Top students honored at awards day

Posted on: 4/17/2014; Updated on: 2/10/2015
By April Blake, 803-777-5984

The University of South Carolina presented its top honors, the Algernon Sydney Sullivan and Steven N. Swanger awards, to four graduating seniors during the university’s annual Awards Day ceremony Thursday (April 17). 

Chase Mizzell, Cassandra Staton, and Anna Hawkins received the Sullivan awards, the university’s highest honor for undergraduates. Sullivan awards are given each year to one graduating woman and one graduating man for outstanding achievements, campus leadership, exemplary character and service to the community. The award, given at 15 colleges and universities across the country, is named for the 19th-century New York lawyer and philanthropist.

Caroline Hendricks received the Steven N. Swanger Leadership Award, the university’s second-highest undergraduate honor. The award is named for a former president of Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK), which sponsors the university’s Awards Day. It is given to a graduating senior for exemplary leadership and for making significant contributions to the Carolina community.

 

Steven N. Swanger Award

Caroline Margaret Hendricks of Greenville, South Carolina is a graduate of J.L. Mann High School. Hendricks will graduate with leadership distinction in May with a bachelor’s degree in European studies and biological sciences. 

She has also received the Jenny Z. Schayer Memorial Scholarship from the biology department, Sorority Council Scholarship, Science Undergraduate Research Fellowship for three semesters, Mortar Board Undergraduate Scholarship and Freshman Council Marie-Louise Ramsdale Scholarship. 

“I was looking at a lot of smaller colleges and I would not have had the same opportunities if I hadn’t come here,” she said. She credits her time at Carolina for giving her the chance to get involved in diverse activities and meet many people from different backgrounds.

 

Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award 

Chase Harold Mizzell of Charleston and St. George, SC is a graduate of Fort Dorchester High School. Beginning in freshman council, Mizzell rose through student government to become student body president. He was also known as the energetic Mic Man at home football games. 

A student in the Honors College, he has received a Palmetto Fellows Scholarship, Dean’s Scholarship, and has been recognized as a Moore School of Business Emerging Leader. 

It’s easy to see that people are his passion. “My experience at USC has been defined by the interactions and experiences with friends, mentors, mentees, organizations, and service opps that are all mediums and avenues for me to build relationships,” he said. 

Mizzell will graduate in May with bachelor’s degree in international business and finance.

 

Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award 

Anna Louise Hawkins of Chesapeake, Virginia is a graduate of Great Bridge High School. She has been active in the NROTC during her time at Carolina, serving as the battalion commander in fall 2013. 

Hawkins has made the Dean’s or President’s List every semester and her academic excellence was recognized with a Polston Family Mathematics Scholarship, a Captain Majors Scholarship, among others.  She has also received the Rex Enright Award for Athletic Excellent in 2013. 

Being involved in NROTC has prepared her for a big career post-graduation, she said. 

“USC is a huge school but at the same time it seems like a small school where you can fit in anywhere,” she said.  “It’s given me a lot of opportunities to place myself in positions where I can be ready for leadership.”

Hawkins will graduate in May with a degree in applied math. Following graduation, she will commission in to the United States Navy to train as a Naval Flight Officer.

 

Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award 

Cassandra Grace Staton of Irmo is a graduate of Irmo High School and is a student in the Honors College.  A member of Kappa Delta, she has held leadership positions and received the 2013 Corre Anding Stegall Collegiate Leadership Award, the highest honor awarded by the organization. 

A U101 peer leader, Staton has been involved with the USC Dance Marathon during her four years on campus, serving on the executive board for three years. She has personally raised more than $3,000 for the Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital, which the marathon supports. 

“I got involved with my sorority, which is the way that I reached out to other organizations, and really found my home here at USC,” she said. “I really dedicated my life to this organization and it changed me for the better. It’s been a great experience.”

She has been named a School of Business emerging leader as a junior and also received the Outstanding Global Supply Chain Operations Management Student Scholarship Award. She will graduate in May with a degree in management science in finance. 


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