Winners of the Student Excellence Award for Leadership and Service (SEALS) were announced this past week.
There were only eleven recipients for 2003, down from thirty in past years. Those to be recognized at the SEALS banquet on April 15 at Westminster Hall are: Dennis Boothe (Junior, Engineering), Angela Boyd (Senior, Political Science), Raymond Chai (Senior, Biology), David Courson (Senior, Biology), Sarah Cummings (Senior, International Studies), Tara Feehan (Senior, International Studies), Jon Groce (Junior, Film & Media), Ravi Kavasery (Senior, Electrical EN), Babak Nazer (Senior, Biomedical EN), Solmaz Pirzadeh (Senior, Neuroscience), and David Silver (Senior, Psychology).
Peers of the recipients submitted nominations; selection was performed by an undergraduate board of representatives from Student Council (StuCo), Student Activities Commission (SAC), the Hopkins Organization for Programming, staff of Residential Advisors and junior and senior classes.
Nominees for the award were judged on their meritorious and outstanding contributions to student activities and were also recognized for maintaining an upstanding leadership role in the Hopkins community.
"SEALS is not a popularity contest," said Jeff Groden-Thomas, director of the Office of Student Involvement, who serves as advisor for the undergraduate selection committee. "The people chosen have undergone a rigorous analysis by members of the committee, and were chosen because their application reflected a visible presence in student activities here at Hopkins."
The winners are not aware of who submitted their nomination, or for what activities they were recognized. Many, however, have a strong sense of their own achievements and were willing to comment on their involvement in the various activities they believe recommended them for the award.
Boyd, president of Organizaci-n Latina Estudiantil (OLE), said, "I think I received this award because of my role in what we have accomplished this year as a small cultural group, becoming a strong presence on campus."
Boyd was involved in organizing OLE's annual block party, a cultural leadership retreat and setting up a spring mentoring and SAT prep program at Patterson High School. OLE put on one of the largest and most expansive American-Latino cultural month efforts in the history of Hopkins during the month of October under Boyd's leadership.
"The biggest thing we have done is create a strong community of students with color on this campus," she said. "That's something I am proud of, and I think it's important that people recognize what we have accomplished in creating that empowerment for students."
Nazer, who will be attending Harvard Medical School next year to pursue a career in pediatrics, said, "It feels good to be recognized for what I've done on campus and in the community. The best purpose of the award is that it motivates me to keep making a difference wherever I can -- because people do notice."
Nazar has a longstanding history as a leader in the Hopkins Orientation program, especially in the sexual education presentations for incoming freshman, and is involved in a number of volunteer and community service activities through his fraternity.
"This award pushes me to keep being a leader and helping the community in any way I can, because now I believe that it makes a difference no matter where I go," she said.
