Two seniors are lauded for commitment to public service

Two Yale seniors were honored during Class Day exercises with the Roosevelt L. Thompson Prize for their commitment to public service.

The Roosevelt L. Thompson Prize is awarded to a member of the senior class who has demonstrated an extraordinary capacity for public service — service to “the team, the college, the community.”

The names of the awardees and their citations follow.  

Sam Martin (Ezra Stiles College)

A double major in economics and political science, captain of the varsity basketball team, and a freshman counselor in Ezra Stiles, you have been deeply engaged in many different communities on campus over four years. For your leadership, good counsel to fellow students, high personal standards, service both on and off campus, genuine warmth and concern for others, we gladly award you the Thompson Prize.

Ruth Montiel (Trumbull College)

Your summers are spent abroad teaching English in Uganda; researching ethnic conflict and reconciliation in Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Kenya; and human rights issues in Argentina and Latin America. On campus, you devote nearly all your time outside the classroom to human rights causes through numerous student organizations that deal with these issues. A student activist and leader whose efforts have made a difference in human rights and justice in the United States and abroad, we proudly award you the Thompson Prize.