At 6 p.m. on April 13 students, faculty and staff gathered together in the Alumni gym to accept awards and congratulate others. Senior Ted Fetter played jazz on a keyboard while people entered and helped themselves to refreshments. “In our moments of silence, we acknowledge that when we center ourselves … we can find truth,” said Director of Friends Center and Campus Ministry Coordinator Max Carter, beginning the ceremony with a brief moment of silence.
President Kent Chabotar soon took the stand, “We are here to recognize accomplishments. What makes a successful student at Guilford College is: number one, they’re committed, number two, they’re tolerant, and number three, students at Guilford practice Aristotle’s words, ‘Excellence is not an act, it’s a habit.'”
Senior Terrell Elizabeth Balof-Bird was one of two people to receive the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award presented by Chabotar. Soon after, Student Aid and Awards Committee member and Assistant Professor of English Heather Hayton presented the recognition of honors awards.
Awards such as the Dean’s Award for First-year Writing, which recognizes superior writing by a first-year student at Guilford, and the GlaxoSmithKline Women in Science Scholarship, which recognizes outstanding scholarship and provides and incentive for women science students to enter a science profession, were just two of the 41 awards given for the Recognition of Honors.
Students received Recognition of Honors awards in various departments including English, Biology, Accounting, Art, Academic Skills Center, Chemistry, Geology, French, History, Justice and Policy Studies, Mathematics, Physics, Psychology, Religious Studies, Sociology/Anthropology, Spanish, and Sport Studies.
“I enjoyed the fact that awards from vastly different fields could be presented together and treated as equally important,” said junior Julia Teitel, winner of the Guilford College Art Appreciation Club Merit Award.
After Hayton presented the Recognition of Honors awards, other awards were presented in honor of past Guilford alumni. This included such awards as the Dick Dyer Hearts and Hands Awards, the Merry Moor Winnett Art Scholarship in Photography, the Judith Weller Harvey Award in Campus Ministry, the Eric Reid Leadership Scholarship and the Zvi Cohen Memorial Environmental Award, out of 21 awards.
These awards were given by various faculty, staff, and alumni members, including Heather Hayton, Deborah Shaw, Aaron Fetrow, Ali Stewart, Paul Coscia, Esther S. Hall, Patti Hughes, Vernie Davis, Angie Moore, and Bill Stevens.
A total of 63 Corella and Bertram F. Bonner Scholars were recognized for the Classes of ’05-’08, 38 students were recognized as Charles A. Dana Scholars, and 103 students were recognized as Guilford College Scholarship Society members.
“It’s worth it,” said Vice President and Academic Dean of Guilford College, Adrienne Israel as she concluded the night’s events. “It’s worth what you’ve done. It’s worth sharpening your tools.