The Department of Religious Studies acknowledged the accomplishments of several students at our year-end reception on Thursday, May 1, 2025. We announced the following student accomplishments and awards:
Undergraduate:
- Sergio Carballido was named as a Wolf Humanities Center Undergraduate Fellow for 2025–26
- Laura Gugliotta received the inaugural Michael Gavin Memorial Award for Excellence in the Fields of Embodiment, Health, Physical Culture, Community Service, and Religion for her paper "In Pursuit of Speed: the Subculture of Female Collegiate Sprinters at UPenn."
- Alex Iyer received the Merle Saunders Schaff Memorial Award for his paper "The Curious Case of the Copper Scroll: A Description of 3Q15." He also finished an Honors thesis titled "The Unlikely Elite: An Exploration of Indian Christians from Privileged Caste Backgrounds." Alex will begin an AM in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at Harvard University in Fall 2025.
- Jules Lingenfelter received the Ibn Sina Prize for her paper, "Muslim Women in Court: Exploring the Intersection of Religion, Gender, and State Law through the Case of Triple Talaq." As previously announced, the same paper also received the prestigious Albert Clark Award from Theta Alpha Kappa.
Graduate:
- Sana Rizvi received the Ibn Sina Prize for her paper, "The Weight of Remembrance: Affect and Power in Twelver Shi'ism."
- Kirby Sokolow received the Khyentse Foundation Prize in Buddhist Studies for "Buddhist Exceptionalism Behind Bars," an article that is forthcoming in Pacific World.
- Jeremy Steinberg received the Merle Saunders Schaff Prize for his paper "A Feminist Analysis of Esther as Depicted in the Septuagint Additions." Dr. Steinberg also successfully defended his dissertation in April; he will join the University of Kentucky as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Hebrew and Jewish Studies in July 2025.
- Hallie Nell Swanson received the Stallybrass Prize for her paper "Manuscript as Picture-Pavilion: Workshop Production and Dakhni Romance” on the Deccan illustrated manuscript romance “Garden of Love” (Gulshan-I ‘Ishq), dated 1743, now at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.