Clemson University announced today the 2025 student spring award recipients. Three undergraduate students and six graduate students will receive awards alongside outstanding faculty and staff during a special ceremony at the Clyde V. Madren Center’s Owen Pavilion on Monday, May 5.
Norris Medal
The Norris Medal has been awarded since 1908 and was established under the terms of the will of the Honorable D.K. Norris, a life trustee at Clemson. The medal is given each year to a graduating student who, on the basis of exceptional scholastic achievement and leadership ability, is judged by the University Scholarships and Awards Committee to be the best all-around student. Recipients of the Norris Medal have their names affixed to a bronze plaque located in Hendrix Student Center.
The 2025 Norris Medal recipient is Elizabeth Caldwell, a senior genetics major.
Caldwell was a 2024 Truman Scholarship recipient, just the fifth Clemson student to earn the honor in a 42-year period. She is also a member of the 2021 National Scholars Program cohort. She co-founded and presides over Tigers 4 Accessibility, a student organization dedicated to improving accessibility, awareness and acceptance for people with disabilities. She is an active member of Phi Delta Epsilon medical fraternity and is the student representative on the University’s Accessibility Commission. Caldwell’s undergraduate research focuses on DNA repair pathways with implications for genetic disease. She will pursue a master’s degree in public health at Yale University following graduation.
Algernon Sydney Sullivan Student Award
The Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award is presented to graduating seniors, alumni and community members of selected colleges and universities in the Southern United States for excellence of character and service to humanity. Clemson University is among 70 southern schools to present the award, named in honor of the first president of the New York Southern Society.
The 2025 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Student Award recipients are Kristen Guernsey, a senior computer engineering major, and Christian Ihekweazu, a senior computer science major.
Guernsey was a member of Clemson’s inaugural Breakthrough Scholars Program cohort in 2021. She has experience mentoring local K-12 students as an instructor at The Tutoring Center in Seneca. She serves as a teaching assistant for the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences and is a volunteer tutor for electrical and computer engineering students. Guernsey also served as president of the Eta Kappa Nu honor society for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Ihekweazu is also a member of Clemson’s inaugural Breakthrough Scholars Program cohort. He co-leads CUhackit, a student organization responsible for hosting the state of South Carolina’s largest hackathon. He works in the TRACE Research Lab in the Clemson University Center for Human-AI Interaction, Collaboration and Teaming. Ihekweazu is also a Creative Inquiry student with the Watt Family Innovation Center’s AI program.
Frankie O. Felder Graduate Student Award
The Frankie O. Felder Graduate Student Award is presented to one graduating master’s student or doctoral candidate who exhibits academic excellence and inspires others by demonstrating perseverance through adversity.
The 2025 Frankie O. Felder Graduate Student Award recipient is Devi Soman, a doctoral candidate in the design and built environment program.
Soman serves as a graduate assistant in the Center for Health Facilities Design and Testing. Her dissertation research explores culturally-sensitive maternal care environments, supported by the American Association of Birth Centers Research and the Center for Health Design’s Joseph G. Sprague New Investigator Award.
Outstanding Graduate Researcher Award
The Outstanding Graduate Researcher Award is presented annually to two graduate student researchers at Clemson in recognition of their outstanding contributions to research activity, future promise as a research, and/or originality, imagination and significance of research or creative activity.
The 2025 Outstanding Graduate Researcher Award recipients are Ali Moghassemi, a doctoral candidate in electrical engineering, and Haley Swartz, a doctoral candidate in rhetorics, communication and information design.
Moghassemi is a graduate research assistant in the Holcombe Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His research focuses on electro-thermal management, degradation analysis and real-time control of power electronics building blocks for all-electric ships.
Swartz is a writing, media and communication educator with experience in secondary and higher education. Her dissertation examines the possibilities and limits of feminist health rhetorics by analyzing technologies that promote self-managed health.
Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award
The Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award is presented annually to two graduate teaching assistants in recognition of their outstanding contributions to student learning and development across academic spaces, such as classrooms and laboratories.
The 2025 Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award recipients are Katie McGee, a doctoral candidate in the language, literacy and culture program, and Morteza Soltani, a doctoral candidate in industrial engineering.
McGee is a graduate teacher of record whose research interests include young adult literature, preservice teacher education and culturally-sustaining teaching. She was previously a middle school English teacher in Oklahoma and Texas, a literacy coach and secondary literacy curriculum specialist.
Soltani’s research focuses on stochastic operations research, with recent applications in optimizing the maintenance of offshore wind turbines. He has served as a graduate teacher of record in the industrial engineering program as well.
Graduate Student Award for Mentoring in Creative Inquiry
The Graduate Student Award for Mentoring in Creative Inquiry is presented each spring in recognition of outstanding work with undergraduate students. Nominations come from students who are actively participating in Creative Inquiry project teams.
The 2025 Graduate Student Award for Mentoring in Creative Inquiry recipient is Noah Arnold, a doctoral candidate in chemical and biomolecular engineering.
Arnold’s research focuses on drug delivery through the blood-brain barrier using polymeric nanoparticle systems. He mentors Creative Inquiry students in the Larsen Lab and enjoys working with aspiring scientists.
