2010 Scholar Athlete Induction Ceremony

The sixth annual ceremony honored 35 students, four alumni, and a one faculty member and coach.

Dan Doyle ’72, chairman of the Bates Scholar-Athlete Society, offers opening remarks during his sixth Commencement Weekend SAS ceremony.

The sixth annual ceremony of the Bates College Scholar-Athlete Society was held on Saturday, May 29, 2010, during Commencement Weekend, honoring four alumni, a former faculty member and 35 members of the Class of 2010. Suzanne R. Coffey was the faculty member or coach inductee, and she delivered the keynote speech as well.

This year’s alumni inductees into the Bates Scholar-Athlete Society include Erik Bertelsen ’72, a longtime administrator in higher education, a successful prep school basketball coach and a 1,000-point scorer for the Bates men’s basketball team; David Boone ’62, a successful manufacturing executive, longtime volunteer supporter of the College and a former football and track standout at Bates; Dr. Leslie Dean ’77, a noted hand surgeon in Alaska who played four sports at Bates, including varsity field hockey and badminton; and Col. Stephanie Smith ’87, a highly decorated commanding officer and lawyer in the U.S. Marine Corps, who still holds the Bates women’s lacrosse career goals record.

Boone delivered the Address on Behalf of the Alumni. Men’s lacrosse player Nick Sampson delivered the Address on Behalf of the Graduates.

The Bates College Scholar-Athlete Society Class of 2010

Katherine Allison Bash

Katie is a history major from Wallingford, Pa., and a four-year letter winner in cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field. A team captain for all three teams, she is a six-time NESCAC All-Academic honoree, and she was named to the All-State Team in cross country. The title of her thesis is: “The Quaker Peace Testimony and Quaker Arms-Bearing: Examining the Course and Extent of Quaker Influence in Colonial Pennsylvania.”

Maxwell Magnus-Der Berger

Max is an economics and Chinese double major from Concord, N.H. A four-year letter winner in tennis, he has been captain for the last two years. In addition, he was named to the 2009 and 2010 NESCAC Spring All-Academic teams. The title of his thesis in economics is: “The Earned Income Tax Credit: Exploring the Labor Force Decision of Married Women.” The title of his thesis in Chinese is: “Contemporary Issues in Chinese Society: Yu Hua’s ‘I Don’t Have a Name of my Own’ and Qiu Shanshan’s ‘Afternoon Tea.’”

Carlos Francisco Castro Soto Reyes

Carlos is a geology major from Mexico City, Mexico. He is a letter winner in indoor and outdoor track and field and a team captain for both teams. He is a four time member of the NESCAC All-Academic and received All-New England honors in the 4×400-meter relay in 2007. In 2008, he was chosen to represent Bates at the NCAA Leadership Conference in Orlando, Fla. He is a member of Sigma Xi and in 2009 received a Hughes Student-Faculty Research Grant. In 2010, he received the Walter Anderson Award for best undergraduate poster presentation at the Geological Society of Maine Conference. The title of his thesis is: “Paleostress Analysis of Mesozoic Fractures and Basalt Dikes in Tuckerman Ravine, New Hampshire.”

Brandon Stirling Cooper

Brandon is a religion major from Aspen, Colo., a three-year letter winner in Nordic skiing and a NESCAC All-Academic selection. The title of his thesis is: “Gush Emunim: Defenders of the Land: A Study of How One Religion Settler Movement Changed Israeli Land Policy in the West Bank.” Brandon was unable to attend the ceremony.

Nicolas Gibson DeFrancis

Nicolas is a mathematics and economics double major from Norwich, Vt., and a four-year letter winner in indoor and outdoor track and field. He is a member of the NESCAC All-Academic Team and earned Division III All-New England status in the 4×400-meter relay. The title of his thesis in mathematics is: “The Origin of Cooperation: Modeling Behavorial Evolution of Graphs.” The title of his economics thesis is: “Pay and Performance in the Indian Premier League.”

Molly Clark Dilworth

Molly is an American cultural studies major from Yarmouth, Maine, and a four-year letter winner in lacrosse. She is a two-time NESCAC All-Academic awardee, and is a member of the College Key and Phi Beta Kappa. The title of her honors thesis is: “Pedagogy, Curriculum and English Language Learning Programs: Investigating Discourses of Cultural Politics in a Local High School.”

Danica Anne Doroski

Danica is an environmental studies major from Wayne, Pa., and a four-year letter winner as well as a team captain on the women’s rowing team. She is a two-time NESCAC All-Academic honoree, and was named to the All-ECAC rowing team this year. The title of her thesis is: “Environmental and Regional Influences on Understory Vegetation in New England.” Danica is the first woman to represent Bates at four NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships, and helped the Bobcats finish as the national runner-up this year for the second time in a row.

