Our award-winning students make us all proud!
We are excited to recognize the work of our top undergraduate and graduate students, and it is important to us that these high-achieving students not only understand their worth within our department and Syracuse University but also their great value to our communities and our world. We are training the next generation of world changers.
The HDFS Student Awards yearly recognize Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) students for their achievements in service, scholarship, and leadership. The following students have shown excellence in all of these areas.
Undergraduate Awards
Christine Kudrewicz – Recipient of the Bernice M. Wright Memorial Award 2020
This award is given to an outstanding undergraduate student in Human Development and Family Science given in memory of Bernice M. Wright, former Dean of the College for Human Development (1964-1973).
Kelly Saxton – Recipient of the Shannon Davis Memorial Award 2020
This award is presented to an undergraduate senior student in Human Development and Family Science with a demonstrated interest in child development whose academic, aesthetic and professional interests most closely embody that of Shannon Davis, a student who died in the crash of Flight 103 in Scotland.
Christine Kudrewicz – Recipient of the Elizabeth Manwell Memorial Award 2020
This award is given to the outstanding senior student of Human Development and Family Science with the highest academic average in their major.
Rachel Brennan – Recipient of the Selleck Award 2020
This award is presented to the senior student in Human Development and Family Science with the highest cumulative GPA.
Halimeh Abdel-Aziz – Recipient of the Ruth Tolley Award 2020
This award honors Ruth Tolley from the Women of the University Community and presented to a female senior in Human Development and Family Science who has demonstrated outstanding academic achievement.
Ashley Homer – Recipient of the Betty Reid Memorial Award 2020
This award was established by the New York State Federation of Home Bureaus in honor of Elizabeth L. Reid and presented to a student in Human Development and Family Science who is a resident of New York State, residing in an organized county of the home bureau. The award is based on scholarship and is traditionally awarded to upperclassmen entering their junior or senior year.
Outstanding HDFS students with the highest GPA
Elizabeth Helana Flaherty – Recipient of the Outstanding HDFS Freshman Student Award 2020
Catalina Maria Mac Laughlin – Recipient of the Outstanding HDFS Sophomore Student Award 2020
Halimeh Abdel-Aziz – Recipient of the Outstanding HDFS Junior Student Award 2020
Claire Cooke – Recipient of the Outstanding HDFS Senior Student Award 2020
Graduate Awards
Rodlyn Remina Hines – Recipient of Graduate School – All-University Doctoral Prize
Awarded by the Graduate School to recognize superior achievement in completed dissertations. Given to one dissertation in each of the Colleges constituting the University.
Odetta Odartey Addo – Recipient of Outstanding Graduate School Teaching Assistant
The Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award recognizes Teaching Assistants (TAs) who have made distinguished contributions to Syracuse University by demonstrating excellence in significant instructional capacities, such as classroom teaching, laboratory or studio instruction, leading recitation or discussion sections, or assisting senior faculty members with high-enrollment courses. TAs are nominated by their departments and must present a teaching portfolio for review by a University-wide faculty selection committee.
Dickson Ong’ayi – Recipient of the Alice Sterling Honig Award 2020
This award is presented to a graduate student who has demonstrated outstanding scholarship in child development and family studies.
Rui Tian – Recipient of the Human Development and Family Science Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award 2020
This award is given to a graduate demonstrating a strong commitment to teaching and learning. This student will have demonstrated exceptional skills and competence in assisting the HDFS faculty with undergraduate education.
Xiaoyan Zhang – Recipient of the Human Development and Family Science Doctorate Award for Research Excellence 2020
This award is presented to a doctoral student who has excelled in academic achievement, research practice and leadership activities. This student has also shown great potential for continued growth and contribution in the area of child and family studies to the department, college and university.