Tufts University Alumni Association announces 12 recipients of Senior Awards

The 12 recipients of this year's Senior Awards have been announced. The recipients, according to the Tufts University Alumni Association (TUAA) website, will each receive $1,000.

The recipients are Marissa Birne, Patricia Blumeris, Parker Breza, Ailish Dougherty, Anne Hall, Anjalique Knight, Bri Pastro, Melanie Ramirez, Will Shackelford, Emily Sim, Hiroto Watanabe and Chris Wingard. According to the TUAA website, an award ceremony for the recipients will be held on Saturday at Gifford House.

Criteria for the award, according to the TUAA website, are “(a) outstanding student leadership, (b) significant academic achievement (3.0 GPA or higher), (c) extraordinary service to Tufts and the greater community, and (d) demonstrated potential to be an alumni leader.”

Joda Glossner, assistant director of alumni engagement, said that the Senior Awards reflect the broader goals of the TUAA. One such goal is "heightening the visibility of Tufts and the accomplishments of its graduates," according to the TUAA website.

"By recognizing these seniors, it helps the entire community of alumni to understand kind of what Tufts is doing on campus," Glossner said. "It’s a nice window into what Tufts is contributing ... spreading the light on the hill more broadly.”

Peter Brodeur, one of the co-chairs of the Awards Committee, added that the awards are intended to reward and encourage students.

“As an alumni association, part of our goal in helping the school is to have a strong alumni association," Brodeur said. "We certainly always hope that these really fantastic individuals will be encouraged to ... continue all of the good things that they’ve done for the community and for Tufts and to be future members and leaders of the Alumni Association.”

Recipients shared their excitement about the awards. Wingard, one of these recipients, told the Daily in an electronic message that he will use the $1,000 award to pay off student loans.

“I am grateful to be receiving a senior award ... However, I would also like to note that the senior award money will be used to start paying off my student loans," Wingard said. "It is unfortunate that a university with the endowment and caliber of Tufts chooses to saddle low income students, like myself, with thousands of dollars of debt.”

Birne, another recipient, shared the honor with her peers.

"The contributions to the Tufts community that I am most proud of, such as co-creating Public Harmony, would not have been possible without the support of wonderful peers, faculty, family and friends," Birne said. "Thank you to these people for helping me to grow ... and give back to this community during the past four years."