The Women’s Society of Washington University presented the Harriet K. Switzer Leadership Award and the Elizabeth Gray Danforth Scholarship to three exceptional students at its annual membership meeting, held April 12 in Knight Hall’s Emerson Auditorium.
The Switzer Leadership Award is named in honor of Harriet K. Switzer for her contribution to the Women’s Society and her commitment to leadership development. The award is given to students who show a commitment to the university and leadership at the undergraduate level. This year’s recipients are Maeve Lomax, Shelei Pan and Haleigh Pine, who all recently earned their bachelor’s degrees.
“This year, the committee agreed that these women are most deserving of recognition for their creative, generous and capable leadership,” said Kathy Fulstone, chair of the leadership committee. “We offer gratitude for all they have done for the Washington University community and the hope they give us for the future.”
Lomax majored in mechanical engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering. She is the third president of WashU Rocketry and has grown the group from 10 students in 2020 to 60. Lomax also has served as vice president of Kappa Delta sorority and secretary of Pi Tau Sigma, a mechanical engineering honor society. She has been an intern at Lockheed Martin and Spirit AeroSystems and plans to begin her career at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas.
Pan is a December graduate who majored in the neuroscience track of biology in Arts & Sciences. She worked as a research assistant in the Department of Cardiology and as an undergraduate researcher in the Department of Neurosurgery, both at the School of Medicine. Pan plans to pursue an MD-PhD at the School of Medicine and to become a neurosurgeon-scientist.
Pine, a biomedical engineering major at the McKelvey School of Engineering, has been actively involved with Lay First Responders International, a nonprofit organization founded by WashU students that trains community members from resource-limited settings in basic emergency care. She spent five weeks in Mukono, Uganda, in 2022 partnering with local organizations and training lay instructors in basic first aid and triage techniques. Pine next plans to attend medical school.
The Elizabeth Gray Danforth Scholarship, which provides a two-year full-tuition scholarship, is awarded to impressive community-college transfer students. This year’s recipient is Delanie Osborne, a student at St. Louis Community College.
Osborne is an honors painting student whose artwork has been shown in the school’s art gallery and at the St. Louis Artists’ Guild. She plans to pursue a fine arts degree, with a concentration in painting, at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. She also plans to teach painting or draw at the college level and have her own art show.
Danforth Scholarship recipients also receive an Ida H. Early startup grant, which helps cover indirect educational expenses during the first-year transition.
Following the annual meeting, Lori Coulter, MBA ’99 and co-founder and CEO of Summersalt, delivered this year’s Adele Starbird Lecture. Coulter spoke about her female-founded eco-friendly swimwear company and her advocacy for positive body image for women.