Katelyn Elizabeth Drake

Katelyn is an economics and sociology double major from Hudson, Ohio. She is a four-year letter winner on the women’s swimming and diving and lacrosse teams, and a captain for the former. In swimming, she is a two-time Honorable Mention All-American, a three-time All-NESCAC Team member, and the NESCAC Four-year Senior High Point Scorer at the 2010 NESCAC Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships. Katelyn is also a three-time Academic All-American and a four time NESCAC All-Academic honoree. The title of her thesis in economics is: “Is Obama Right?: Competition in the United States Health Insurance Industry.” The sociology thesis title is: “Mapping the Evolution of the Media’s Perspectives of Christian Fundamentalists from 1969 to 2009.”

Rachel Paxton Eades

Rachel is a sociology major from Canterbury, N.H. She is a four-year letter winner and a team captain in women’s soccer. She is two-time NESCAC All-Academic honoree, and the female recipient of the 2010 Lindholm Scholar Athlete Award, for the graduating athlete who has maintained the highest cumulative grade point average. A Dana Scholar, she is also the recipient of the Myhrman/Swett Award – given for the most outstanding thesis in sociology. Her thesis title is: “Structure and Agency in the Health Care Strategies of Uninsured Working Adults.”

Robert Sidney Friedlander

Rob is a religious studies major from Hopkinton, N.H., and a three-year letter winner in men’s soccer. A member of the 2009 NESCAC Fall All-Academic team, he is also a Dana Scholar and the male recipient of the 2010 Lindholm Scholar Athlete Award, for the graduating athlete who has maintained the highest cumulative grade point average. Notably, in the fall of 2008, Rob spent the semester working on Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. He is a member of the Bates Immigrant Rights Advocates and an English tutor at the Lewiston Adult Learning Center. The title of his thesis is: “Competing Views of Islam: Osama bin Laden and Khaled Abou el Fadl on What it Means to be a Good Muslim in the Twenty-First Century.”

Lily Horwitz Gordon

Lily is a Spanish major from Scarsdale, N.Y. She is a four-year letter winner in women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, and a captain for both teams. A four time NESCAC All-Academic Team member and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, she created and coached a track and field program for at-risk youth at the Boys & Girls Club of Southern Maine Auburn-Lewiston Clubhouse. She was also All-New England in the pentathlon in indoor track and field. Her thesis title is: “Promoting Positive Youth Development in At-Risk Children and Adolescents.”

James Constantine Grant

James is a politics major with concentration in governance and conflict from Chevy Chase, Md. He is a four-year letter winner in rowing, a two-time NESCAC All-Academic honoree and a member of the inaugural NESCAC Men’s Rowing All-Conference First Team in 2010. He was also part of the crew that competed in the Henley Royal Regatta in 2009. The title of his thesis is: “60 years of Insecurity: Applying Waltzian Neorealism to Pakistan’s National Defense Policy.”

Jean Crocker Gulliver

Jean is a politics major from Falmouth, Maine. A member of the NESCAC All-Academic and All-Sportsmanship teams, she is a three-year letter winner in women’s tennis and a team captain. The title of her thesis is: “The Rhetoric of Climate Change and the Political Realist Perspective: From an Environmental Problem to a National Security Threat?”

Connor Donovan Hogan

Connor is a French major from Stow, Mass., and a four-year letter winner in outdoor track and field. He is the 2007 male recipient of the Albion Morse Stevens Award, given to the male and female students in the first-year class who have done the best work in a foreign language. His thesis title is: “Le jardin absolu: l’esthetique francaise a Versailles et ‘La Princess de Cieves.’”

Brittany Jane Johnston

Brittany is a Chinese major from Winter Park, Colo., and a four-year letter winner in volleyball. She is a two-time NESCAC Fall All-Academic honoree. Her thesis title is: “Middle School Dropout Rate of Female Students in Rural China: A Search for Evidence of Discrimination Towards Daughters in 21st-Century China.”

Glenn Gray Kelly

Glenn is an economics major from Chevy Chase, Md., and a four-year letter winner in rowing. He is a a two-time NESCAC All-Academic honoree and a member of the inaugural NESCAC Men’s Rowing All-Conference Second Team in 2010. He was also part of the crew that competed in the Henley Royal Regatta in 2009. In 2007, he received the Hammer Award for camaraderie, dedication and sportsmanship in rowing. His thesis title is: “An Empirical Evaluation of Prospect Theory and Expected Utility Theory Using High-Stakes Data from the Game Show ‘Deal or No Deal.’”

