Four seniors have been selected for the prestigious Dean’s Prize in the College of Letters & Science’s 2024–2025 graduating class. These scholars exemplify the goals of a liberal arts education and core concepts of the Wisconsin Experience: empathy and humility, relentless curiosity, intellectual confidence and purposeful action. Criteria for nomination are a minimum 3.75 cumulative GPA and 24 completed Honors credits.
Dean’s Prize recipients are awarded $1,500 and a plaque presented by Dean Eric M. Wilcots, Mary C. Jacoby Professor of Astronomy, at the L&S Honors Commencement Reception on May 9.
Axell Boomer (’25) is from South Beloit, Illinois, and will graduate this semester with a BA in history (Honors) and religious studies and Honors in the liberal arts. Boomer’s independent research project with Matt Villeneuve, assistant professor in the departments of History and American Indian & Indigenous Studies, focused on Hononegah, an Indigenous woman whose story has been used to rewrite the narrative of Ho-Chunk and Potawatomi removal in Rockton, Illinois. This research will be published in the Journal of Illinois State Historical Society. Boomer has presented his research at multiple conferences, is a research intern with the Nonviolence Project and has received a Beinecke Scholarship.
“[He] is one of the most intellectually ambitious and accomplished undergraduate students I have taught in my 22-year teaching career. His intellectual talents are matched with an earnestness, hunger for learning and humility that make him an excellent scholar and a sheer joy to work with,” says Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen, Merle Curti and Vilas-Borghesi Distinguished Achievement Professor of History. Ratner-Rosenhagen is advising Boomer’s senior Honors thesis, which investigates how Protestant Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries utilize historical memories of Abraham Lincoln to reconceptualize settlerhood and Indigeneity.
Boomer will spend the next year working as a historical research data specialist for UW’s Center for Health Disparities Research and aspires to pursue a PhD in history.
Sherrie Wu (’25) will graduate in biochemistry (Honors) this spring and Honors in the liberal arts, with a certificate in Chinese professional communication. Wu is a Mercile J. Lee Scholar from Marinette, Wisconsin. She has conducted numerous medical research studies on bacteria while on campus. She was introduced to research as an Undergraduate Research Scholar and has since conducted independent research on bacteria and antimicrobials and received a Hilldale Undergraduate Research Fellowship. She is also a co-author on two articles and co-presenter for several presentations on antimicrobials. Wu also makes time to volunteer. “[Her] identity as a daughter of immigrants inspired her to serve as an English conversation partner to provide free and comfortable spaces for non-native speakers to practice the language,” says Emma Porterwinkel, Mercile J. Lee Scholar program advisor.
“Sherrie joined my lab as a freshman and immediately demonstrated exceptional laboratory skills and a desire to learn multidisciplinary aspects of our research,” says Lindsay Kalan, honorary fellow in the Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology and professor of health sciences at McMaster University in Canada.
In August, Wu will attend medical school. She says she plans to work in academic medicine and hopes to serve marginalized populations, especially immigrant and English as a Second Language (ESL) communities.
Sophie Boes (’25) is from Rochester, Minnesota, and graduates in May in English (Honors) and political science with Honors in the liberal arts. Boes is writing her senior honors thesis on Turkish language acquisition for adult English speakers. According to her advisor, Jacee Cho, Vilas Associate Professor of English Language and Linguistics, “The work she produced is at a graduate level, which can be developed into a PhD dissertation.” Boes has received a Hilldale Undergraduate Research Fellowship for research comparing native English speakers’ and ChatGPT’s syntax. She has published a single authored article and co-authored another, presented at an international conference and works as a research assistant in the Department of Political Science, analyzing Facebook advertisements in judicial elections.
Boes is the Writing Center’s undergraduate assistant director. “Sophie has unique abilities to communicate effectively and respectfully with them by affirming their diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds as strengths,” Cho says. Emily Hall, director of the Writing Fellows and Writing Across the Curriculum, commended Boes’ versatility. “I can place Sophie in any course... and know she will support them as writers and develop their confidence as students,” she says.
Boes has been accepted to the University of Oxford and will enroll in the linguistics, philology and phonetics Master of Studies program this fall.
Dominic Zappia (’25) is from Madison and will graduate this spring with majors in economics, political science and philosophy as well as certificates in data science and digital media analytics, and Honors in the liberal arts. Passionate about service, Zappia has taken on great responsibility at UW. “As the current Chair of Associate Students of Madison (ASM), Dom is responsible for overseeing a budget of over $1.2 million, supervising sixteen student leaders, meeting regularly with top University administration, and chairing the 33-member legislative branch of the association,” says Kelly Krein, leadership and advocacy program manager for ASM. “Dom values research and inquiry and finds ways to apply them to policy while making weighty concepts accessible to his peers,” she adds. Zappia is also a longtime house fellow for the International Learning Community and coaches Madison West High School’s mock trial team.
Zappia is a highly engaged student, taking an active role in his — and others’ — education. “Having him in class has always been like having another teacher in the room,” says Harry Brighouse, Mildred Fish Harnack Professor of Philosophy and Carol Dickson Bascom Professor of the Humanities. “He has contributed hugely to his classmates’ learning experiences, just through his conduct in the classroom. But he has contributed so much more through his activity within the institution.”
Zappia will teach high school students in Boston this fall with AmeriCorps. After a year of service, Zappia hopes to pursue graduate studies in political science and/or law.