2021 Welles Award Recipients Announced

If you could spend a summer pursuing any academic interest – anywhere in the world – what would you study and where would you go? With support from Lawrenceville’s William Bouton Welles Awards, 16 Lawrentians will be travelling the globe to follow their academic passions. The awards, established in memory of William Bouton Welles ‘71, fund Third and Fourth Form student research projects.

The 2021 Welles Award winners and their projects are:

Arnav Aggarwal ‘22: Create a “smart” pillbox that will keep track of the medications the patient has taken and remind them – via text messaging or Amazon Alexa – if they forget.

Kyle Baek ’22: Create a podcast series about immigrant entrepreneurship in California, including small businesses, scalable startups, large companies, and social entrepreneurs.

Ashley Cohen ‘22: Create a short film exposing the effects of COVID-19 on food insecurity in San Diego, Calif.

Jai Dalamal ‘22: Investigate sustainability in the fashion industry, including researching which materials are the most environmentally friendly and the economics of sustainable vs. non-sustainable materials.

Jess Fernandez ‘22: Create a video mini-series where bicultural members of the Lawrenceville School community will share their experiences.

Sally Lee ‘23: Create a mobile game that will allow public school students to experience and familiarize themselves with a correct Harkness method of learning.

Karolina Majewska ‘22: Expand her podcast, “The Eye Opener,” which provides information to non-traditional boarding school families and students about the many opportunities provided by boarding schools.

George McCain ‘23: Investigate whether U.S. senators leveraged their informational advantages in 2020 to reap outsized profits in the stock market relative to the returns of the general market, professional investors, and the American people.

Kyle Park ‘23: Explore the influence of haenyeos (female divers) on Korea’s Jeju Island’s transition from a patriarchy to a semi-matriarchy, and consequently, examine haenyeos’ promotion of ecofeminism as primary providers of their households.

Summer Qureshi ’22: Interview orphans and Syrian refugee children in Turkey and compile their stories into a book.

Layla Shaffer ‘22: Examine the impact of New York City’s recent single-use plastic bag ban on the ecological health of the Hudson River.

Christabelle ’23 & Hawkins Sutter ‘22: Establish a puzzle exchange in Princeton, N.J. and Trenton, N.J. to promote off-screen cognitive development.

Tesia Thomas ‘22: Create a comprehensive, accessible, and free robotics curriculum for students who have had limited exposure to STEM education.

Richard Zhou ’22: Create a guide for New Jersey SEEDS participants that will help prepare them for the transition to and success in private schools.

Daniel Zhu ‘23: Research and survey the special education system for public school elementary students with hearing loss in the United States and document findings to raise awareness.

For additional information, please contact Lisa M. Gillard Hanson, director of Public Relations, at lgillard@lawrenceville.org.