April 28, 2009
Anthropology students honored for excellence
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Top anthropology students at Southern Illinois University Carbondale received scholarships for overall excellence or to help them finish or conduct field research.
This year, the winner of the Rice Research Award is Serena Thompson, a senior from McLeansboro. The award goes to a student with an outstanding research project in anthropology. Thompson’s paper, “Buddhist Thoughts of Women in Rural Northern Thailand,” examined connections between Buddhist thought and women’s roles and the changes both have undergone over time.
Nina Fuscaldo, a junior from Lockport, won the Kate Burkhart Archaeology Scholarship. It is a one-year scholarship for an anthropology student with a strong interest in archaeology, and applies to the junior or senior year of study.
Kathryn Stephens from Joliet is the Outstanding Junior in Anthropology for the year, and Laurel Dillon-Sumner from Carbondale is the Outstanding Sophomore in Anthropology this year.
In addition, the department awarded Excellence in Anthropology Awards to graduating seniors based on excellence in academics, including holding a 3.5 or better grade point average. Those awards went to Sada Stearns from Stonefort, who earned high honors, and to Mary Castellanoz from Carbondale and Kerri Gregory of Murphysboro, who both earned honors.