Suzanne J. O’Brien Book Awards for Outstanding First Year Students

The Suzanne J. O’Brien Book Award is cosponsored by the Iota Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and the College at the University of Rochester. The award was first conceived and presented in 2003 as a way of recognizing excellence at the very beginning of a student’s college experience. Awardees are selected for their scholarly achievement, humanistic values, cocurricular activity, and leadership potential.

Formerly called the Iota Book Award, it was renamed in 2016 in honor of Suzanne O’Brien ’59, a Phi Beta Kappa member and longtime director of the College Center for Advising Services, upon her retirement as associate dean of the College.

The Iota Chapter designed the award around the gift of a book in honor of the intellectual and humanistic values promoted by Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society.

“The accomplishments of these students in music, campus leadership, athletics, and research tell me that the future is in pretty good hands.”

Iota Chapter president Nicholas Gresens, associate professor in the Department of Religion and Classics

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2023 Suzanne J. O’Brien Book Award Recipients

Aryan Dhawan
Keira Donnelly
Aakanksha Dutta
Trisha George
Waly Karim
Alhussein Khalil
Riya Kunderan
Kathryn Lambright
Leo Liang
Aashay Mardikar
Lara Mengu
Caro Naranjo
Joe Stempien
Carly Velicer
Carly Zubrzycki

View past recipients >