We had a total of seven schools participating in the Smith College book awards last year. The student recipients received Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. The book was on the assigned reading list for all incoming first year students last year. The award recipients included the following high school juniors:
Molly Baxter Menlo-Atherton High School, Atherton
Abigail Hartzell Sequoia High School, Redwood City
Marion Lynch Lynbrook High School, San Jose
Nohely Peraza Eastside College Preparatory School, East Palo Alto
Meredith Raynor Woodside High School, Woodside
Juliana Stohr Aragon High School, San Mateo
Katherine Yen Los Altos High School, Los Altos
Through this program, participating schools nominate a junior student as a candidate for the award. Eligibility criteria are a combination of academic strength, intellectual curiosity, and community service. The Club or the sponsoring alumna chooses a book (usually one related to Smith or written by a Smith faculty member or alumna) that matches the student’s personal interests and we affix a recognition bookplate. The book and award certificate are presented to the student at her high school’s awards ceremony. We also provide the student’s contact information to the College so the Admissions Office can keep track of her should she decide to apply.
Book awards fulfill dual goals: having Smith’s name recognized by the student/parent community during these ceremonies and encouraging a promising junior to learn more about Smith and possibly apply. While many factors impact enrollment numbers, the Admissions Office says that these awards historically have been a very successful recruitment strategy for the College. The reality is that Smith is far away and California high school students are flooded with information about other colleges and universities closer to home. Thus, the book award program is an invaluable public relations tool.
We would like to expand this program on the Peninsula. If there is a local high school where you would like to raise awareness of Smith through sponsorship of a book award (at a cost of $35), please email Alumnae Admissions Coordinator Marylou Cronin ’88 at thepeninsulasmithclub@gmail.com.