Office of Equity and Inclusion hosts annual Women of Promise dinner

1:19 p.m., Oct. 25, 2011--The University of Delaware Office of Equity and Inclusion hosted the annual Women of Promise Dinner on Oct. 17, during which President Patrick Harker, UD’s tenured women faculty and administrators honored more than 100 undergraduate and graduate women students.

The tenured women on the UD faculty were invited to nominate exceptional women undergraduate and graduate students for this distinction, and the students then accompanied their hosts at an evening networking dinner. 

Honors Stories

National Medal of Science

President Barack Obama recently presented the National Medal of Science to University of Delaware alumnus Rakesh Jain.

Warren Award

Rosalind Johnson, assistant dean for student success in the NUCLEUS Program in UD's College of Arts and Sciences, was presented the John Warren Excellence in Leadership and Service Award during a May 26 ceremony.

• Warren Award
• Athletic training accolades
• Outstanding student teachers
• Library recognition

Every year, the Women of Promise Dinner promotes positive faculty and student mentoring relationships and encourages students to continue succeeding in and out of the University.

The keynote speaker for the dinner was Carla Guerrón-Montero, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology with joint appointments in Black American Studies, Latin American Studies and Women's Studies.  

She is also the co-chair of the Women’s Caucus and serves on the President’s Diversity and Equity Commission.

In her keynote “Anthropological Reflections on Imagination,” Montero shared her personal inspiration which led her to study anthropology: "When I was a small girl, I recall having an acute interest in peoples who seemed different from me; I was also very curious as to why I was supposed to greet everyone around me – relatives and friends – with a kiss, but merely acknowledge (if that) the presence of a carpenter or a shoemaker. What made them different? I wanted to find out the answers."

Montero’s keynote also shared her scholarly research, focusing on cultural and historical processes by groups categorized as "African diaspora" in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, and how these groups intersect with tourism as a means to re-negotiate entrenched historic hierarchies.

To conclude the dinner, Montero offered several recommendations, inspired by her research, to the students.

• Relish in the uncertainties of life and make the most of the opportunities that they present.
• Resist insularity – take advantage of the opportunities to learn about how others view the world, how others perceive the United States, and how the United States relates to the world.
• Interact and connect with other communities of learning.
• Network through professional conferences and identify role models and mentors early on in your studies.
• Build a satisfying career by being endlessly fascinated by your work.
• Be among those who dedicate their lives to creating a more socially just world.

Following is a list of those students who were named Women of Promise:

Undergraduate students

Randall Bailey, Shelah Balakhani, Emily Bange, Hilary Barrer, Elyce Benningfield, Nicole Brummer, Shantel Campbell, Alexa Carvalho, Stacey Chambers, Gabrielle Cheira, Milagros Chiri-Zapata, Melgoza Cindy, Rachel Clark, Olivia Cosides, Julie Davis, Erica deDuFour, Danielle DeRiggi, Kasia Dinkeloo, Brittany Drazich, Jessica Lynn Eberly, Jessie Eichman, Jennifer Ferris, Christine Flynn, Joyce Fondong,, Nicole Gazin, Caitlin Giroux, Rebecca Guterman, Alison Hayes, Brooklynn Hitchens, Candice Johnson, Joanna Kane, Meredith Keane, Stephanie Knebel, Samantha King-D’Ambra, Carolyn Kosko, Dana Lee, Margaret Kiernan Lee, Michelle Ma, Caitlin Maday, Teresita Mariano, Charlotte Marshall, Alexandra McKay, Jennifer Montano, Angelica Montes, Jennifer Murphy, Kammas Murphy, Allison Murray, Ellen Nigro, Anh Nguyen, Corinne O’Connor, Rachel Oemcke, Adrienne O’Leary, Gina Paladinetti, Polly Reinicker, Alexis Short, Holly Smail, Amelia Snelling, Elanor Sonderman, Lauren Stewart-Brown, Abby Stollar, Nicole Vassallo, Anna Wagner, Shanetta Walker, Madeleine Wright and Melody Yoo.

Graduate students

Robbie Alexander, Nicole Allen, Katherine Anderson, Heather Beach, Katie Bi, Laura Black, Patricia Blair, Sohpie le Blanc, Mikahila Boomfield, Ashleigh Brown, Amanda Carlson, Alicia Dahl, Michelle DePurton, Nikki DiGregorio, Corinne Dombroski, Sally Abd El-Moez, Ashley Fry, Erin Grace, Shalon Halleger, Lauren Haufler, Morgan Hayes, Alison Haynes,Meghan Holland, Jennifer Holup, Kun Huang, Haruka Konishi, Meredith Isaacs, Shilpa Kulkarni, Kelly Leedy, Chelsea Leiper, Liang-Yin Liang, Stephanie Matson, Dacey McGinty, Karyl-Leigh Megaw, Brandy Haines Menges, Amunoo Mohamed, Chiedo Nwankwor, Sarah Patterson, April Pelt, Kelley Perkins, Nakeiha Primus, Laura Rapp, Brittany Scott, Kayla Steele, Christine Suhadolnik, Sametta Taylor, Amy Torbert, Jessica Wallick,  Chunyan Yang and Susan Yi.

Photos by Evan Krape