Seniors honored with top awards
Posted on: 4/16/2015; Updated on: 4/16/2015By Megan Sexton, 803-777-1421
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 16).
Connor Patrick Bain, Adam Michael Mayer and Lindsay Nicole Richardson received Sullivan awards, the university’s highest honor for undergraduates. Sullivan awards are given each year to seniors for outstanding achievements, campus leadership, exemplary character and service to the community. The award, given at colleges and universities across the country, is named for the 19th-century New York lawyer and philanthropist.
Catherine Margaret Davenport 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.
Davenport of Columbia has earned a 3.9 GPA as an English major while being heavily involved on campus and serving the community in South Carolina and around the world. She is a Capstone Scholar and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She was a finalist for UofSC’s Outstanding Woman of the Year in 2014 and was the Homecoming Princess in 2013. She served as president of her sorority, Chi Omega, and is a member of Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honor society. She was the lead actor in various Carolina theatre and dance performances during her freshman and sophomore years. She spent a spring break teaching and counseling at an orphanage in Miami, and spent the summer of 2014 in Chiang Mai, Thailand, volunteering with an organization that intervenes in human trafficking.
Richardson of Lake Wylie, S.C., will graduate with bachelors’ degrees in political science and business administration, earning a 3.75 GPA. She represented the university as student body president and served as a student senator for three years, including as chairman of the Powers and Responsibilities Committee her sophomore year and president pro tempore her junior year. Richardson is a University Ambassador and member of Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honor society and Mortar Board senior honor society. She worked with Multicultural Student Affairs as a diversity peer educator and a mentor for the Multicultural Assistance Peer Program. She was a resident mentor for two years and served as a senator in the Residence Hall Association. She was recognized in MSNBC’s Women of 2014 College Edition.
Bain of Columbia has maintained a 4.0 GPA while working toward dual degrees in computer science and mathematics. He is a Carolina Scholar and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He was a Goldwater Scholar in 2014, a Magellan Scholar and a Udall Scholar honorable mention in 2013. At Carolina, he is the co-founder and director of Carolina Science Outreach, interns with Sustainable Carolina and the Office of Fellowships and Scholar Programs and he volunteers with Gamecock Connection. He is a member of Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honor society, Pi Mu Epsilon mathematics honorary society and Upsilon Pi Epsilon computing honor society. This year, he is developing an iPad app for Cocky’s Reading Express. Bain was a summer research assistant for computer science at both Harvard University and Duke University, a teaching assistant for the Duke Talent Identification Program and a writer for the Association of Computing Machinery. He has been a member of UofSC’s percussion ensemble for four years, and during his junior year he was a percussionist with the USC Opera Pit Orchestra and a member of the USC Symphony.
Mayer of Avoca, Wis., has earned a 3.67 GPA in exercise science. He was the president of Carolina Productions and chaired the Russell House Advisory Board. He is a founding father and vice president for finance for his fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon. He was an orientation leader for new Carolina students, worked with student life at Admitted Student Day and has been instrumental in establishing USC Connect. A member of Omicron Delta Kappa leadership, he helped develop Graduation with Leadership Distinction and the Get Connected Fair. In student government, he was a member of the freshman council and webmaster and executive coordinator for Senate outreach. He also is a member of the Flying Gamecocks Skydiving Club.
A full list of the university's award winners is here.
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