2015 MES Award Winners

On April 29, 2015 the Department of Near Eastern Studies gathered to recognize 41 graduating majors and 4 award winners.

Antara Afrin and Tesneem Alkiek were co-winners of The Hajia Razia Sharif Sheikh Scholarship in Islamic Studies.  This award was established to honor the memory of Hajja Razia Sharif Sheikh, the mother of a Southeast Michigan Islamic community member. She was a leader in her faith and the mother of eight children. This annual award recognizes undergraduate students who have written an exceptional essay for a Near Eastern Studies Islamic studies course in the previous Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall terms.

Adbulkarim Alamry and Marian Smith were co-winners of The Great Books of Islamic Civilization Prize.  This prize is given annually in the Department of Near Eastern Studies to two graduate students who have shown diligence in research, academic performance, and professional pursuits within the area of Islamic studies. Students are nominated by faculty within the department and receive the gift of a book of scholarly importance for Islamic studies.

Lizz Huntley and Caroline Robinson were co-winners of The Raji Rammuny Aard for Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language.  This award recognizes two graduate students each year who have shown excellence in the field of teaching Arabic as a foreign language. Recipients of the award are nominated by Arabic language faculty who believe that the students have performed above and beyond the norm in both their academic and professional pursuits.

Rona Beresh won The Shuckran Kamal and Julia Segall-Derfler Memorial Award. This award celebrates the lives of Shuckran Kamal and Julia Segall-Derfler and the special relationship they formed as mentor and mentee working at the U.S. State Department. Both Shuckran and Julia were dedicated to the fields of language and translation, pursuing lives that valued the diversity of human culture and promoted understanding among peoples of the world. This annual award recognizes one exceptional student in either Arabic or Hebrew language who has shown a commitment to language study and an interest in translation.