Hobart and William Smith Colleges

2 October 2012 Women Celebrate Excellence

The recent Celebrating Excellence Dinner gathered William Smith women together in celebration of this years theme, Women Moving Women Up.

Three Miles Lost, the Colleges all-female a cappella group, opened with a medley of songs and William Smith Associate Dean Lisa Kaenzig described a tradition of William Smith women being both brave and exceptional. Dean of William Smith College Suzanne McNally spoke of the 40th anniversary of Title IX, which made it illegal to deny equal funding to female athletes, and encouraged broader interaction among student groups.

Natia Bueno 14 and Zoe van Nostrand 14, speaking for the Laurel Society, reinforced the idea of an interconnected campus. The Laurel Society, the sophomore and junior honor society, inducted 21 new members amid enthusiastic applause: Amira Abdulkadir 14, Kristyna Bronner 14, Natia Bueno 14, Courtney Cytryn 14, Aminata Dansoko 15, Emily Dove 14, Chelsea Dunay 14, Chelsea Encababian 14, Abigail Evans 14, Emily Fitzgerald 14, Meghan Gaucher 14, Melissa Hosek 14, Aly McKnight 15, Dona Occhipinti 14, Vanessa Roach 14, Danielle Shaw 14, Hannah Sorgi 14, Sally Storch 14, Zoe Van Nostrand 14, Nicole Zanghi 14 and Jeanine Cryan15.

Molly Krifka 13, the senior speaker, talked about her experience interning at an art museum in Peru over the summer as a recipient of the Salisbury Summer International Internship Stipend. She encouraged her classmates to never take the faculty for granted. They helped me realize not only the greatness I could do, but also the greatness of the campus itself.

The first-year speaker, Sarah Hogg 16, shared how she knew HWS was right for her during her first visit and concluded, It would be impossible for me to resist a place so great.

The reading of Phenomenal William Smith Women, a poem that some William Smith students adapted a few years ago from a Maya Angelou poem, emphasized the incredible accomplishments of William Smith women, both what they do and who they are.

All women who have maintained a 3.9 or higher cumulative GPA were honored, including five seniors, 12 juniors, and 20 sophomores.

A much-anticipated William Smith cheesecake was greeted by a collective gasp of excitement, after which Three Miles Lost led the gathering in heartily singing the alma mater.

To close the dinner, Chaplain Lesley Adams spoke of helping to bring to birth each others identities, stories, and voices, encapsulating the theme of Women Moving Women Up.