The 2007-08 Convocation for Remembrance Scholars, honoring 35 outstanding Syracuse University students from this year's senior class, will be held Friday, Oct. 26, 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, 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 the Fred L. Emerson Foundation; and 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.
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.
"As one listens to the presidential candidates of both parties struggle to provide a vision for the United States in world affairs, it is more clear than ever that we need a new generation of thinkers with fresh ideas," says David M. Rubin, dean of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and chair of the Remembrance Scholars Selection Committee. "These 35 Remembrance Scholars, and the committed students like them all over the country, are our hope for the future. When these students graduate from Syracuse University in May, we fully expect that they will continue to involve themselves in public affairs and make good on their promise to work for peace and security."
Additionally, each year two students from Lockerbie are selected as Lockerbie Scholars. They spend one year studying at SU on a scholarship before returning to the United Kingdom to complete their university degrees. This year's scholars, John Allan and Paula Lockhart, will also be recognized at the convocation. Both SU and the Lockerbie Trust support this award.
Rubin will preside over the convocation, and SU Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor will deliver a message. Suzanne E. Thorin, University librarian and dean of libraries, will speak on behalf of the selection committee. A Remembrance Scholar will speak on behalf of the group, and Rubin will present the scholars. A reception will follow the convocation in the lobby of the Heroy Geology Laboratory.
The 2007-08 Remembrance Scholars and their majors are Sama Beg of Kashmir, India, biology; Raquel Elaine Benito of San Marino, Calif., aerospace engineering; Meredith Taylor Bowen of Easton, Pa., magazine and chemistry; Marie Buck of Lake Bluff, Ill., drama; Ryan Chadick of Liverpool, N.Y., public relations and communications and rhetorical studies; Katherine Emily Chillscyzn of Freehold, N.J., child and family studies; and Ariba Chowdhury of East Elmhurst, N.Y., bioengineering.
Also, Michael Gordon Curtis of Augusta, Me., policy studies and economics; Lauren Maria D'Angelo of Binghamton, N.Y., policy studies and geography; Heather Dennehy of West Brookfield, Mass., anthropology, international relations and magazine; Jillian Lee Drouin of Corunna, Ontario, health and exercise science; Alana Marie Edmunds of Perrysburg, Ohio, information management and technology; Gary M. Elieff of Syracuse, N.Y., mechanical
engineering; Roslyn Esperon of Canfield, Ohio, art history and English and textual studies; and Joshua H. Frost of Highland Park, Ill., information management and technology and history.
Also, Dominique M. Fufidio of Fort Salonga, N.Y., biomedical engineering; Jade Ashley Fulce of Houston, Texas, broadcast journalism and international relations; Kaitlin W. Gallup of West Springfield, Mass., public relations and policy studies; Maggie Gordon of Berne, N.Y., newspaper and women's studies; John Michael Jedzinak of Woodside, N.Y., architecture; Ryan Kelly of Bath, Pa., advertising and marketing; and Mark Edward LaFrance of Bridgewater, Mass., public relations and psychology.
Also, Sarah C. Leahy of Saugerties, N.Y., advertising and marketing; AnnMarie Leo of Cicero, N.Y., mathematics and mathematics education; Mary Elizabeth Lindberg of Oak Hill, Va., bioengineering; Thomas Daniel Lombardi of Stamford, Conn., television, radio and film; Amy N. Luckenbaugh of Queensbury, N.Y., health and exercise science; Robert Magliaro of West Chester, Pa., economics, policy studies and international relations; and Kayleigh Minicozzi of Rome, N.Y., newspaper, religion and women's studies.
Also, Darryl Patteson of Lebanon, Pa., newspaper and mathematics; Julianne Pepitone of Lincroft, N.J., magazine and psychology; Dana Marie Roberts of New Britain, Pa., Spanish and communication sciences and disorders; Rebecca L. Rought of Merrimack, N.H., aerospace engineering; Jacquelyn Anne Santa Lucia of Flemington, N.J., architecture; and Linita Elise Shannon of Florida, N.Y., television, radio and film and sociology.