Commencement 2009 Highlights

Congratulations to the 640 students who participated in the June 14, 2009 commencement ceremony for Eleanor Roosevelt College at UC San Diego!

Keynote Address

Helen M. Pataki, ’96, delivered the keynote commencement address for ERC. Ms. Pataki graduated with a major in Economics and minors in Modern European Studies and Music. She studied abroad in Germany, served as a Resident Advisor her senior year, and was the student commencement speaker in 1996. Following graduation, she was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar in Dresden, Germany for one year. After attending Columbia University Law School, she worked for Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, LLP, a corporate law firm in Washington, D.C. and New York City, before joining the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as a Foreign Service Officer. For the last two years she has been posted in West Africa (Accra, Ghana) as the Regional Legal Advisor for USAID covering a number of countries in West Africa, including Liberia, Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Togo.

Graduating Senior Remarks

Victor Algaze is graduating with a major in Management Science. A strong advocate for the College's Making of the Modern World core course sequence, he has stated that "...combined with ERC's globally-oriented atmosphere it has helped prepare me to better grapple with the complexity and challenges which characterize our modern (and ever-increasingly interconnected) world." During his time at UCSD/ERC he was a frequent College-Bowl competitor, a panelist for Admit Day, an Instructional Assistant for the Human Development Program's "Introduction to Career Development" seminar and studied in London at the UC Bloomsberry Center.

Outstanding Faculty Award

Presented to Matthew T. Herbst, Ph.D., Director of the Making of the Modern World Program

Outstanding Senior Awards

As part of commencement, Eleanor Roosevelt College highlights awards made to exceptional graduating seniors at the annual honors and leadership banquets. Academic departments recognize outstanding graduates in each department. Department award-winners are randomly distributed among the colleges. The Provost Scholar and departmental awards recognize outstanding academic achievement. The Dean’s and various leadership and service awards celebrate students’ contributions to the life of the college, the university, and the community at home and abroad.

2009 Outstanding Senior Awards:

Provost Scholars   
Adrienne Frie
Aswani Gore
Nicola Marie Hil
Elizabeth Krow-Lucal
Nasim Novin

Dean’s Award
Michael de la Torre
Lauren McCoy
Yedid Minjares
Alyssa Panyawai
Carmela Sanchez
Jessica Tsang

Outstanding Senior, UC San Diego Alumni Association
Sarah Debel

Community Service, UC San Diego Oceanids
Brent Costa

Ambassador Award, Eleanor Roosevelt College
Clark Campagna

Global Service Award, Eleanor Roosevelt College
Carmina Osuna

Innovation Award, Eleanor Roosevelt College
Hector Fletes

Robert McC. Adams Award for Excellence in Anthropological Archaeology, Department of Anthropology
Adrienne Carey Frie

Sherwood Washburn Award for Excellence in Biological Anthropology, Department of Anthropology
Patricia Ann Lantzy

Excellence in Ethnic Studies, Department of Ethnic Studies
Mary Kong

Outstanding Graduating Senior 2009, Department of Linguistics
Daniel Lawrence Cohen Scarpace

Timothy McDaniel Memorial Award, Department of Sociology
Jennifer C. Klimowicz

The Ron Ranson Award, Department of Theatre and Dance
Sarah Adele Kranz