Catherine Yonker Award Recipients Announced

Trinity recently announced the 2014 Catherine Yonker Memorial Award recipients:

Rochelle Burks ’14 of Downers Grove, Illinois,
a May graduate of the social work department

Marisa Lopez ’16 of Burbank, Illinois,
a communication arts major

Staff member Tippi Price, access librarian

The award celebrates men and women whose “ideas and actions promote understanding and appreciation of cultural, ethnic, and racial issues on Trinity’s campus,” according to the Ethnic Diversity Committee.

Members of the Trinity community nominate candidates, including students, faculty, staff, and administrators early in the spring semester. A subcommittee then reviews each nominee and selects recipients by the end of the school year. Typically, the award is granted to one individual, unless a case equal contribution is presented.

Burks was recognized for her membership in a committee that sought to help Trinity even more fully “embrace and exalt” minority students. “Through this project I learned what it takes to inspire a shared vision and promote change,” Burks said.

Ashley Roberts ’15 of Tracy, California; Molly Gobeli ’15 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Evan Geels ’16 of Sheldon, Iowa, were also members of the committee.