Mercer Island native receives Wesleyan research prize | Education briefs

MIHS graduate receives Wesleyan research prize

Mercer Island native and Wesleyan University senior Rachel Rosenman was honored with first place in the inaugural Friends of the Wesleyan Library Undergraduate Research Prize contest. Rosenman was recognized for her essay, “‘Mais la musique demeurera toujours’: Repurposing the French Baroque.”

Rosenman’s essay describes the work she undertook in order to generate user-friendly editions of French Baroque music, adapting solo bass viol repertoire to make it playable on the treble viol, in modern notation.

The winning essays were selected from a large pool of high-quality submissions by a panel of judges including professors, librarians, the interim director of academic writing, and members of the Friends board, and evaluated based on use of Wesleyan’s library collections and resources, evidence of learning about research techniques and information-gathering, and the quality of writing and research.

The Friends of the Wesleyan Library is a community of readers dedicated to celebrating and enjoying books of all kinds from vellum bound manuscripts to humble paperbacks to the latest digital innovation. The Friends raise funds to support the library’s important work and activities.

Wesleyan University is a private, non-sectarian liberal arts university in Middletown, Conn. For more information, visit www.wesleyan.edu.

Island native honored by Illinois Tech

​​​Mercer Island native​ Judson B. Althoff ​was honored with the the ​​Professional Achievement Award​ on April 21 during Illinois Tech’s 2017 Alumni Awards. ​​​The award recognizes outstanding achievement in any professional field​ and honors​ alumni whose achievements in their fields have brought distinction to themselves as well as credit to Illinois Institute of Technology.​

Althoff is executive vice president for Microsoft and leads 25,000 employees. His team helps organizations harness technology to improve performance through digital transformation. He is involved in Free the Children WE Day events and leads Microsoft initiatives to better society through technology. He joined former President Barack Obama in 2014 to help announce that U.S. business leaders were pledging $750 million for student technology.

Illinois Institute of Technology, also known as Illinois Tech, is a private, technology-focused research university, located in Chicago. Visit www.iit.edu.

Islander inducted into honor society

Blake Nelson of Mercer Island, a biochemistry student, was inducted into the Alpha Lambda Delta (ALD) Honor Society at University of the Sciences on April 2.

Invitations to join ALD, a national honor society for first-year students, are based on attaining a first-semester academic average of at least 3.50 and ranking in the top 20 percent of the class. This year’s inductees all attained a first-semester GPA of 3.753 or higher. This is the highest GPA for membership since the USciences chapter was founded on Nov. 12, 1989.

University of the Sciences has prepared students to be leaders and practitioners in the healthcare and science fields for nearly 200 years. Discover how USciences students are proven everywhere they go at usciences.edu.