Award
David Ben Arie
Biological Sciences
Bessie Dolgan Memorial Award
Aleena Dar
Biological Sciences Award - Excellence in Scholarship
Andrea Ascura, Arsany Yassa
Biological Sciences Award - Health Professions Career Award
Ashani Shah
Biological Sciences Award for Excellence in Research
Mariam Elias
John Keosian Award
Joseph Reiner
Chemistry
ACS Division of Chemistry Award
Daniel Pyle
Charles Sabat Award
Natalie Al Inati
General Chemistry Teaching Award
Musa Amjad
Harold A. Fales Memorial Award
Rafael Eulalio
Hugh W.Thompson Memorial Award
Nicole Rodriguez
R. Ian Fryer Memorial Award
Jose De La Rosa
Earth and Environmental Sciences
Herbert P. Woodward Memorial Fund
Joaquin Cambeiro
Economics
Federal Reserve Challenge Award
Robert Remuszka
Morris H. Beck Student Achievement Award
Xuemeng Wang, Hongning Huang
English
Louis R. Zocca NCAS English Prize
Sara M Urbano
David Diorio Memorial Award
Natacha J Ramos Da Silva Lima
Madison C. Bates Memorial Prize
Brittany Grau
History
David Robert Friedlander Memorial Award
Sebastian Barrie, Amily Bolano-Diaz, Timothy Tucker
Edward H. Zabriski Memorial Fund Award
Nour-Alhuda Abdel-Aziz, Johnny Romero
Sydney Zebel Award - NCAS History
Alanur Akarsu, Javier Parra
Math & Computer Science
Computer Science Award
Feiyang Wang
Ingrida Soldatova Award for Women in Mathematics
Azreen Malek
Samuel Greitzer Math Award
Giomarco Urbina
Office of Academic Services
Cassie Edward Miller Award
Rosalina Cerda-Lopez
Dean Inge Gambe Scholarship
Naomi Campbell
Dean Norman C. Miller Award
Ashley Gillen
Dean of Academic Services Award
Amir Gamil
Tau Sigma National Honor Society Award
Katherine Benson
Yolande Rubianes Memorial Award
Renaldo Chavis
Office of the Dean
CARR Academic Scholars
Aurelia Hutson, Ethan Morrison, Aleena Dar, Andrea Ascura, Daniel Pyle, Ine Collins, Grace Akinlolu, Brianna Ali
Charles Pine Memorial Fund Award
Xining Yuan
School of Arts and Sciences - Newark Dean's Award
Anthony Galy, Mariam Bastawross
John Faulstich NCAS Alumni Award
Ine Collins
Richard Robey Memorial Award
Amily Bolano-Diaz
Philosophy
Charles I. Biederman Award
Esder Chong, Emmanuel Pierre
Physics
Betty Skuse Thompson Prize in Physics
Dory Castillo
Political Science
Benjamin M. Weissman Memorial Scholarship
Sally Shobut
Benjamin M. Weissman Writing Award
Anthony Ghaly
Heinz Seelbach Award
Anthony Ghaly, Mariam Bastawross
Psychology
Joel Girgus Memorial Award
Daenelle Dawkins, Gabriella Juarez, Anthony Ghaly, Mariam Bastawross, Kainaat Anwar, Ine Collins, Chaandanie Ramnarace, Samantha Rieder
Lillian Robbins Memorial Award
Samantha Rieder, Kainaat Anwar
Lourdes Casal Memorial Award
Ine Collins
Social Work
Academic Excellence and Leadership
Brooke Ulikowski
Academic Excellence in Social Work
Chelsea Seelochan
Dean James Plummer Award
Destiny Sparks
Excellence in Field Practice Award
Karla Levine
Dr. Phylis J. Peterman Book Award
Jamillah Williams, Raziya Karriem
Sociology and Anthropology
Jay Rumney Memorial Award
Todd Young
Joannie L. Huberman Memorial Award
Bonnie Marallano
Spanish and Portuguese Studies
Academic Excellence in Portuguese and Lusophone World Studies
Deonca Williams, Manuela Castro
Israel S. Stamm Memorial Prize Fund
Deonca Williams, Naidamar Maldonado
Outstanding Achievement in Spanish and Hispanic Civlization
Nicole Rodriguez
Urban Education
Outstanding Urban Teacher Candidate in Secondary Education
Louise Ann Borja
Women and Gender Studies
Beth Niemi Award for Excellence in Women's and Gender Studies