Sarah Kristine Kwoh

Sarah is an economics major from Pittsburgh, Pa. She is a three-year letter winner in women’s soccer and a NESCAC All-Academic honoree. She received both the Barlow Scholarship and the Most Dedicated Student Award during the Beijing summer program in 2008. Her thesis title is: “What Affects Immigrants’ Language Proficiency and Why Does Language Proficiency Matter?”

Hannah Magee Laverty

Hannah is a politics major from Cape Elizabeth, Maine. She is a four-year letter winner and a team captain in women’s squash. Named to the 2010 NESCAC Women’s Squash All-Conference First Team, she is also a two-time NESCAC All-Academic honoree. Her thesis title is: “Greek Orthodoxy and National Identity: Challenges to a European Identity.”

Elizabeth Anne Leberman

Liz is a history major from Concord, N.H. She is a four-year letter winner and a two-year team captain in volleyball. She is a two-time NESCAC All-Academic honoree and was honored with a place on the CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Women’s Volleyball Third Team. She is both a Barlow Fellow and a Dana Scholar. The title of her honors thesis is: “Cultural Revival and Reclamation: Forming Regional Identity in Post-Franco Andalusia.”

Joshua Abram Linscott

Josh is a biological chemistry major from Portland, Maine, and a three-year letter winner in baseball. A NESCAC All-Academic honoree, he is the recipient of the 2010 David Nash Award for Baseball and the 2010 recipient of the Biological Chemistry Excellence in Research Award. He is also a member of the Sigma Xi scientific research society. The title of his honors thesis is: “Translational Regulation of an Alternative Sigma Factor in Borrelia burgdorferi.”

Peter Hill Litwin

Peter is a history major from Concord, Mass., and a four-year letter winner in men’s soccer. He is a two-time NESCAC Fall All-Academic honoree. The title of his thesis is: “Race, Military Participation and Equality: A Comparison of African American Soldiers During the Civil War and Japanese American Soldiers During World War II.”

Alexander Donald MacNaughton

Alexander is a history major from Scarsdale, N.Y. He is a two-year letter winner and a team captain on the men’s swimming and diving team. A NESCAC All-Academic honoree, he is the 2010 Bates Swimming Top Scorer over his career. The title of his thesis is: “Churchill, the Admiralty, and the Failed Campaigns.”

Kush Mahan

Kush is a psychology major from Kalamazoo, Mich. He is a four-year letter winner and team captain in squash. He is a two-time First Team NESCAC All-Conference selection, the 2010 NESCAC Co-Player of the Year. He is also a two-time NESCAC All-Academic honoree. He is the male recipient of the Bates Athletic Department 2010 Athlete of the Year Award. The title of his thesis is: “Mindfulness and its Psychotherapeutic Effects for the Boys Residing at Genesis.” Kush was unable to attend the ceremony.

Avery Elizabeth Masters

Avery is a Spanish and rhetoric double major from Mill Valley, Calif., and a four-year letter winner in volleyball. She received a Fulbright Scholarship and will teach English in a secondary school near Madrid suburb, while researching the relationship between identity and community involvement in Spain. Her thesis title for rhetoric is: “Advertising Aid: A Fantasy Theme Analysis of Charitable Rhetoric.” Her thesis title for Spanish is: “ONG en Buenos Aires, Argentina.”

Jean Marie McIntyre

Jean is a mathematics and physics double major from Marshfield, Mass. She is a four-year letter winner and team captain in softball. She is a two-time NESCAC Spring All-Academic Team member, as well as a two-time member of the NESCAC All-Sportsmanship Team. She is a four-time NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete. In addition, she is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the College Key, and Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society. The title of her honors thesis is: “An Analysis of the Motion of Fastpitch Softball Pitches.”

Ngoc Hong Pham

Ngoc is a biological chemistry and history double major from Sharon, Mass. She has won varsity letters in cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field all four years, and is a six-time NESCAC All-Academic honoree. The title of her thesis in biological chemistry is: “The Development of a Method for the Kinetic Analysis of EMCV 3C Protease Catalytic Activity.” The title of her thesis in history is: “The Frankish Role at the Synod of Whitby: The Anglo-Saxon Conversion.”

