Congratulations to Anja Samsom and Maya Griffith for being awarded with the Mariafranca Morselli Leadership Award from the Women and Gender Equity. This award is given annually to students for their leadership qualities, academic excellence in the sciences, and significant contributions to the awareness of campus of women's rights. The awards will be presented as part of the MARCH: A Celebration of Leaders in Gender Equity event on March 21st. Meet these two recipients below:
Anja Samsom (she/her) is a Computer Science & Information Systems major in the Honors College in the class of 2024. As the vice president of the Society of Women in Computer Science (SWiCS), Anja works to hold events to make women and femmes feel welcome and supported while pursuing computer science. Her next project with SWiCS is hopefully starting a small scholarship for women and femmes interested in studying computer science at UVM! She also engages with prospective students interested in studying computer science at UVM to help promote the program, especially to underrepresented people in the sciences. Anja enjoys spending her free time working with Girls Who Code, making shows for UVM TV, and going to book club!
Maya Griffith (she/her) is a Computer Science major and math minor in the class of 2024. As the president of the Society of Women in Computer Science (SWiCS), she works to create an inclusive space for women in CS, and encourage and support other female-identifying people to study technology. Maya often enjoys doing yoga and ballet, and is going to be spending her summer teaching at Girls who Code!
Congratulations to these talented recipients!