Award for Excellence in Ethnic Studies
This award is given to the senior who consistently engaged the central principles of American Ethnic Studies in the classroom, on campus, and in the surrounding community. The award honors the student’s intellectual and active engagement in the field's tradition of social justice through critical thinking, service and activism, mentoring other students, and helping to build the AES program itself. This honor is in recognition of both achievements made and the high potential of the recipient in future academic and community engagement endeavors.
*Eligibility Requirements:*
- Senior who is a major or minor in AES
- 3.5 or higher overall GPA; 3.75 or higher GPA in AES
- Embodies the /praxis/ (reflection and action) central to the field
- Actively links AES discourse and perspectives with social justice work
- Positively represented and contributed to the AES program at Willamette
- Evidence of career and vocation having been shaped by AES
Nacho Cordova Ethnic Studies Award for Social Justice Contributions
This award is granted to a graduating senior who has consistently taken the insights of her/his coursework in American Ethnic Studies beyond the classroom. It honors the memory of professor Nathaniel “Nacho” Córdova, whose scholarship, teaching, and art all contributed to building a more socially just society. As a mentor for many in the WU campus community, Nacho was a key leader in the establishment of the American Ethnic Studies program. The student being honored embodies Nacho’s values for service, dialogue, and activism, actively using these as tools to improve the university and strengthen the work of community organizations in the Willamette Valley.
*Eligibility Requirements*
- Graduating senior with a major or minor in AES
- 3.0 or higher GPA in AES; 3.0 overall GPA
- Strong record of community engagement in promotion of social justice work
- Actively links AES perspectives with social justice work
- Positively represents and contributes to the AES program at Willamette
- Evidence of career and vocation having been shaped by AES