Sophomore, Junior, and Senior Receive Honor and Financial Award

This week at Convocation, the Katharine Malone Prizes for Academic Excellence were awarded to Sitara Chapman ’16, Kathryn Ledbetter ’15, and Hannah Stone ’14. The Malone Prizes are considered the most prestigious academic award a Wellesley student can receive during her undergraduate years.

Claudine Malone ’63 first established the three Malone Prizes in 1985 in honor of her mother, Katharine Malone. The prizes are given each year to students who excel academically while contributing to the College community. To be eligible for consideration, students must reside at Wellesley full-time and maintain a 3.9 G.P.A.

Sitara Chapman ’16 (at right in photo) received the Katharine Malone First Year Prize, worth $10,000. “When I opened the President's congratulatory letter,” she said, “I could hardly believe it! I felt both deeply honored by the prize and profoundly grateful for the support I received along the road that led me to it. I'm especially thankful to my Wellesley professors for encouraging me in my pursuit of knowledge.” The Framingham, Mass., resident will be declaring a major in biological chemistry, and intends to pursue a Ph.D. in microbiology. “Biology is my greatest love, and wherever its study leads me, I hope to share that excitement with a larger community through science writing and science outreach,” she said.

Kathryn E. Ledbetter ’15 (center in photo) won the Katharine Malone Sophomore Prize of $10,000. Ledbetter comes from Golden, Colo., and she double-majors in classical studies and chemical physics (an individual major). “When I found out I received the prize I was amazed,” she said. “Knowing that there are so many others in my class with great achievements, I never expected to receive this honor.” This semester, Ledbetter is looking forward to working with Professor of Physics Glenn Stark on spectroscopy projects while continuing her summer work with Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER) on space weather prediction. While life after Wellesley is still two years away, she’s exploring the possibility of doing graduate work in the fields of chemical engineering or materials science.

Hannah A. Stone ’14 (at left in photo) received the Katharine Malone Scholar Prize, for which she is “immensely grateful and excited.” She will receive $50,000 in addition to $40,000 toward the cost of graduate study. From Hamden, Conn., Stone majors in chemistry and plans to attend medical school in the fall of 2016. “I’d like to be a primary care physician involved in public health initiatives and research,” she said. In between commencement and medical school, she hopes to do public health research abroad and participate in Community HealthCorps, an AmeriCorps program with community health centers around the United States.

Congratulations and best wishes to all the honorees.