The Department of Psychology held its annual Class Day ceremony on Monday, May 29, 2023, to celebrate graduating seniors, honors recipients, and prize winners.
Watch the recording of our Class Day ceremony here: http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/z8woh
Honors Recipients
During the celebrations, the Department recognized the following Class of 2023 Honors recipients.
Highest Honors
Mel Hornyak, Grey Raber, Chloe Smith-Frank, Erin Watson, Matthew Weatherhead, and Julie Wilson
High Honors
Ivania Asencio, Delaney Callaghan, David Eniola, Sondre Guttormsen, Erin Heaning, Rosmeilyn Jerez, Grace Joyce, Catherine Parker, Julia Simkus, and Yoko Urano
Honors
Julia Cunningham, Allen Delgado, Tristano Fasulo, Imaan Khasru, Grace Kim, Gaea Lawton, Marissa Mejia, Nimrah Naseer, and Rakesh Potluri
Phi Beta Kappa Society
The following Honors recipients were also elected into the Phi Beta Kappa Society (the oldest national honorary scholastic society, founded in 1776): Mel Hornyak and Erin Watson.
Prizes
The Miller-Schroeder Memorial Prize
The Miller-Schroeder Memorial Prize is given in memory of the two psychology majors killed at Kent State University in the spring of 1970. It is awarded to the graduating senior whose thesis best exemplifies the application of the psychological methods to the study of a problem of social significance. Class of 2023 member Rosmeilyn Jerez's thesis, advised by Professor Eldar Shafir and entitled "The Depression Confession: How Disclosing a Student’s Depression Diagnosis Impacts the Actions and Perceptions of School Teachers," was selected as the 2023 winner of this prize.
The Edward E. Jones Memorial Prize
This prize is awarded to the graduating student whose senior thesis is judged to be the most outstanding work in social psychology, broadly construed. In keeping with Professor Jones' own interests, special consideration is given to theses that report innovative empirical research, although theses of a purely theoretical character are also considered. Class of 2023 member Chloe Smith-Frank's thesis, advised by Professor Joel Cooper and entitled "E-race-ing Memory: Potential Implications of Emotional Valence and the Own-Race Bias for Eyewitness Testimony," was selected as the 2023 winner of this prize.
Senior Thesis Prize in Clinical Psychology
The Department of Psychology’s Senior Thesis Prize in Clinical Psychology is awarded to the graduating senior or seniors whose thesis is judged to be the most outstanding thesis in clinical psychology, broadly construed. Generally, it is awarded to the student(s) whose thesis best exemplifies the application of empirical methods to the study of psychopathology or the prevention or treatment of psychopathology. Class of 2023 member Grey Raber's thesis, advised by Professor Kristina Olson and entitled "The Relationship between Pereceived Social Support and LGBTQ+ Foster Youth Mental Health," was selected as the 2023 winner of this prize.
The Howard Crosby Warren Prize in Psychology
Funded by an endowment established by the bequest of Catherine C. Warren, the Howard Crosby Warren Prizes are awarded annually to the senior concentrators in Psychology who are selected by the Department as the most worthy recipients on the basis of scholarly attainment and good character. The following Class of 2023 concentrators have been selected to receive this prize for 2023: Mel Hornyak, Grey Raber, Chloe Smith-Frank, Erin Watson, Matthew Weatherhead, and Julie Wilson.
The Department of Psychology would like to thank prize recipients and all Class of 2023 members for a fantastic year and a job well-done. Congratulations and best wishes for all the future brings!