11 seniors and recent grads receive Rhodes, Marshall, Mitchell, Schwarzman awards

Photo: Rosalie O’Connor
ALEXANDRA DAY ’02 will begin work Jan. 31 as deputy vice president for alumni engagement, leading initiatives of the Office of Alumni Affairs and efforts to engage alumni. “The collective achievement — and service — of Princeton’s vibrant alumni community is remarkable,” Day said. “It’s a privilege to return to campus in this role, and I look forward to continuing to deepen our relationship with alumni as they bring our mission to life around the world.”

Day, the vice president for public affairs at The Juilliard School, previously worked at Lyric Opera of Chicago and with soprano Renée Fleming. She succeeds Margaret Miller ’80, who recently was named deputy vice president for volunteer engagement.


The TIGERTONES a capella group received widespread media attention, including a mention on Saturday Night Live, after dropping “Kiss the Girl” from its song list. The action came after an op-ed in The Daily Princetonian called the song “more misogynistic and dismissive of consent than cute.”

The song, written for the Disney musical The Little Mermaid, is sung by Sebastian the crab to encourage Prince Eric to kiss Ariel, the mermaid. Noa Wollstein ’21, author of the op-ed, also called out the group’s practice of selecting a male and female in the audience to dance during the song and “press[ing] the man to kiss the female student.”

Tigertones president Wesley Brown ’19 issued an apology and said the group would not perform the song until it finds a way that is comfortable for all listeners. 


Courtesy Louise Sams ’79
LOUISE SAMS ’79 will succeed Kathryn Hall ’80 as chair of Princeton’s Board of Trustees July 1. Sams, who is executive vice president and general counsel for global entertainment company Turner International, served her first term as a charter trustee from 2004 to 2014 and began her second term in 2015.


Ethan Sterenfeld ’20
The University’s COMMITTEE ON NAMING is soliciting suggestions for a roadway that enters the campus from Nassau Street between Firestone Library and the Andlinger Center for the Humanities. The road is adjacent to the Betsey Stockton Garden, named for a former slave in the home of Princeton president Ashbel Green 1783. To submit names, go to namingcommittee.princeton.edu/suggestions.


First-year graduate student JOSÉ DE JESÚS MONTAÑO LÓPEZ was awarded Mexico’s 2018 National Youth Award, the highest honor given by the government to citizens under 30 years old. Montaño López, who is in the department of chemical and biological engineering, plans to research sustainable energy production through the use of biotechnology.


Eleven seniors and a recent alumnus will pursue graduate study abroad in the coming year as recipients of MAJOR SCHOLARSHIPS:

Courtesy Nicolette D’angelo ’19
Three seniors are among 32 Americans who will study at Oxford as Rhodes scholars. NICOLETTE D’ANGELO ’19, of Hewitt, N.J. — a classics major with certificates in creative writing, humanistic studies, and gender and sexuality studies — will pursue a master’s degree in classics.


Courtesy John Hoffmeyer ’19
JOHN HOFFMEYER ’19, of Florence, S.C., a comparative literature major pursuing certificates in Chinese language and culture and music performance, will work toward a master’s degree in modern languages.


Courtesy Katherine Reed ’19
KATHERINE REED ’19, of Arnold, Md., a history major with certificates in Latin American studies and Spanish, will pursue a master’s degree in development studies.


Courtesy Samvida Venkatesh ’19
SAMVIDA VENKATESH ’19, of Bangalore, is among five Rhodes scholars from India. She will pursue a master of science degree by research in biochemistry in Oxford.


Courtesy Ararat Gocmen ’17
An alumnus and two seniors were awarded Marshall scholarships. ARARAT GOCMEN ’17, of Bergen County, N.J., will pursue a master’s degree in economics at University College London, followed by a master’s degree in the history of political thought and intellectual history. Gocmen was a history major and has been working as a BlackRock analyst.


Sameer A. Khan/Fotobuddy
JONAH HERZOG-ARBEITMAN ’19, of Northampton, Mass., is a physics major and is earning certificates in applied and computational mathematics and creative writing. He will seek a master’s degree in theoretical and mathematical physics at Oxford, then a master of philosophy degree at the University of Nottingham.


Tina Bush Photography
MYRIAL HOLBROOK ’19, of Lewis Center, Ohio, is a comparative literature major. She will pursue a master’s degree in education at Cambridge, followed by a master’s degree in creative writing at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.


Courtesy Annabel Barry ’19
ANNABEL BARRY ’19, of Southport, Conn., was named a Mitchell scholar and will study philosophy and literature at University College Dublin in Ireland. Barry, an English major, is pursuing certificates in European cultural studies, humanistic studies, and theater.


Four seniors were awarded Schwarzman scholarships to take part in a one-year master’s program at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Courtesy Schwarzman Scholars Program
PAUL GREENBAUM ’19, of Boiling Springs, Pa., is a Woodrow Wilson School major earning certificates in African studies and the history and practice of diplomacy. He plans to pursue studies in post-conflict stabilization and reconstruction.


Courtesy Schwarzman Scholars Program
ESHAM MACAULEY ’19, of Lawrence Township, N.J., is a politics major and is pursuing certificates in African studies and East Asian studies. He will study the dynamic between Chinese investors and African nations.


Courtesy Schwarzman Scholars Program
AMANDA MORRISON ’19, of Helena, Mont., is a Woodrow Wilson School concentrator who plans to explore ways in which video can challenge and deepen social and political engagement.


Courtesy Schwarzman Scholars Program
REBEKAH NINAN ’19, of Franklin, Tenn., is majoring in politics and pursuing a certificate in South Asian studies. She plans to study economic and diplomatic relations between China and South Asia.