The Gender and Women's Studies Department chose six outstanding graduating seniors to receive annual awards from the department. The awards were presented by Dr. Kate Drabinski, GWST Senior Lecturer, at the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Award Ceremony on April 30th.
The GWST department offers two award opportunities. The first is the Jo Ann E. Argersinger Award for Academic Achievement. Named for a former provost and Gender and Women’s Studies faculty member, this award recognizes exemplary academic achievement in gender and women’s studies. The second is the Joan S. Korenman Outstanding Service Award, named for the founding director of the Program. This award recognizes outstanding service to the Gender and Women’s Studies Department.
Ann Barrow is a Gender and Women’s Studies major with a 4.0 GPA. Annie transferred to UMBC in Fall 2013 after receiving her Associate’s degree from Anne Arundel Community College, and she has been on the President’s List and the Dean’s List for the past three semesters. She has been the Director of the Treasury for Gender and Women’s Studies Council of Majors and Minors since Fall 2013, and was an active member of Women Involved in Learning and Leadership (WILL) during her Junior year. Annie is excited to experience life after graduation, and she hopes to explore graduate school opportunities for Fall 2016. Annie received the Jo Ann E. Argersinger Academic Achievement Award in GWST.
Arlene Barrow is a Gender and Women's Studies major with a 4.0 GPA, and she has been on both the Dean's List and the President's List each semester she has been at UMBC. She is a co-leader in Women Involved in Learning and Leadership (WILL), and she has helped organize various events on campus, including WILL's 2015 production of the Vagina Monologues. Arlene was also a Teaching Assistant for Brigid Starkey's Introduction to Global Studies course in her junior year. She is planning on taking a year off, and then she will seek to enter graduate school in the fall of 2016. Arlene received the Jo Ann E. Argersinger Academic Achievement Award in GWST.
Amelia Meman is a Gender + Women's Studies major and a Writing minor. She has been a co-leader with Women Involved in Learning and Leadership (WILL) for two years and in this time has put on programs ranging from educational panels on social justice issues like prison and gender, advocacy campaigns with Baltimore-based non-profits, and creative projects like WILL’s annual production of the Vagina Monologues. Amelia has also worked with the Women’s Center for two years, and is the founder of the Critical Social Justice (CSJ) initiative—an ongoing interdisciplinary campus-wide project that empowers the UMBC community to engage in social justice activism. Working towards sustaining this initiative, Amelia has recently created the CSJ Student Alliance where UMBC students are encouraged to coalesce and work on a variety of projects involving direct action, advocacy, and/or education. Retaining a 4.0 GPA throughout her time with UMBC, Amelia is a member of the Honors College, will be presenting her research on feminist epistemology and belonging at Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) this year, and will be inducted into the honor society of Phi Beta Kappa this May. Outside of school, Amelia is a co-chair on the National Women’s Studies Association’s (NWSA) Undergraduate Research Caucus, and has recently submitted her first conference session proposal. After graduating, Amelia will work with community organizations and apply to graduate school programs that focus on gender and ethnic studies, philosophy, and writing. Amelia received the Jo Ann E. Argersinger Academic Achievement Award in GWST.
Ashley Sweet is a Social Work and Gender and Women's Studies dual major with a 4.0 GPA. She is a co-leader in Women Involved in Learning and Leadership and member of Golden Key International, Sigma Alpha Lambda, Phi Alpha, and Phi Kappa Phi Honors Societies. She has organized student activism projects for body positivity, pay equity, and street harassment awareness, presented on the Healthy Masculinities Campus Conversation panel, and co-directed a production of the Vagina Monologues. Ashley is a mother of two boys and currently a Newcombe Scholar as a returning woman student. Ashley has been accepted to the Advanced Standing program for the Master’s program at the University Of Maryland School Of Social Work. Ashley received the Jo Ann E. Argersinger Academic Achievement Award in GWST.
Narges Ershad is a double major in Gender and Women’s Studies and Sociology. She moved to this country in 2008 from Iran, in the hopes of improving her personal and academic life through education. She was a member and co-leader of Women Involved in Learning and Leadership (WILL) for three years, and also the Resident Assistant for the WILL Living and Learning Community floor for two years. During her time at UMBC, she was a staff member and intern at the Women’s Center. As a Junior, Narges presented her research at URCAD called "Violations of Human Rights in Four Non-Western Countries: Afghanistan, Iran, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia". Narges volunteered at the non-profit organization the Omid Foundation for the past five years in Iran and in the US. Their mission is to empower young disadvantaged women in Iran. In January 2015, she conducted a workshop in Tehran-Iran “What Is Your Secrets?” during which the girls shared their secrets through painting, collaging, and writing on cloths. The girls found the experience empowering for they could share their stories with one another in a safe, non-judgmental environment. Narges plans to continue her studies and receive her PhD in the related field of gender and women's studies, in order to fulfil her lifelong dream of starting her own NGO to help empower disadvantage women and children. Narges received the Joan S. Korenman Award for Service in GWST.
Juliette Seymour graduated in December 2014 with a double major in Gender and Women's Studies and Media and Communications as well as a minor in Critical Sexuality Studies. During her time at UMBC, Juliette was involved in the activism and feminist community on campus. She acted as Director of Public Relations for the Gender and Women's Studies Council of Majors and Minors along with being a member of Women Involved in Learning and Leadership. Juliette organized the 2013 Puppy Picnic at UMBC, which partnered with local animal rescue shelters to bring adoptable dogs to campus as an opportunity to provide stress relief to students during Finals week. She is currently working at Fleet Street Kitchen while deciding which path she wants to take for her next journey. Juliette received the Joan S. Korenman Award for Service in GWST.
