Patricia Benitez-Lomi
Class of 2023
Patricia Benitez-Lomi ’23 with Corri Taylor, right, and Alex Diesl, left
Patty has demonstrated remarkable intellectual breadth, having completed a double major in Biology and Art History. She will be pursuing a doctorate in biology at Yale starting this fall. This is what some of Patty’s professors had to say about her:
It is rare that a student takes three classes with me, as Patty did, even rarer for that person to be an Art History/Biology double major. Over those years we covered an array of subjects that confirms, beyond measure, her intellectual curiosity. This award celebrates her joy but it might also celebrate my own joy in seeing her in class every single day. I expect that, as she ventures out into the world of biology, she will use the skills of visual analysis that revealed her to be one of our best art history students.
Patty is exceedingly intelligent and has an inquisitive mind, as evidenced by her impressive transcript and honors thesis this spring in Steve Biller's lab. However, it is the multi-faceted nature of her interests that I find most impressive. In addition to being an excellent young scientist with a strong understanding of quantitative analysis (something Corri surely appreciates), Patty is a double major in art history and is an exceptional artist! Patty is thoughtful and humble and always willing to support other students. She has taken multiple students under her wing over the years and is a true community builder, much like Corri Taylor. I cannot think of a more deserving recipient of this award!
Ann-Marsha Alexis
Class of 2022
Ann-Marsha Alexis '22
Ann-Marsha has demonstrated remarkable intellectual breadth, with a major in Physics and a minor in Philosophy. She has reached out a helping hand to her fellow students by serving as a writing mentor in the Philosophy department and as a peer learning assistant in the Physics department. Having contributed to research projects at MIT, she is now planning to pursue a PhD in Physics at Carnegie Mellon. This is what three of Ann-Marsha’s professors had to say about her:
- Her strong technical foundation stood out immediately, as did her knack for asking a question that gets to the heart of the issue. Ann-Marsha’s questions were generally challenging to answer, often because the answers were not yet known. In other words, Ann-Marsha put her finger on open questions at the frontiers of physics, and at the intersection of physics and philosophy.
- When the department was deciding which seniors we wanted to recruit for our writing mentors, Ann-Marsha was at the top of our list. Her strength in writing was an obvious reason for her candidacy, but perhaps even more so was her kindness.
- In addition to her own work, Ann-Marsha was an attentive and generous classmate-always willing to help others. She was the ultimate team player.
For promoting curiosity, generosity, and joy at Wellesley, our chapter is pleased to award Ann-Marsha this year's Corri Taylor prize.
Francelis Morillo Suarez
class of 2021
We are proud to award this year’s prize to Francelis Morillo Suarez ’21. Francelis has remarkable intellectual breadth, with a major in Environmental Studies as well as Italian Studies. One of her professors says that “as a more experienced member of the Paulson Initiative research group, Francelis shared her uncommon wisdom, energy and enthusiasm with the younger students and helped bring everyone in the group to a higher level of achievement through collaboration.” Another professor highlighted her “strong critical intelligence in textual reading, the liveliness and strength of her arguments during class discussion, as well as her kindness and friendliness.” Yet another advisor emphasized that “she had a strong intellectual curiosity and wanted to be exposed to as much of the world as possible—one of her study abroad programs traveled to three different countries throughout the course of the semester.” After Francelis’s return from abroad, she even served as a study abroad ambassador for other students. For promoting curiosity, generosity, and joy at Wellesley, our chapter is pleased to award Francelis this year’s Corri Taylor prize.
Francelis Morillo Suarez ’21
Robin Siddall
class of 2020
We are proud to award this year’s prize to Robin Siddall ’20. Robin epitomizes the ideals of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. In her time at Wellesley, Robin has studied a wide diversity of subjects, many at an advanced level, ranging from Art to Math to History to Astronomy. In all of her studies, Robin engages fully, asking questions and digging deeper. Robin’s professors admire her for her insight and her creativity. She is a brilliant scholar and a talented artist. But most of all, Robin is deeply curious, always interested in learning more and improving her skills. Robin simply loves learning for the sake of learning.
Indeed, Robin is, herself, truly a teacher at heart. It is a thread that runs through everything she does. Whether she is helping other students learn techniques in the Book Arts Lab, or assisting with the operations of the telescopes at the Observatory, Robin is always sharing her love of learning with others. She has worked as a grader in the math department, and she has student-taught at a local elementary school. This past fall, in what seems to be a perfect culmination of all of her talents, Robin was chosen to be the teaching assistant for a new first-year seminar on the “Art of Science,” a course that explores how we understand our world through a combination of scientific inquiry and artistic representation.
For a dedication to a lifetime of learning, and for the generosity to share it freely, our chapter is pleased to award Robin with this year’s Corri Taylor prize.
Isabelle Raposo
class of 2019
The inaugural Corrine Taylor Prize for Curiosity, Generosity, and Joy was awarded to Isabelle Kennedy Raposo ’19 who double-majored in Classics and English. She earned honors in Classics with a senior thesis about ancient Greek fiction. She has contributed to the College community in diverse ways, from working as a PLTC tutor in Ancient Greek, to being the General Manager of Regeneration, the campus organic farm and sustainable agriculture advocacy group, to serving as Freeman Hall fire chief. Her professors say that in addition to bringing deep insight into class discussion and writing brilliant analyses of literature and art, she challenges them to make their classrooms more inclusive and their pedagogy more accessible to all. As she leaves Wellesley to pursue graduate study in library and information science, she leaves behind a community that is more equitable and more verdant—in short, more Arcadian—because of her.
Corri Taylor and Isabelle Raposo at the 2019 Initiation Ceremony.
