The College of Arts and Sciences was pleased to announced two winners of the Hannah Howard Prize at this year's commencement ceremony. The Hannah Howard Prize is awarded annually to the student with the highest grade point average in the College while enrolled on a full-time basis. This year there was a tie and the recipients were Luke Dorfman and Michele Weinstein.

Luke Dorfman is from Shelburne, Vermont and graduated with a double major in English and Anthropology and a minor in Pure Mathematics. A member of the Honors College, he completed the thesis “Vermont Life Dotcom: Culture and Entrepreneurship in the Burlington, VT Tech Industry," under the supervision of Professor Ben Eastman.

Luke received the George Henry Perkins award in Anthropology and he won the English Department’s most prestigious prize for a graduating senior, the Samuel N. Bogorad award. In addition to his studies, Luke has been co-president of UVM’s Amnesty International chapter, a Peer Leader and member of the Student Advisory Group in the Honors College, and a math tutor. After UVM, Luke will have a bright future: He has been accepted into Harvard’s Graduate School of Education to pursue an Ed.M. in Education Policy and Management.

Michele Weinstein is a December 2014 graduate from Annandale, New Jersey.  She transferred to UVM in 2009 and majored in Biology with a minor in Nutrition. Course study included human physiology, anatomy, biochemistry, and nutrition, among others. At UVM she made the Dean’s List numerous times; she was recognized by Residential Life as one of 100 undergraduate students living on-campus with GPAs in the top 5 percent of on-campus students, also known as STARS; and she was inducted into the National Society for Collegiate Scholars and Phi Beta Kappa. Michele is an avid outdoor enthusiast who partakes in a variety of water related activities, from swimming to skiing to kayaking to extreme tubing.

Michele is currently contemplating whether to pursue a career in medicine or within the fitness industry in hopes to better the lives of others. She has a deep interest in nutrition and its potential in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases.