8 students receive 2015 Spirit of Princeton Award

Eight students received the 2015Spirit of Princeton Award, including Joanna Anyanwu ’15, Christina Chica ’15, Azza Cohen ’16, Brandon Holt ’15, Joseph Laseter ’15, Janie Lee ’15, Hannah Rosenthal ’15 and Paul Riley ’15.

The award is an effort of the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students to acknowledge achievements in different areas of campus life, including athletics, community service, the arts, student organizations and religious life. The selection committee consists of administrators, current students and alumni, and the recipients are considered based on nomination letters.

Anyanwu is a Wilson School concentrator from Frisco, Tex., with certificates in gender and sexuality studies and African studies, and is the Tom A. and Andrea E. Bernstein ’80 Scholar in the Scholars in the Nation’s Service Initiative. She is on the varsity track team, an intern at the Women’s Center, a Community Action coordinator and the former co-chair of Princeton Against Sex Trafficking.

Anyanwu did not respond to requests for comment.

Chica is a sociology concentrator from Los Angeles, Calif. She has worked with Students for Educational Reform, was the co-president of the Princeton Pride Alliance, was a part of the Princeton Equality Project and is an LGBT peer educator. She has also hosted weekly freshman lunches that address younger students’ questions and issues. Chica has worked in the Women’s Center, Murray-Dodge Café and as a Tiger Caller.

“I don’t know if I was completely surprised,” Chica said, citing her wide range of involvement. She added that she was very happy about the award.

Cohen, on the other hand, said she was completely surprised when she found out she won. As a history concentrator from Highland Park, Ill., Cohen has participated on the Breakout coordinating board, danced for the Bhangra team and worked in the Pace Center. Her documentary, "Specks of Dust," which has been in production since her freshman year, premiered this past weekend.

Cohen is also a columnist forThe Daily Princetonian.

“I was totally not expecting it,” Cohen said. “I am really flattered that other people think that way of me.”

Holt is a history concentrator from Old Hickory, Tenn. Holt is a former member of the editorial board for the 'Prince' and was the president of Sexual Harassment/Assault Advising, Resources and Education. This year, especially, he has been an avid participant in campus activism, specifically for students of color, he said.

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He said his reaction to receiving the award was one of “immense surprise.”

“A lot of winners that received the prize this year are heavily involved in activism,” Holt noted, adding how nice it is that the University is trying to recognize activism.

Laseter is a psychology concentrator from Chicago, Ill. He has been a photographer for the 'Prince' since his freshman year, was the president of the Minority Association of Pre-med Students, is a diSiac member, Frist Campus Center employee, Orange Key tour guide, Butler residential college adviser and was the co-coordinator for the Habitat for Humanity project at the University.

“I was completely humbled,” he said. “I just thought I was doing what I loved to do on campus.”

Lee is a Wilson School concentrator from Walnut, Calif. The former president of Students for Educational Reform, she led a campaign to help pass teacher tenure reform. She has worked on the Pace Council for Civic Values, and was a Petey Greene program tutor. Additionally, a philosophy course was created by expanding a poetry and public speaking course she taught.

“I was completely surprised,” she said about receiving the award. “I was really excited.”

Rosenthal, a politics concentrator from St. Louis, Mo., has been a fellow at the Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Understanding, an intern at the Center for Jewish Life, a residential college advisor in Wilson College and is a member of the wind ensemble. She started an initiative between the Fields Center and the CJL and also created Club Nom, which facilitates dialogue within the eating club system. Rosenthal won the Princeton Prize in Race Relations in April 2010.

“I was honored and humbled to be nominated with other peers who are very inspiring and who I know have done great work on campus,” Rosenthal said.

Riley is from Bensalem, Pa., and is a politics concentrator. He has served as the Campus and Community Affairs Chair and as a Projects Board member within the Undergraduate Student Government. Aside from his involvement with mock trial and church, he said he has cherished his role as a Butler residential college adviser for the past two years and takes great joy in seeing freshmen enjoy all that the University has to offer.

Riley said he was truly shocked and honored to receive the award. Henoted that people at the University do not boast about the tasks they do and it is therefore difficult to truly know the contributions that fellow classmates are making. He said he believes this award helps one see what people are doing and how they are positively changing campus life.

Although almost every honored student was an activist, Deputy Dean of Undergraduate Students Thomas Dunne said he did not believe activism and civic engagement were particularly emphasized in the selection process this year.

"That said, I do believe that the committee is pleased that those recognized show the many ways Princetonians can demonstrate the qualities that make our university such a distinctive learning environment and highlight our strengths as an engaged, dynamic community," he said.

Clarification: This article has been updated to clarify that Joseph Laseter is a former president of the Minority Association of Pre-med Students,to add that Hannah Rosenthal is a residential college advisor in Wilson College and to add that Azza Cohen is a columnist for TheDaily Princetonian.