New & Notable

New head residents--Lori Walk '89 and Wendy Ritch '90 have replaced Terry Gargour-Rivers as Abbey Hall head residents. Walk is a doctoral candidate in English literature at UMass, and an instructor in the university's School of Management. She has also served as a multicultural workshop facilitator. Ritch has a master's degree in political thought from UMass and is an instructor at Landmark College.

Isabelle Wolfmann is the new Porter Hall head resident, replacing Kate Fahey and Charlene Elvers, who resigned for personal reasons in January. She is pursuing a master's degree in music composition and arranging at UMass. Originally from Canada, Wolfmann worked in a women's health clinic and has extensive teaching experience in addition to her musical gifts.

Students honored with special convocation awards--Six women received special awards at the January 29 convocation exercises. (Recipients of the student leadership awards, also presented at convocation, were noted in last week's CSJ.)

Elizabeth O'Donoghue '97 received the Maurice L. Rabbino Award, which recognizes a student "who has made an especially significant contribution to the life of Mount Holyoke."

Maryse Jayasuriya '97 was given the Helen Warren Smith Award, which honors a student "whose interest, involvement, and service to the MHC community have been outstanding."

Beverlyn Zebrowski '97 was chosen for the Frances H. Williams Award, presented annually to a student of color "who best exemplifies the ideals to which her own life has been dedicated--the capacity to create a dream and the passion to pursue it; the ability to soar with that goal whether it be academic excellence, social justice, or service to others."

The Mount Holyoke College Community Service Award was shared by Janice Fitzgibbons FP and Jennifer Horton '99. It honors involvement in the community beyond the campus that demonstrates a high level of personal commitment.

Thao Mee Xiong '98 was selected for the Karen Snyder Sullivan Award, which provides assistance for a student who has not previously traveled abroad to plan a trip that satisfies her curiosity and heightens her awareness of other cultures.

Women kicking butt(s)--"Smoking Cessation: Nutritional and Body Image Concerns" is the title of a talk that athletic trainer Ellen Perrella gave at a February 3 conference on New Perspectives on Women and Tobacco in Marlboro, MA.

Front-page fans--Lauren Razzore '98, an intern at Northampton's Daily Hampshire Gazette, hit the journalistic big time last Friday. Her very first article for the paper landed on the front page. Razzore's piece on local Green Bay Packers fans was featured on the January 24 paper's front page during Super Bowl weekend. She began her internship at the Gazette's sports department in January, and will continue it through spring semester. Razzore has also served as sports editor for the Mount Holyoke News since September 1996.

Having a ball ... an inaugural ball--Barbora Somogyiova '99 wasn't on the White House's VIP list for any of the sixteen official presidential inaugural balls, but wrangled herself a way into two of them anyway. The catering company MCM Group recruited students working on Capitol Hill to work at the balls, and Somogyiova spent Inauguration night checking coats for Joe and Jane Citizen at the Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi Ball and at the Western States Ball. She heard Stevie Wonder and the Eagles perform, and glimpsed Vice President Al Gore and President Bill Clinton and their spouses as they made the rounds of the various balls. "I spent fourteen hours working in high heels, didn't leave until 4:30 am, and had to go to work the next day, but it was worth it," she says.

Somogyiova was interning in D.C. during January, along with Carmen Lopez '99 and Natalia Dmitrieva '97, in the education office of the Labor and Human Resources Committee chaired by Senator Edward Kennedy. They helped Kennedy's staff gather data and produce fact sheets in support of an education bill Kennedy sponsored. "I was surprised by the dynamic and vibrant atmosphere in Senator Kennedy's education office," says Somogyiova, an international relations major. "It was an exhilarating experience."

From her perch in the cloak room at the Western States Inaugural Ball, Barbora Somogyiova '99 caught this glimpse of Vice President and Mrs. Gore. Singer Stevie Wonder is partially visible to the right of Al Gore.

What's new with you?--Send news for "New & Notable" to Emily Weir, Office of Communications, or email eweir@mtholyoke.edu.