Connecticut College presents awards to alumni for their significant contributions to the College and society at Alumni Convocation during Reunion weekend each year. The following 2023 award winners will be honored at Alumni Convocation on Saturday, June 3 at 10:45 a.m. in the new Athey Center for Performance and Research at Palmer Auditorium.
Mach Arom ’89 Award
The Mach Arom ’89 Award honors young alumni for service to Connecticut College and for distinguished achievements in their professional field or in society. The award is named in honor of Mach Arom who died of a heart attack in Rwanda while on a humanitarian mission for the International Rescue Committee. Mach is remembered for his service to his class and Connecticut College and the ways in which he carried out everything he did with intense commitment, strong presence, attention to detail and unbelievable energy.
Mach Arom ’89 Award
2023 Recipient: Shaniqua Shaw ’18
Shaniqua was an extremely dedicated member of the Camel community where she was involved in student government, played on the women’s basketball team and was a CISLA scholar and founder of a Black student support group. She is passionate about helping others and her infectious energy enriches anyone who has the privilege to cross paths with her. She mentors young alumni and serves as Class President. After graduating from Conn, she was an immigration paralegal in New Orleans and a paralegal at Reed Smith LLC in New York City before enrolling at Columbia Law School.
Agnes Berkeley Leahy Award
The Agnes Berkeley Leahy Award, established in 1961, honors alumni who have contributed outstanding service, demonstrated by continued interest in the Alumni Association and sustained active participation in class, club or Board of Directors activities. Agnes Berkeley Leahy ’21 served as president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors twice and was a member of the Board of Trustees for ten years.
Patti and Andy have been true leaders for the Class of 1968. They have spearheaded class and Reunion engagement since their 25th Reunion in 1993 and continue to keep classmates engaged as they head towards their 55th Reunion. They share news of classmate accomplishments with the alumni office and use this information to design creative content and programming that showcases the College and their class and encourages classmates to return for their reunions every 5 years. Thanks to their dedication, their class recruited 82 women to return for their 50th Reunion in 2018 and their support and collaboration with the gift committee raised record support for their 50th class gift.
Patti majored in Sociology and was a community volunteer and served on the Dorm Council. She received her graduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work in 1970 and worked at a residential program for at-risk teenage girls. As an alumna, she has volunteered as a class gift officer, Reunion committee member and chair, an alumni admission representative and a member of the Kresge Challenge Steering Committee. Andy majored in Art History and was an active member of the class of ‘68. She received her graduate degree for University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 1973 where Andy was a art history teacher in the Boston area then with a move to NYC with her husband worked for over 20 years in the creative garment industry domestically and internationally. Along with her fellow award winner, Andy has also volunteered as class gift officer and Reunion committee member.
Harriet Buescher Lawrence ’34 Prize
The Harriet Buescher Lawrence ’34 Prize recognizes alumni who are leaders in improving society or inspiring others for good, either through direct service or through changing the climate of human life materially, socially, ethically or spiritually. Harriet Buescher Lawrence spent the last years of her life increasingly involved with charitable activities and in support of higher education.
Harriet Buescher Lawrence ’34 Prize
2023 Recipient: Nate Heller ’98
Nate is the founder of PEG, a company that engineers solar kits to provide power to remote villages in West Africa. He also has over 20 years of experience in international social enterprise and development, including twelve years building innovative distribution and finance channels for poor consumers in this part of the world. At Conn, he was a CISLA fellow and also spent time in Dakar. After graduation, Nate served in the Peace Corps and earned an M.A. from Johns Hopkins SAIS in International Relations and International Management and an M.B.A. from Yale School of Management. He is fluent in English, French and Wolof, and conversational in Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.
The Goss Award
The Goss Award recognizes alumni who, through their enthusiastic participation in programs and activities, have made a significant contribution to the Connecticut College community. This award was established by Cassandra Goss Simonds ’55. Cassandra served in a wide range of positions as a student and as an alumna, including as class president and as president of the Alumni Association Board or Directors.
The Goss Award
2023 Recipient: Dave Clark ’73
Dave Clark is one of the original coeds who helped begin the integration of men at Conn in 1969. He was a Government Major and involved in student government, the student newspaper, rebooting WCNI, housefellowing and was a charter member of the first Camels basketball team. Dave had a long and successful career in buying and planning and local politics. He has been to all of his class Reunions, chaired his 20th Reunion, served as class president for five years after that and is a co-chair for his 50th Reunion. He was elected to the alumni board in 2012 and re-elected in 2015. Dave has mentored and interviewed more than a hundred Conn undergraduates and has been a class gift officer since 2013.
The Alumni Tribute Award
The Alumni Tribute Award, established in 1986, honors an alumna or alumnus who has given sustained and extraordinary service to the College. Service must be in keeping with the purposes and spirit of the Alumni Association, but it doesn’t have to be given through the Association. Nominees cannot be currently employed by the College or members of the Association’s Board of Directors. Nominees must be approved by the Board. The award is presented annually to a member of a Reunion class during the Annual Meeting of the Alumni Association.
The Alumni Tribute Award
2023 Recipient: André Lee ’93
André is an award-winning film maker, keynote speaker, consultant, writer and educator. André majored in history at Connecticut College and volunteered as a senior pledge agent. He is a former alumni board member, class gift officer, career mentor and has participated in regional and on campus programming. He is the president and founder of Many Things Productions and his work has been featured through powerful platforms, including CNN, Paramount TV, Sundance, The Nation magazine and film festivals. He is currently developing a documentary on mental health programs within the California Department of Education. André also teaches filmmaking at the Germantown Friends School and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
