Phoebe Carter ’17 received a birthday surprise this year: She learned that she was a recipient of this semester’s Franklin Miller Award.
Carter, a modern languages and literatures major with a comparative world literature concentration from Fairfield, Iowa, was one of two recipients for the spring semester. The other award was given to Eliza Abendroth ’18, a psychology major from Evanston, Illinois.
The award is given each semester to students who make unusual or significant contributions to the academic environment of the College. Each semester, a call for nominations is sent to faculty members, and Provost Joseph L. Klesner and Vice President for Student Affairs Meredith Bonham ’92 read through the nominations to select one or two recipients.
Nicole Brandon, visiting assistant professor of psychology, nominated Abendroth. The pair have spent the year working together in Brandon’s memory research lab. “In my experience with her, Eliza is a fantastic example of a student who actively works to maintain and even improve the academic environment within the psychology department and Kenyon College at large,” Brandon said. In addition to her work as a lab assistant, Abendroth is a member of the Junior Class Council and works as a tour guide for the Office of Admissions.
Assistant Professor of Arabic Qussay Al-Attabi nominated Carter, who works as an Apprentice Teacher for Al-Attabi’s “Introduction to Arabic” class. Al-Attabi also is familiar with Carter’s work as an Upperclass Counselor. “As a senior, Phoebe is a role model to many first-year students and a mentor to some of them. As an upperclass counselor, Phoebe has helped introduce four first-year advisees to academic life by helping them select and register for courses that would meet their interests while also challenging them to try things outside of their comfort zones,” Al-Attabi said.
Carter also is co-president of Indigenous Nations at Kenyon, a member of the Middle East Student Association and a Spanish tutor at East Knox Schools. She recently completed her Spanish honors exercise, which examined translation as a discipline, and was awarded a Fulbright fellowship to teach English in Jordan.
The Franklin Miller Award was established by Edward T. “Chip” Ordman ’64 in honor of Professor Emeritus of Physics Franklin Miller Jr., who passed away in 2012 at the age of 100. The award provides winners with a $250 credit to their Kenyon Bookstore accounts.
—India Amos ’17