Student Awards 2025
This year’s students were celebrated at our annual Spring Awards Banquet at Brock’s Riverside Grill. Read on to learn about our awardees:
Marshall E. Bowen Scholarship:
This award was endowed in 2024 by a 1971 Mary Wash graduate, Susan Liebenow, in honor of the phenomenal teacher and mentor, late Professor Marshall E. Bowen. Dr. Bowen taught at Mary Washington from 1965 to 2001. He took students on field trips to western states, he was the men’s basketball coach, and he was beloved.
This year’s awardee is Allison Parrish ’26! At her internship with Healthy Generations Agency on Aging, she has realized the impact of inadequate public transit has for elderly people who need access. This experience is shaping her career goals. In addition to her Geography major, she is also minoring in Urban Studies, and is an advocate for public services.
Meriwether Lewis and William Clarke Award:
Given to the graduating Geography Major with the highest grade point average in Geography courses.
This year’s winner is Victoria Gallaway ’25! She has excelled in a variety of geospatial technologies, earning a perfect 4.0 in GIS classes including a capstone project last fall using satellite data to assess algal blooms in the Volga River delta. Beyond the classroom, she has produced instructional materials on Deep Learning for satellite image and geospatial data for a workshop at two annual meetings of the American Association of Geographers with Dr. Millones and his colleagues. She has also copy-edited Dr. Finlayson’s new Human Geography textbook and created high-quality, open-source maps to supplement the text.
Richard P. Palmieri Award for Excellence in Geography:
Given to a non-senior Geography major who demonstrates excellence in his or her introductory and upper-level courses.
Sarala Kennedy ’26 came to Mary Washington thinking about a Geography major and took Geography of Eastern North America in the first semester. apparently hooked, taking three other major classes in the second. She has earned a stellar 4.0 in 24 credits of both introductory and upper-level courses
James B. Gouger III Award:
Presented to the student who excels in geographic techniques.
This years awardee is Aimee Trehey ’25! Aimee’s exemplary record of accomplishment in the classroom is matched by her contributions in the community. She worked with an interdisciplinary team to create an inventory of Fredericksburg’s historical markers for city officials and presented at the 2023 SEDAAG conference. Currently, she is working as the American Association of Geographers’ Assistant Cartography Editor and completing her GIS capstone which explores how topics found in spatial clusters of historical markers have changed over the past decade.
Geospatial Technologies Award:
In Recognition of the GISc Certificate student who has excelled in all certificate courses and who has contributed to the success of others in the program.
This year’s winner is Victoria Gallaway ’25! She has excelled in a variety of geospatial technologies, earning a perfect 4.0 in GIS classes including a capstone project last fall using satellite data to assess algal blooms in the Volga River delta. Beyond the classroom, she has produced instructional materials on Deep Learning for satellite image and geospatial data for a workshop at two annual meetings of the American Association of Geographers with Dr. Millones and his colleagues. She has also copy-edited Dr. Finlayson’s new Human Geography textbook and created high-quality, open-source maps to supplement the text.
Harold Thompson Straw Award:
Presented to the student who exhibits the most professional potential for scholarly contribution in Geography.
This year’s recipient is Anders Baretta ’25! Anders discovered Geography as a child and arrived at Mary Washington intending to major in Geography. Last fall, he presented a professional poster on the 1936 Presidential election in Virginia at the SEDAAG conference. It was work that he had done independently of a class simply because he was interested in understanding the patterns. We are confident that he certainly has the potential for scholarly contribution within the discipline.
Outstanding Student in Master of Science in Geospatial Analysis Award:
Presented to a graduating MSGA student who demonstrates excellence in his or her master’s level courses.
This years awardee is Tara Anderson ’24! In the words of her advisor, Dr. Yin, she is receiving this award for her excellent coursework performance and her motivation to succeed. Despite the inherent challenges posed by the rarity of the disease and the low spatio-temporal resolution of available health data, her impressive, high-quality capstone project, Spatial Analysis of Demographic and Environmental Factors of Human Hantavirus Infection in Colorado, provides an in-depth analysis of the spatio-temporal patterns and risk factors associated with human Hantavirus infections.
Geography Alumni Scholarship:
Granted to a rising junior or senior Geography major who demonstrates both excellence and a commitment to their achievement and contributions to the department.
This year’s winner is Hannah Kaiser ’26! After taking a human geography course, this student wanted more, which led her to pursue geography at UMW. She is currently taking a variety of courses – from Geopolitics to Biogeography – to experience the breadth of geography. Extracurricular activities, like Saturday trips with Dr. Bowen have made her think about the role of geography in the “real world,” the creation of landscapes, and how everything from economics to agriculture is influenced by geography. Studying geography has allowed her to better understand how the world works.