The Daily Plan-it / Dean of Students Blog, Columbia J-school

2007 Graduation Awards
The following awards were presented on May 15 and the winners will be acknowledged again on May 16.

PULITZER TRAVELING FELLOWSHIPS & EIBEL for the top six students in the Class of 2007:

PULITZER FELLOWSHIP: Vidya Ram (designated as the top student in the class)
PULITZER FELLOWSHIP: Daniel Louis Charnas
PULITZER FELLOWSHIP: Susan Donaldson James
PULITZER FELLOWSHIP: Dorian Sanae Merina
PULITZER FELLOWSHIP: Emily Elizabeth Voigt
David Marcus Eibel Memoria Scholarship: Karen Christie Nicholson

AWARDS & WINNER
Literary Criticism Award: Megan Maria Garber
Richard Blood Scholarship Award: Lisa Marie Desai & Andrea De Marco
Leslie Rachel Sander Social Justice Award: Lily Roxanna Jamali, Mary Catherine Brouder & Kate Elizabeth McCarthy
James A. Wechsler Memorial Awards
International: Clinton Martin Hendler
National: Daniel Weiss
Local: Betty Yu
Richard T. Baker Bronx Beat Award: Charis Hagyard Anderson
Richard T. Baker Magazine Award: Ayub Nuri
Richard T. Baker Columbia News Service Award: Christopher Jude Twarowski
Nona Balakian Award in Literary Criticism: Rafael Enrique Valero
Photojournalism Award: Amanda Katharine Rivkin
Philip Greer Business Writing Award: Jason Anthony Del Rey
Robert Harron Award (nice guy/nice gal prize): David Lee Ressel
Fred M. Hechinger Education Journalism Award: Angela Renee Hokanson & Justin David Nobel
Horgan Prizes for Excellence in Science Writing:
Emily Elizabeth Voigt
Margaret Ballantyne
Domenico Montanaro
Ann Marie Venesky
Horgan Prize for Excellence in Science Writing: Lora Kristina Wallace
Lars Erik Nelson for national reporting: Christine Cecile Brouwer
Christopher Light Editing Prize: Annie Correal
Lynton Fellowship in Book Writing: Lauren Marie McSherry & Daniel Louis Charnas
Melvin Mencher Reporting Award: Sarah Selene Brown
New Media Workshop Award: Ahmed Rakan Shihab-Eldin & Paul Saksith Suwan
Nightly News Workshop Award: Mary Catherine Brouder
Nightly News Workshop Award: Nicholas Emmanuel Meidanis
Radio Workshop Award: Jennifer Carissa Collins
Television News Magazine Award: Kate Elizabeth McCarthy
Sackett Graduate Award: Daniel Louis Charnas
Henry N. Taylor Award for international students: Archie Bland & Lorenzo Morales
Louis Winnick Prize for RWI: Gregory Steven Beyer
Sevellon Brown Award: Julia Charlotte Mead
Documentary Television Workshop Award: Smriti Aggarwal & Shahar Smooha
Master of Arts Award for Best Thesis: Julia Charlotte Mead
MA Thesis Finalists: Thomas Scott Dodd & Justine Juliet Sharrock

STUDENTS GRADUATING WITH HONORS
(see explanation of how these are determined)
Andres Amerikaner
Archie Bland
Dorian Emily Block
Christine Cecile Brouwer
Daniel Louis Charnas
Jennifer Carissa Collins
Coleman MacDonalson Cowan
Jason Anthony Del Rey
Brett Taylor Elliott
Paige Ferrari
Anne Gehris
Jessica Joy Heasley
Susan Donaldson James
Laura Shannon Legere
Aimee Anne Levitt
Kevin Joseph Livelli
Aili Mary McConnon
Dorian Sanae Merina
Karen Christie Nicholson
Vidya Ram
Courtney Christine Reimer
Beth Anne Rotatori
Ahmed Rakan Shihab-Eldin
Samuel Irving Stein
Emily Elizabeth Voigt
Robert Thomas Wagner
Daniel Weiss
Joshua Marc Yaffa

Congratulations to all our graduates!

Below: One of the photos by Amanda Rivkin (it’s of a woman having her eyebrows threaded), winner of the 2007 Photojournalism Award:


See 2008 Graduation Awards.

More than 150 students, faculty and staff participated in student Jennifer Redfearn’s “Hat Project” during the two weeks before graduation. Scroll below to see the photos and to see Jennifer’s original e-mail request (the project has since closed).

Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 08:43:02 -0400
From: Jennifer Redfearn

Fellow J Schoolers,

As the year comes to an end, I’ve made it a personal mission to photograph
students, faculty, and staff for something called the *Hat Project * (see
FAQs below). It’s been a challenging and inspiring year, and as a
community we’ve experienced some difficult times and an inconceivable
tragedy. This is a way of ending the year on a light note. It’s also a bit
selfish. I’m in awe of the talent and experiences of people that I’ve met
at school. The Hat Project is an opportunity to meet more of you and fully
enjoy the last couple of weeks we have together.

The photos will be uploaded daily on FLICKR. I’ll also make a folder on the
shared drive so that everyone who wants copies can download the photos to a CD.

Check out the HAT PROJECT!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hatproject/

*FAQS
What was your inspiration for the Hat Project?
*A group of us were having drinks at 1020 (at 10:20) last week, and someone
passed around the hat. Different people tried it on, and we noticed that it had
transformative powers. One moment someone looked like an ordinary jschooler -
then poof! - they shape-shifted into a street dogging journalist from the 1940s
or a writer for the New Yorker.

*How do you know it wasn’t the effect of alcohol?
*That’s a really good question. The following day I started taking more
pictures and noticed that the hat had the same impact. It has the power to draw
people out and allows you to express an extended version of yourself.

*I want to be in the hat project. How do I sign up?
*I prefer to catch people on the fly, engaged in a moment. But if I haven’t
found you by the time classes end, please email me: jtr2113[at]columbia.edu

*Wait! Isn’t that Bill Wheeler’s hat?
*Ah, ha. You’re very observant.

*Are you hiring at the Hat Project?
*Yes, Julie Hartenstein is accepting applications for a 2 week unpaid
internship. You can make me coffee and occasionally write photo captions, I’m
kidding. Yes, if you’re photo savvy, I could use help resizing the images and
uploading them to Flickr.
*
What do you hope will become of the Hat Project?
*It is my dream that someone will be so inspired by the Hat Project that they
will throw a “Wigs and Hats” party where everyone dresses up in outrageous wigs
or hats and dances until the wee hours of the morning. (If I didn’t live in a
studio, I would throw the party).

-Jennifer Redfearn