The Log | School News

SPECIAL AWARDS Recognize 2003 Graduates

Virlis L. Fischer Award—Goes to the graduating professional student with the highest academic achievement. Given by Bernice Fischer in memory of her husband.
Recipient: Emily Woglom
Hometown: Amherst, Mass.; Major: MEM., Resource Economics & Policy/ Coastal Environmental Management; Activities at Duke: Coastal Society
Awards/Honors: Presidential Management Intern; Post-Graduation Destination: Presidential Management Intern within the Executive Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Currently a program examiner at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).; Future Goals: Marine and coastal policy; Master’s Project: Dynamic Optimization of Shoreline Management Strategies; Summer Work: Project Consultant for the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, National Park Service, Jacksonville, Fla. Performed financial analysis for the park’s operations.; Professors w/ Impact: “Marty Smith opened up a whole new way of looking at issues. With his help, I was able to approach shoreline management decisions through the perspective of renewable resource economics in my master’s project. In addition, Michael Orbach was fantastic in introducing me to the world of coastal policy. “

Sarah LaBoskey Award—Given in recognition of personal integrity and academic excellence.
Recipient: Kathy Chen
Hometown: Edwardsville, Ill.; Major: A.B. Biology, A.B. Environmental Sciences & Policy
Activities at Duke: Beaufort 2 Bermuda, Marine Lab, Fall 2001; Mediator Program; Outing Club; Asian American Student Association; Post-Graduation Destination: Currently working with the Americorps Program in Belleville, Ill. Assignment includes working to meet neighborhood needs for a low-income school district where roughly half of students fall below the poverty line.; Future Goals: “I hope to pursue a career in environmental justice and community development”; Professors w/ Impact: “In the course Introduction to Environmental Sciences and Policy, it was clear that Marie Lynn Miranda was truly passionate about what she does. I also admire Jeff Clark of the EPA because of his commitment to environmental protection despite the reality that his job can be very frustrating. “

Thomas V. Laska Award—Given by the Earth and Ocean Sciences faculty to the most outstanding senior major.
Recipient: Pincelli Hull
Hometown: Upper Arlington, Ohio;
Major: B.S. Biology, B.S. Earth and Ocean Sciences
Activities at Duke: Duke Marine Lab Semester; Semester Abroad in Germany; Club Soccer; Student Religious Activities; Self Knowledge Symposium; Safe Haven Volunteer; Trent House Council President; Awards/Honors: Maggie Schneider Award in Marine Biology; Post-Graduation Destination: “I spent the summer as a student fellow at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute where I studied Antarctic Krill and its role in the Antarctic ecosystem.”; Future Goals: “Waiting to hear back from a major oceanographic institution regarding a research position, but also planning to pursue graduate work in oceanography.”; Professors w/ Impact: “Susan Lozier was able to make her Ocean and Atmospheric Dynamics class into an exciting and engaging topic. I enjoyed Daniel Livingstone’s Limnology course because he is an awesome professor with exciting real life stories. While taking Invertebrate Zoology and conducting independent study with William Kirby Smith, I was taught one of the most important things—that is, how to ask a good scientific question. Finally, Bruce Corliss was another awesome professor that kept me interested in ocean science when I was thinking about the medical field.”