Molly Emma Radis

Molly is a psychology major from Peaks Island, Maine, and a varsity letter winner in indoor track and field, lacrosse and soccer. A four-time NESCAC All-Academic honoree, she was named to the 2007 All-Region All-Rookie lacrosse team and was named Second Team All-Region in lacrosse in 2007 and 2008. She is a member of the Bates women’s indoor track top 10 all-time performance list in eight events. In 2008, she was Division III All-New England in the 200 meters, the 400 and the 4×400-meter relay. In 2010, she earned the same recognition in the 600 and 4×400. She also garnered All-ECAC honors for the 500 and 4×400. In her spare time, Molly is a member of the Merimanders a capella singing group. The title of her thesis is: “The Relationship Between Physical Activity and Academic Achievement in Children.”

Sarah Bolan Reingold

Sarah is a psychology major from Oakland, Calif., a four-year letter winner in swimming and diving and a team captain. She is a two-time NESCAC Winter All-Academic honoree and a two-time NESCAC All-Sportsmanship Team member. She is the female recipient of the Bates Athletic Department 2010 Senior Sportsmanship Award. The title of her thesis is: “Exploring Homeless Youths’ Strengths and Goals through Photovoice.”

Michael Jeremy Reiss

Michael is a psychology major from Rockville Centre, N.Y. He is a four-year letter winner and a team captain for the nationally ranked men’s tennis team. Reiss played at or near the top of the Bobcats’ lineup throughout his four-year career. The title of his thesis is: “Should I Eat That? Egocentric Bias and Women’s Restrained Eating.”

Nicholas Charles Sampson

Nick is an environmental studies major from Yarmouth, Maine, and a four-year letter winner and team captain in men’s lacrosse. He is a two-time NESCAC All-Academic honoree and and a NESCAC All-Sportsmanship Team member. The title of his thesis is: “Valuing the Penobscot River Restoration Project: The Design of a Benefit Transfer Using Recreation Fishing Values.”

Abigail Webb Samuelson

A sociology major from Freeport, Maine, Abby is a four-year letter winner in women’s cross country and Nordic skiing and a two-year team captain for both sports. She is a four-time NESCAC All-Academic honoree and a member of the College Key. In addition, she was named to the 2009 and 2010 Division I All-Academic Intercollegiate Ski Team. The title of her thesis is: “The Unintended Consequences of Short Shrifting Physical Education: A Qualitative Analysis of the Effectiveness of Maine Physical Education Programs in Promoting Childhood Activity and Reducing Childhood Overweight and Obesity.”

Benjamin Keeler Smeltzer

Ben is a physics major from Waterbury Center, Vt. A four-year letter winner in Nordic skiing, he is also a two-time NESCAC Winter All-Academic honoree. He is also a notable trombonist with the Bates Jazz Orchestra, and his band played at the 2009 NCAA Collegiate Skiing Championships to great acclaim. The title of his thesis is: “A Study of Individual Nuclear Spins Associated with the Diamond Nitrogen Vacancy Center.”

Griffin Charles Stabler

Griffin is an economics major from Keene, N.H. He is a letter winner in men’s cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field. He is also a six-time NESCAC All-Academic honoree. The title of his thesis is: “Confronting Water Scarcity: An Examination of Price and Non-Price Policy Effectiveness in the Southwest United States.”

Luke Collier Strathmann

Luke is an economics major from Newtown Square, Pa. He is a four-year letter winner in men’s lacrosse and a two-time NESCAC Spring All-Academic honoree. He received the Barlow Enrichment Grant for independent study on the history of surfing in Fiji. He has a job starting this summer with Industrial Economics, Inc., doing environmental economic consulting. The title of his thesis is: “Sin Taxes: Can Soda Taxes Serve as an Effective Health Mechanism?”

Lindsay Sanders Thomson

Lindsay is a rhetoric and religion double major from West Hartford, Conn. She is a four-year letter winner in rowing. A NESCAC and ECAC All-Academic honoree, she is also the recipient of both the Enrichment Grant for Independent Research Abroad and a Thesis Research Grant. She studied abroad in Northern India and Nepal and is an activist for the Tibetan Freedom Movement. Upon graduation, she will join the Teach for America Corps in Brooklyn, N.Y. The title of her thesis for rhetoric is: “Blogging @ Barack: The Intersection of the Public Sphere and the Blogosphere During the 2008 Presidential Election.” The title of her thesis for religion is: “Tracing the Path of the Snow Lion: Tibetan Nationalism and the Dalai Lama’s Dilemma.” She helped the Bobcats finish as the national runner-up this year at the NCAA Division III Women’s Rowing Championships.

The Bates Scholar-Athlete Society was created in 2005 to underscore the College’s commitment to the scholar-athlete ideal. The Society includes seniors nominated by their coaches who have compiled a 3.5 grade point average or have received a special nomination from faculty and staff for distinguished academic achievement in their junior and senior years. To be eligible for induction, student-athletes must participate in a varsity sport for at least three years.