...Gavriella Levy Haskell, 2012 winner of the Emogene Mahony Memorial Prize for the best essay on a literary subject written by a first-year student! It was one of 16 prizes awarded by the English department at Smith's Ivy Day Awards Convocation.

Gavi's paper was on Peter Mark Roget, of Roget's Thesaurus. I enjoyed her enthusiasm when she told me about the paper back in April, a few days after she finished it. I look forward to reading it soon.

Emogene Mahony received her Bachelor of Arts from Smith in 1900. Thanks to Google, I found various past winners of the award, including a 1957 newspaper article mentioning that year's winner. The only other things I've learned about Emogene is that she was an Associate on staff at the American School of Classical Studies in Rome in 1907-1908, was listed in the Woman's Who's Who in 1914, and that her name also graces a Smith Music Prize for proficiency at the organ. Oh, and she lived in Scarborough on Hudson, NY, in 1916-1917. (I love living in the future.) A directory from the American School of Classical Studies that dates from the mid-1930s or later states Emogene died January 15, 1925. :-(

I love learning even these small tidbits about a woman I'd never heard of before today. Smith awarded more than 100 prizes today, most of them named for (and presumably funded by the gifts of) Smith alumnae.

'Twas a good day.