On Monday, May 26, the Lewis Center for the Arts celebrates graduates of the Class of 2025 who earned minors and degrees through the Programs in Creative Writing, Dance, Theater & Music Theater, and Visual Arts.
A Note from the Lewis Center for the Arts Chair Judith Hamera
Welcome to the 2025 Lewis Center for the Arts Class Day: our recognition and celebration of our graduating seniors’ achievements during their time with us. Class of ’25, you have been curious and inspiring students, bold and ambitious creators, conscientious collaborators, and excellent models of the LCA’s contributions to the intellectual life of Princeton. I hope your time with us, including your performances, exhibitions, and writings, and your big, fearless questions, stays with you. I hope it informs the ways you approach whatever you do next, and I hope it impels you to be unflagging advocates for the important work the arts do in the world. We need you. On behalf of the entire LCA, most enthusiastic congratulations and thank you.
Graduates Receiving a Minor
Creative Writing
Sunny Ball
Thia Bian
Annie Cao
Noelle Carpenter
Jeanie Chang
Malia Gyr Chung
Rosemary Dietz
Rahma Elsheikh
Brenden Garza
Will Hartman
Youngseo Lee
Molly Lopkin
Isabel Max
Charles Nuermberger
David Odekunle
Cassadie Royalty
Emanuelle Sivan Wirtschafter Sippy
Daniel Viorica
Bracklinn Williams
Layla Williams
Andrew Zacks
Audrey Zhang
Dance
Moses Abrahamson
Ethan Arrington
Adam Littman Davis
Tierra Lewis
Seyi Oderinde
Madison Qualls
Paige Lorna Sherman
Elitsa Reinglass Sklar
Kate Stewart
Daniel Tajes
Clara Toujas
Faith Mary Wangermann
Kiara Marie Wassoodew
Theater & Music Theater
Khalil Benjamin
Aleena Brown
Jeffery Chen
Stephenie Chen
Avi Chesler
Matthew Ciccone
Jehiyah Coles
Dominic Dominguez
Andrew Duke
Caitlin Durkin
Vincent Gerardi
Molly Lopkin
Katharine McLaughlin
Oriana Nelson
Violet Prete
Lev Ricanati
Charlie Roth
Wasif Sami
Alison Silldorff
Tevin Singei
Alex Slisher
Kate Stewart
John Venegas Juarez
Daniel Viorica
John Wallar
Faith Mary Wangermann
Chloe Webster
Le’Naya Wilkerson
Layla Williams
Visual Arts
Minors:
Stella Amyot
Nathalie Barnes
Lea Casano-Boris
Kelsey Champeau
Tiffany Deane
Rodrigo Galindo-Tejeda
Noreen Hosny
Azi Jones
Isadora Alsadir Knutsen
Schuyler Saint-Phard
Corey Segal
Marie Sirenko
Lily Turri
Magnus von Ziegesar
Jasper Waldman
Caroline Weaver
Practice of Art Majors:
Dana Corbo
Paige Morton
Kate Stewart
Audrey Zhang
Senior Awards
A number of seniors receive awards for outstanding achievement in each Program and top academic prizes are awarded by the Lewis Center Program Directors for overall achievement in the arts.
Top Academic Prizes
Presented by Judith Hamera, Chair of the Lewis Center for the Arts and Professor of Dance
The Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts, presented annually to one or more graduating seniors who have demonstrated excellence or the highest standard of proficiency, in performance or execution or in the field of composition in the following general areas: music, theater, dance, painting, sculpture or photography, is awarded to Kasey Shao and Wasif Sami.
The Toni Morrison Prize that honors the late Toni Morrison, Nobel Prize Laureate and Robert F. Goheen Professor in the Humanities, Emeritus, will be given to one or more graduating seniors whose individual or collaborative artistic practice has pushed the boundaries and enlarged the scope of our understanding of issues of race. This prize honors work in any form that, in the spirit of Morrison’s, is “characterized by visionary force and poetic import.” Schuyler Saint-Phard and Rahma Elsheikh are recipients of this year’s award.
