While Class Day celebrates the accomplishments of all graduates, the ceremony also recognizes the achievements of an exceptional group of students, including the valedictorian and salutatorian. Read on to learn more about other students who will receive academic awards and prizes on Tuesday, May 19.
Katherine Morse, Charles M. Rolker Prize
This prize is awarded to the member of the Columbia College graduating class who is judged by classmates to be most worthy of special distinction because of scholarship, participation in student activities or any combination thereof.
Morse’s time at Columbia has been defined by her commitment to both her coursework and her cancer research, which examines the disease’s trajectory from its molecular origins to its clinical outcomes. She has contributed to published papers on DNA repair in The Greene Lab and studies trends in cancer therapies with a Columbia oncologist. A biology major, Morse was a biochemistry TA, with a focus on creating an inclusive environment. She has also been an S-HEAL health educator, teaching local high schoolers.
Morse is also the founder of Cleaning4SkinCancer, a nonprofit dedicated to skin cancer prevention alongside environmental awareness, through which she facilitated CARE (Community Action, Responsibility and Engagement)’s New Student Orientation Program activities. Outside of her academic passions, Morse volunteered in the New York-Presbyterian Emergency Department, supported pediatric patients through a hospital playroom and tutored second-grade students in Harlem.
Camylin Blake, James J. Valentini Prize
This prize is awarded to a Columbia College graduating senior who demonstrates the qualities of Beginner’s Mind through their true curiosity for and desire to learn from different perspectives.The award is named in honor of Dean Emeritus of Columbia College James J. Valentini.
Blake will graduate with a degree in biology and psychology, having followed the pre-med track. She distinguished herself as a student-athlete as a captain of the women’s track and field team and Columbia’s current 100m hurdles record holder. Beyond athletics and academics, Blake was deeply engaged in campus life, contributing to affinity groups that foster community, identity and meaningful dialogue. She also participated in many learning opportunities outside of the classroom, including the Global Columbia Collaboratory in The Gambia. One of her most notable commitments was her extensive involvement with the Roger Lehecka Double Discovery Center, through which she mentored and supported underrepresented high school students in the New York City area.
Blake will attend the University of Cincinnati to pursue a master’s in community health and prevention science, while continuing her track aspirations in the Big 12 Conference.
Luca Ma Nashabeh, Albert Asher Green Memorial Prize
This prize is given to the Columbia College senior who has been a student in good standing in the College for at least three years and who has made the best record of scholarship. It was established in 1913 by Mr. and Mrs. Asher Green in memory of their son, Albert Asher Green, Class of 1914.
Nashabeh, a Rabi scholar from the Bay Area, majored in physics and mathematics, with a particular interest in condensed matter physics. He initially worked with experimental scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) with the Pasupathy Research Group, aiming to discover and explain unique quantum phenomena in 2D crystals. Subsequently, Nashabeh pursued more theoretical projects, working with Columbia’s Héctor Ochoa De Eguileor Romillo, an associate research scientist and adjunct professor, on the effect of strain in multilayer graphene moiré heterostructures. Most recently, he worked on the prediction of experimentally achievable superconductivity in novel electron-hole bilayer systems. Nashabeh’s research earned him recognition as a 2025 Goldwater Scholar and a 2026 Churchill Scholar. He was also involved with the Columbia University Airplane Club and the Columbia Society of Physics Students.
Next year, Nashabeh will pursue a master of advanced study in mathematics, specifically theoretical physics, at the University of Cambridge.
Sarah Bryden, David B. Truman Alumni Award
This award is presented to the Columbia College student who has made the most distinguished contribution to the academic affairs of the College. It was established in 1970 in honor of David B. Truman, former dean of the College.
Bryden is a double-major in history and linguistics and was a junior inductee of Phi Beta Kappa. On campus, she pursued research in both disciplines through the Laidlaw Scholarship and the Humanities Research Scholars program, focusing on Quechua and Yucatec Maya in the early colonial period. As a Rose Research Ambassador this year, she promoted engagement with research and the Core Curriculum. She also served as a student representative to the Committee on Instruction and the Committee on the Global Core. Beyond campus, as a research assistant for projects at Lancaster University/Tec de Monterrey and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, she supported public-facing research about Yucatec Maya using both historical and linguistic methods.
After graduation, Bryden will travel to Mongolia to help document the Oirat language as a Projects for Peace Fellow, and then will pursue an M.Phil. in early modern history as a Doctorow Fellow at Oxford.
Sebastian Pallais-Aks, Alumni Prize
This prize is awarded by the Columbia College Alumni Association to the Columbia College senior judged by classmates to be the most faithful and deserving.
Pallais-Aks will graduate with a degree in mathematics and computer science. On campus, he was president of the Student Ambassadors for Columbia College Alumni, a research assistant in the Chemical Genomics Laboratory, an RA in Watt Hall, a print editor for the Columbia Undergraduate Law Review and a Storytelling Fellow for the Undergraduate Community Initiative. Pallais-Aks also performed in the Music Performance Program’s Latin Music ensembles and was involved with student theater. In addition to his time on campus, he spent a semester abroad in Buenos Aires, where he explored his Jewish and Latino heritage and researched legal frameworks for digital privacy. Pallais-Aks distinguished himself as a leader and technologist, interning at Coopersmith Law & Strategy, McMaster-Carr and Amazon, where he will return post grad to work full time.
Sarah Chagares, Robert Lincoln Carey Memorial Prize
This prize is awarded annually by the Columbia College Alumni Association to the Columbia College senior who, demonstrating admirable academic achievement along with other outstanding achievements at the College, best exemplifies the ideals that Robert Lincoln Carey sought to engender in the students of Columbia College.
Chagares, a double major in history and political science, served as editor-in-chief of the Columbia Journal of History, was the president of Peace by PEACE (a program that encourages community building and conflict resolution in Harlem elementary schools), was a board member of the non-partisan Columbia Political Science Students Association and a mentor and tutor for underserved communities, volunteering more than 500 hours. Chagares is also a member of Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society and was on the Corporate Engagement Committee for the Columbia Women’s Business Society. She was a member of the Columbia Alumni Association all four years, including roles with Columbia College Women and Columbia College Young Alumni. Chagares completed internships at the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic, at the United States District Court, and in the Wealth Management division at UBS. Last summer she was an intern at the cross asset derivatives trading desk at JPMorgan, where she will return after graduation.
Rachel Smith, Alumni Association Achievement Award
This prize is awarded annually to the member of the Columbia College senior class who is judged to be most outstanding for qualities of mind, character and service to the College.
Smith was a pre-medical student and will graduate with a degree in comparative literature and a minor in chemistry. She is completing her yearlong tenure as program director at WKCR 89.9 FM, where she oversees on-air content, plans broadcasts, and strengthens the connections between the station’s student and alumni hosts. As a mentoring co-chair for Student Ambassadors for Columbia College Alumni, she encourages students to reach out to alumni for academic, career and personal advice; she also is a member of Seniors for the Columbia College Fund. Off campus, she volunteers at The Reading Team, an afterschool literacy program in Harlem and NYU Langone Health.