Warren native Andrew Zawacki was recently honored by the University of Georgia with the Graduate School Outstanding Mentoring Award. An assistant professor in the English Department and its Creative Writing Program, Zawacki was nominated by two of his Ph. D. students, before that nomination was supported by eight further testimonials from doctoral and master's students, as well as by a letter from the English department's graduate coordinator. Graduate students under Zawacki's direction have praised his "kindness, approachability, generosity, flexibility, and intellectual rigor" and assert that they have "rarely met a professor with more professionalism and compassion for his students." He is "an excellent example," according to a recent MFA graduate, "of how one can live ethically in the world and transmit that energy unto others," while another expressed the confidence that comes from having in Zawacki "a supremely composed, eager, and demanding figure at your back, never shouting but always offering encouragement."
The criteria for the award include excellence in research guidance, impact on students individually and as a group, and preparation for career decision-making and advancement. This year, the graduate school gave two university-wide mentoring awards, one in humanities/fine and applied arts, and one in life/physical sciences, Zawacki was recognized at an annual faculty awards banquet in April.
A graduate of The College of William and Mary, Oxford University and The University of St. Andrews, Zawacki is the author of three full-length poetry volumes: Petals of Zero Petals of One(Talisman House, 2009), Anabranch(Wesleyan, 2004), and By Reason of Breakings(Georgia, 2002). His poems, translations, essay, and interviews have appeared in The New Yorker, The New Republic, American Poetry Review, the Times Literary Supplement, and other international magazines. His long poem "Georgia" was awarded the 1913 Prize from 1913: a journal of forms and will be released this summer, in French translation by Sika Fakamb, by the Bordeaux published Editions de l'Attente. Coeditor of the international journal Verse and The Verse Book of Interviews(Verse, 2005), Zawacki has edited Ales Debelijaks new and selected poems, Without Anesthesia, due next year from Persea Books; Gustaf Sobin's collected poems, forthcoming from Talisman House; and the anthology Afterwards: Slovenian Writing 1945-1995(White Pine, 1999). His translation of French poet Sebastien Smirou's Mon Laurent is forthcoming, as My Lorenzo, from Burning Deck Press. At UGA, Zawacki just finished teaching a yearlong undergraduate seminar on Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time.
A former Rhodes and Fulbright Scholar, Zawacki is also a doctoral candidate at The University of Chicago. He is the son of John and Cathryn Zawacki of Warren. Andrew and his wife, Sandrine, reside in Athens, Ga.
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Peter D. Mack graduated from Coastal Carolina University, Conway, S.C., with a bachelor of science degree in business administration. He has accepted a position with Ricoh Office Systems in Washington, D.C., and resides in Alexandria, Va. He is the son of Cindy and Chris Mack and was a 2004 graduate of Warren Area High School.
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Jacquelyn Lee Legere-Smoulder has received the degree of bachelor of industrial and manufacturing engineering with a minor in physics from Cleveland State's Fenn College of Engineering. Her awards included an Academics Honor Medallion for her summa cum laude rank (3.9 grade average). Tau Beta Pi which is the National Engineering Honor Society, Golden Key which is the International Honor Society, Fenn College Steel Ring Award for being the highest ranking student in her engineering programs during her junior and senior years.
She also received high recognition for her work with Goodrich in the F-35 Landing Gear Division, which she completed in addition to her classroom studies during her senior year. The F-35 is a vertical take of a fighter jet.
On June 1, Legere-Smoulder began her career working with SwageLok based in Cleveland, Ohio. Her position is with the career development program that recruits/selects just two qualifying young engineers each year to work in the Corporate Engineering Program. She competed during a three-day professional interviewing process with top engineers selected from their universities, which included Purdue, Case Western, Penn State and many others. Her placement begins within the Semi-Conductors Unit.
Legere-Smoulder resides in Cleveland with her husband, Dan. Her parents are Brenda and Bill Jones of Warren.
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Cassidy Noelle Fortman, daughter of Lynn C. Phinney, Warren, and the late John R. Fortman, has been accepted at Edinboro University for the fall semester. A recent graduate of Eisenhower High School, Fortman was active in Key Club, Ophelia and choir, for which she was treasurer. Fortman plans to major in photography and media arts.