The Lewis Center for the Arts Action Based Community Engagement Award is awarded to the student or students whose contributions to the Lewis Center embody a commitment to “interrogating that which is accepted or understood in an attempt to break into the territory of the unknown or under-explored.” Nathalie Barnes and Oriana Nelson are the recipients of this year’s award.
Creative Writing Prizes
Patricia Smith, Professor of Creative Writing
Theodore H. Holmes ’51 and Bernice Holmes Poetry Prize — Emanuelle Sivan Wirtschafter Sippy
Samuel Shellabarger Memorial Prize in Creative Writing — Charles Nuermberger
Joyce Carol Oates Award — Rosemary Dietz
Outstanding Work by a Senior — Youngseo Lee
James Richardson Award — Thia Bian
Read a description of each Creative Writing award
Dance Prizes
Susan Marshall, Professor and Director of the Program in Dance
Francis LeMoyne Page Class of 1922 Prize for Outstanding Achievement in the Creative Arts — Ethan Arrington, Moses Abrahamson, Madison Qualls
Ze’eva Cohen Senior Award — Elitsa Reinglass Sklar
Outstanding Senior Independent Project — Clara Toujas, Tierra Lewis, Faith Mary Wangermann
Sustained Community Achievement Award — Adam Littman Davis, Paige Lorna Sherman
Read a description of each Dance award
Theater & Music Theater Prizes
Jane Cox, Professor of the Practice and Director of the Program in Theater & Music Theater
Francis LeMoyne Page Class of 1922 Prize for Outstanding Achievement in the Creative Arts — Layla Williams
Innovation in Theater Making Award — Dominic Dominguez
Outstanding Contribution to Theater — Avi Chesler, Vincent Gerardi, Molly Lopkin, Alex Slisher
Creative and Community Leadership Award — Aleena Brown
Outstanding Work by a Senior in Theater (Senior Prize) — Stephenie Chen
Outstanding Contribution to Music Theater — Jeffery Chen
Tim Vasen Award for Talent and Citizenship — Le’Naya Wilkerson
Read a description of each Theater & Music Theater award
Visual Arts Prizes
Jeff Whetstone, Professor and Director of the Program in Visual Arts
Jim Seawright Award in Visual Arts — Dana Corbo
Lucas Award in Visual Arts — Stella Amyot, Nathalie Barnes, Lea Casano-Boris, Kelsey Champeau, Tiffany Deane, Rodrigo Galindo-Tejeda, Azi Jones, Isadora Alsadir Knutsen, Paige Morton, Schuyler Saint-Phard, Corey Segal, Marie Sirenko, Magnus Von Ziegesar, Jasper Waldman, Audrey Zhang
Read a description of each Visual Arts award
Land Acknowledgement
The Lewis Center for the Arts is working to create a living land acknowledgement, one that is embodied in its consideration of—and engagement with—the past, present, and future. As we continue this work, we acknowledge that this building sits on land considered part of the ancient homelands of the Lenni-Lenape peoples and that this campus was built on this land with no recorded consultation with the Lenni-Lenape peoples. We acknowledge that learning about history and making this statement isn’t enough. Equally important is our ongoing work to understand past harms; build awareness in present relationships and actions; and bring imagination, creative problem-solving, and community-building to the future of our programs. We are taking actions towards these goals within our curriculum, pedagogy, and programming. We invite you to learn more about the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative at Princeton.
Lewis Center for the Arts
Chair: Judith Hamera
Executive Director: Marion Friedman Young
Director of Princeton Atelier: Paul Muldoon
Director of the Program in Creative Writing: Yiyun Li
Director of the Program in Dance: Susan Marshall
Associate Director of Dance: Rebecca Lazier
Director of the Program in Theater & Music Theater: Jane Cox
Director of Fellowships: Stacy Wolf
Director of the Program in Visual Arts: Jeff Whetstone
Associate Director of Visual Arts: Pam Lins
View a list of Lewis Center for the Arts faculty
View a list of LCA staff members
The programs of the Peter B. Lewis Center for the Arts are made possible through the generous support of many alumni and other donors. View a list of LCA Supporters