Undergraduate Prize Winners
Nia Kennedi Cunningham (2024) Heading link
Nia Cunningham graduated May 2024 with a BA in Gender and Women’s Studies and a minor in Social Justice. This curriculum combination means that Nia has organized her undergraduate studies as fully in GWS, which also houses the SJ minor, as any student to this point. In her essay for the prize committee Nia wrote that, “Gender and Women’s Studies changed her life,” because it encouraged her to “shake [stuff*] up.” In awarding her this prize, the faculty in GWS commend Nia for her work inside and outside of the classroom and her ability to be the change she envisions.
Ashna Konjeti (2024) Heading link
Ashna Konjeti graduated May 2024 with a BS in Nueroscience and a minor in Gender and Women’s Studies. Reflecting on her award Ashna wrote, “I am very grateful to be receiving this award, and I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to engage with the Gender and Women’s Studies curriculum and community at UIC. My exposure to GWS has transformed my perspective on the world and my role within it, foregrounding love as a transformative force in both personal and societal contexts. It has instilled a deep sense of empathy, advocacy, and social responsibility within me, and as I continue towards a career in medicine, I strive to be not just a healer of bodies, but also a supporter of justice, equality, and love.”
Ashna reflected on winning the GWS Undergraduate Award: “I am very grateful to be receiving this award, and I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to engage with the Gender and Women’s Studies curriculum and community at UIC. My exposure to GWS has transformed my perspective on the world and my role within it, foregrounding love as a transformative force in both personal and societal contexts. It has instilled a deep sense of empathy, advocacy, and social responsibility within me, and as I continue towards a career in medicine, I strive to be not just a healer of bodies, but also a supporter of justice, equality, and love.”
About Susan Cisneros (2023) Heading link
Susan Cisneros is a GWS major, with minors in Black Studies and Disability and Human Development. She worked with UIC’s Campus Advocacy Network (CAN) on this year’s Clothesline Project, an interactive exhibit featuring messages of resilience, healing, and hope for individuals and communities impacted by interpersonal violence and abuse. She also tutors and mentors students with the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council. Susan describes connecting with GWS as “a journey that teaches you many things such as grieving, healing, creating community and loving.”
About Michael Oliveros (2022) Heading link
I am extremely excited to be awarded the GWS Undergraduate Prize! Thank you so much for the recognition, I hope to continue to work hard to connect and uplift the GWS community!
About Mads Campbell (2021) Heading link
“I’ve started to understand that the rivers, the forests, the stones, are actually extensions of ourselves. Or, we could be extensions of those ecosystems too, and that we’re actually not removed from the set of relationships that build an ecosystem. We’re actually totally embedded in them” (Carolina Caycedo, 2019).
About Huong Trinh (2021) Heading link
Being a part of the GWS program at UIC not only become a better person but a better activist as well. The professors that I’ve had the pleasure to study under equipped me with an abundance of knowledge that I will now carry with me throughout my personal and professional life.
Earlier Awardees Heading link
| 2019 | Vanessa Guzman, Zain Monthner Dababneh |
|---|---|
| 2018 | Siham El-Samahi |
| 2017 | Ariana Johnson |
| 2016 | Jessica Parrish |
| 2015 | DJ Sedlock |
| 2014 | Amelia Stamsta |
| 2013 | Lauren Bianchi |
| 2012 | Nedra Nene White |
| 2011 | Reyna Wences |
| 2010 | Madison Elsascha |
| 2008 | Gabrielle Anderson |
| 2007 | Joyce Yin |
| 2006 | Elizabeth Vituli |
| 2005 | Sadiya Ahmed, Lesley Skousen-Chio |
| 2004 | Tania Unzueta |