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Megan Walton of Warren won an honorable mention in the national Letters About Literature sponsored by the Pennsylvania Center for the Book at Penn State University. She wrote about a poem about grieving.
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John Hamm graduated magna cum laude on May 2 from Clarion University, Venango Campus, with a grade average of 3.7. He earned an associate of applied science degree in industrial technology and earned academic honors. He is an active member of the Venango Campus Honors Program and Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society.
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Cody John Swedler graduated from Edinboro University with a bachelor of science degree in elementary and special education (grades K-12) on May 6. He was Student of the Month in October 2007 and worked as the head of student workers in the admissions office for four years, being in charge of tours on admissions day and coordinating admissions events. He was a dean's list student for four semesters. Swedler is currently the lead counselor at summer camp for ADHD and autistic children, employed by the Achievement Center, at Edinboro University. He is the son of Kim and Jack Swedler, Warren, and is a 2004 graduate of Warren Area High School.
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Zachary Kick has been named to the dean's list for the 2009 spring semester at Penn State Mount Alto Campus. He achieved a 4.0 cumulative grade average and is majoring in forestry. Kick received the 2009 Penn State President's Freshman Award which recognizes Penn State students for academic excellence. He is the son of Walt and Sandy Kick of Hearts Content.
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Kristen Mahan, daughter of Janice Armstrong and Jeff Mahan of Warren, was named to the dean's list at Malone University, Canton, Ohio, for the spring semester. To be named to the dean's list, a student must earn a grade average of 3.5 or better. Mahan is majoring in music education and is a member of the Malone Pioneer Marching Band, played with the home schooled band and attended the Ohio Private College Instrumental Conducting Association Honors Band.
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Whitney M. Paul, daughter of John and Lisa Paul, Warren, was among the Class of 2009 who received degrees at commencement at Mercyhurst College, Erie, in May. After completing studies in biology, Paul graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of science degree. She is a 2005 graduate of Warren Area High School. Paul received the President's Award from the Zurn School of Natural Science and Mathematics. She was a member of Tri Beta, National Biological Honor Society and chair of the pre-health society.
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Brandon Eschborn, son of Tina Fox of Warren, has been selected to participate in C-MITES summer program for academically talented students at Carnegie Mellon Institute. He will attend "Informal Geometry" June 15-19. He is a student at Beaty-Warren Middle School.
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Darren J. Pifer has received the John O. Hanna Scholarship from Northwest Bancorp, Inc., Charitable Foundation. He is the son of Northwest Savings Bank employee Deanna Pifer and is a 2009 graduate of Warren Area High School. Pifer is enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh.
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The Penn State Alumni Association, Warren County Chapter, has announced its $500 Anthony Scordo Memorial Book Scholarship winners for 2009. They are Nicklas Hovey of Sheffield High School, Taylor Hansen of Youngsville High School, and Sarah Stapleford of Warren Area High School.
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Two area students have been named to the Academy of Culinary Arts (Punxsutawney) Dean's Recognition List for academic excellence for the spring 2009 semester. Students are named to the list when they achieve a grade-point average of 3.25 or higher. Honored students include Cory Seeker, of Jefferson Street, Warren; and Jason Snavley, Tidioute.
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Connie A. Hutley, a senior nursing major at the University of Cincinnati, has been named to the dean's list for the winter quarter with a 3.833 grade point average. A student must earn a grade average of 3.4 or better to receive dean's list recognition. She has been working at The University Hospital, a Level One Trauma Center, in the Surgical and Trauma Intensive Care Unit through the UC College of Nursing Co-op Program since June 2008. Hutley was inducted into the International Nursing Honor Society, Sigma Theta Tau on May 30. She is the daughter of Rick and Annette Hutley, Youngsville, and is a 2005 graduate of Youngsville High School.
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Muhlenberg College, Allentown, has announced its dean's list for the spring 2008 semester. Students must earn a minimum of a 3.5 grade point average (4.0-scale) to attain dean's list status. Named was Sarah Monticue, a member of the class of 2009. She is a music and English major from Warren. She is the daughter of Grace A. Backstrom and is a graduate of Warren Area High School.