Each spring Clemson University honors outstanding students through the University’s Spring Awards ceremony. This year’s awards will be presented at a ceremony on May 9, 2022. The students will be honored alongside faculty and staff who are receiving honors as well.
This university-level awards ceremony recognizes undergraduate and graduate students with achievement honors and awards. This year, three undergraduate students and six graduate students receive the University’s highest honors.
“I am extremely proud to recognize outstanding students through these prestigious awards,” said Clemson University Provost Bob Jones. “Each recipient was nominated and selected based on accomplishments that stand out as truly exceptional.”
The Norris Medal
The Norris Medal was first awarded at Clemson College in 1908 and was established under the terms of the will of the Honorable D.K. Norris, a successor trustee of this institution. The medal is given each year to the 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. All recipients of the Norris Medal have their names affixed to a bronze plaque mounted in the Hendrix Student Center.
2022 Norris Medal recipient:
Natalie Ann Claypool is a National Scholar majoring in language and international health with a minor in psychology. Through Creative Inquiry she has researched and taught in four different disciplines, including child development, sexual health, public health and education inequality, leading to publications in journals and invitations to international conferences. She is the co-founder of the Youth Scholars Program, which combats educational inequality by engaging local elementary school students.
The Algernon Sydney Sullivan Student Award
The Algernon Sydney Sullivan Student Award is given annually in recognition of the recipients’ influence for good, excellence in maintaining high ideals of living and genuine and unselfish service to others. The award is named in honor of the first president of the New York Southern Society and was established by an agreement between the society and Clemson College. The award is presented to two seniors for outstanding service to Clemson University and the extended Clemson community. Students must have a minimum 2.50 cumulative GPA.
2022 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Student Award recipients:
Ronnie Clevenstine is a graduating senior in economics. She is a National Scholar, Truman Scholar, Dixon Global Policy Scholar and Duckenfield Scholar. In recognition of her outstanding leadership and service, she was a 2021 finalist for both the Marshall and Rhodes scholarships, the first Clemson student ever to be named a finalist for both exceptionally competitive programs. She has received the Clemson University Martin Luther King Jr. Award for Excellence in Service and 2022 Matt Locke Leadership Award.
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Hannah Roebuck is a graduating senior with a double major in political science and religious studies who is a National Scholar, Dixon Global Policy Scholar and member of Phi Beta Kappa, America’s most prestigious academic honor society. She has received the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Achievement, the top student award in the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences; and awards given to the Outstanding Student in Political Science and the Outstanding Student in Religious Studies.
The Frankie O. Felder Graduate Student Award
The Frankie O. Felder Graduate Student Award was established to honor Felder’s 32 years of leadership and service to Clemson University. Felder’s career was characterized by her exceptional dedication and passion for our students. Through her dedication and perseverance, she helped to fundamentally transform graduate education at Clemson. This award was established to recognize a student who exemplifies the qualities exhibited by Felder: serving as an inspiring presence for others through perseverance or resilience in the face of challenges or adversity and exhibiting academic excellence. Candidates for this award must be nominated by a member of the faculty, staff or student body.
2022 Frankie O. Felder Graduate Student Award recipient:
Rebecca Pool is a second-year master’s student and graduate teaching assistant in the communication, technology and society program. She is a first-generation college student and the daughter of Mexican immigrants. Before attending Clemson, she conducted social work for low-income immigrant communities at an Atlanta-based nonprofit. Her research initiatives examine social justice communication with a quantitative approach, such as examining the intersectionality of incarcerated Black women and the metrics of professionalism for indigenous communities. After completing her master’s degree, she will be pursuing a doctorate in industrial and organizational psychology at Clemson, where she will address diversity issues in workplace settings. Pool’s goal is to continue using research to explore the experiences of marginalized communities to improve their lives.
The Outstanding Graduate Student Researcher Award
The Outstanding Graduate Student Researcher Award is presented annually to two graduate student researchers to recognize their outstanding contributions to research activity, future promise as researchers and/or originality, imagination and significance of research or creative activity.
Outstanding Graduate Student Researcher Award recipients:
Moses Namara is a Facebook Research Fellow and doctoral candidate in the human-centered computing program in the School of Computing. His research focuses on understanding the human and technological principles behind users’ online privacy decision-making processes. He has leveraged his experiences and research skill set to advocate for better online privacy protection practices and safeguards for people as their digital and personal lives intertwine. He has more than 10 peer-reviewed publications at premier venues, such as PoPETs and CSCW. Namara was named one of the 35 Innovators Under 35 by the MIT Technology Review in 2021 for his work co-founding the Black in AI Academic Program that aims to broaden participation and break down barriers that traditionally have hindered minority groups in computing. Born and raised in Kampala, Uganda, Namara has been a part of the Clemson Family for more than five years.
Andrew Peloquin joined the chemistry doctoral program at Clemson after receiving his Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Air Force Academy and Master of Science from the University of Florida. His dissertation research focuses on the applications of halogen bonding to the study of the solid-state structure and the isolation of novel organic molecules. In addition to his academic pursuits, he is an avid marathon and ultramarathon runner and a Level 1 Coach with USA Track & Field.
The Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award
The Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award is presented annually to two graduate student teaching assistants (GTAs) to recognize their outstanding contributions to student learning and development across academic spaces, such as classrooms and laboratories.
Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Assistant Award recipients:
Pranith Abbaraju is a doctoral candidate and graduate teacher of record in the Department of Management in the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business. He teaches an undergraduate course on information systems with the philosophy to encourage, empower and engage. Abbaraju earned a bachelor’s degree in information technology in India and later worked for such multinational companies as Amazon and IBM. In 2013, he moved to the United States to pursue his master’s degree in management information systems at Texas Tech University. He is in the third year of work toward a doctoral degree in management information systems with a research focus on software platforms.
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Jenny Presgraves is a doctoral candidate and lecturer in political science from Anderson, South Carolina who attended Erskine College and studied history, biology and music. She joined the high school faculty at the Montessori School of Anderson and for 15 years taught a wide range of subjects, including Algebra II, Peace Studies, World History, Biology, Anatomy and Latin. Presgraves then came to Clemson, where she earned a master’s degree in animal and veterinary science, studying aquaponics and fish immunology. She recently defended her doctoral dissertation in Clemson’s policy studies program, where she studied the intersection of public policy and animal science, specifically bioengineering regulation.
The Phil and Mary Bradley Graduate Student Award for Mentoring in Creative Inquiry
The Phil and Mary Bradley Graduate Student Award for Mentoring in Creative Inquiry is presented each spring in recognition of outstanding work with undergraduate students. Nominations are accepted from undergraduate student participants in Creative Inquiry projects. The awards are made possible by an endowment and generous gifts from Phil and Mary Bradley.
Phil and Mary Bradley Graduate Student Award for Mentoring in Creative Inquiry recipient:
Lauren Elizabeth Stoczynski is a dedicated Creative Inquiry mentor and a doctoral candidate and graduate teaching assistant in biological sciences in the College of Science. After receiving a Bachelor of Science in biology from Westminster College in Pennsylvania in 2014, she moved to South Carolina to begin her graduate career at Clemson. She completed a Master of Science in environmental toxicology in 2017. She is completing her dissertation research with Brandon Peoples in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation and Peter van den Hurk of the Department of Biological Sciences. After graduation, she plans to take a post-doctoral position at Purdue University to study the pedagogy of biology education programs.
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