In order to celebrate all who build Columbia University's spirit, the University Trustees and the Board of the Columbia Alumni Association (CAA) established The Campbell Award, which is presented by the CAA to a graduating student at each School who shows exceptional leadership and Columbia spirit as exemplified by the late Bill Campbell '62CC, '64TC, Chair Emeritus, University Trustee and CAA co-founder.
Congratulations to the 2016 Campbell Award Winners
Harrison Bergman '16SEAS
A 5th place NCAA foilist in his junior year, he's captain of the fencing team, a leader on the Columbia Outdoor Orientation Program, and a member of the Columbia Athletics Leaders for Life program, which he was selected for when only a sophomore.
Daniel Billings '15NRS, '17NRS
He's an admissions ambassador, peer mentor leader, Robert Wood Johnson New Careers in Nursing mentor, tireless alumni relations volunteer, and alumni tour guide, just to name a few, because there are never enough opportunities for him to share his Columbia spirit.
Katharine Celentano '16GS
Twice elected Undergraduate Student Representative to the CAA Board, we've gotten to know our next honoree well over the past two years, and we couldn't be happier that this unbelievable student leader has been re-elected to the Board as an alumna.
Austin Coe '16PH
As president of the Graduate Student Association, he led the charge to work with the other Medical Center Schools to launch a successful blood drive for New York Presbyterian Hospital, as well as a conference for innovation in medicine, InnovateMED.
Ajith Das Menon '16SIPA
As president of the SIPA Student Association and orientation peer advisor, he worked with student organizations across Schools to enhance student life, including an initiative to promote collaboration between student organizations through jointly sponsored weekly social events.
Catherine Djang '16LAW
The pro bono chair of the Columbia Law ACLU chapter and treasurer for the Women’s Association, she led the creation of peer facilitated sexual respect conversations, together with a reading group on sexual assault, programs that reached 900 students across all of Columbia’s Schools.
Alexandra Greco '16DM
As the Dental Medicine representative to the University Senate, she worked with students from every School at Columbia, and her volunteerism extends off campus and into the local community, where she worked on oral hygiene programs for children and seniors.
Christina Kyrillos '16BC
She served as orientation leader for the New Student Orientation Program and co-president of the Columbia University Performance Arts League, to name just two of her many leadership positions working with students from Barnard, the College, Engineering, and General Studies.
Drew Muller '16SPS
He was a member of the first Columbia cohort to partner with the global soccer brand FC Bayern Munich, where his leadership brought together students from multiple schools, countries, and backgrounds to create a digital strategy that was successfully presented to the brand's US office.
Rashad Palmer '16GSAPP
Another outstanding University senator and student representative to the CAA Board, his leadership on the Masters in Real Estate Development Student Council brought the program to 100% participation on Giving Day 2016, the only program to do so.
Angelica Patterson '16GSAS
She serves as president of Women in Science at Columbia and is on the Executive Leadership of the GSAS Student of Color Alliance. She is recognized not only as a leader in her department, but also in research, diversity, and inclusion efforts across the University.
Kiara Reed '16BUS
She is co-president of the Black Business Students Association and past president of SIPA Students of Color. She spearheaded the SIPA Race Symposium with the School of Social Work, building bridges across Schools to lead vital conversations about diversity and inclusion.
Jonah Rubin '16PS
As an undergraduate, he founded a nonprofit focused on promoting college eligibility for underserved high school students. As a med student, he grew the concept into MedEDge, to encourage underrepresented students to work towards studies in the healthcare field.
Alice Shindelar '16SOA
She was chair of Columbia Women in Film, which she worked to open to undergraduates across the University, and she curated a panel of female film MFA alumni as a means to expand and maintain relationships with the community of female filmmakers after graduation.
Jasmin Tobar '16SW
An on- and off-campus advocate for social justice and undocumented persons, she is a key organizer of the cross-campus #RiseUpOctober and "No one is illegal" initiatives, and works with prominent scholars and panelists in partnership with Latino organizations across the University.
Ilgin Yorulmaz '16JRN
A member of the Arab & Middle Eastern Journalists Association, she launched a letter-writing campaign with the Committee to Protect Journalists to engage students and faculty on the plight of journalists wrongly imprisoned worldwide for their work.
Nada Zaher '16CC
She played on the 2013 Ivy League Champion Women's Tennis team, and now serves as vice president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and communications chair of the Columbia University Resident Hall Leadership Organization, where she is known as a leader to students across the University.
After learning of Bill's passing, the award recipients sent messages to the CAA about Bill, his impact, and the importance of this award. Here are a few selections from those messages:
Mr. Campbell not only made an impact as a great leader on campus, but took his leadership well beyond Columbia, inspiring the best performance out of so many. I hope to continue this tradition, by staying connected to Columbia and the students that will follow in our path.
- Daniel Billings '17NRS
I was deeply saddened when I learned of his passing. This great man influenced the world, myself included, without many of us realizing it. We will not know the loss of what his continued leadership and guidance might have led to.
- Jonah Rubin '16PS
I am truly honored to be chosen as part of the inaugural class of the 2016 Campbell Award. Columbia University's commitment and promotion of academic excellence, diversity, and community is what I value most and I'm grateful to be a part of that commitment in both my academic and extracurricular activities. Whatever path life leads me, I know that my time will be dedicated to inspiring young adults to take steps towards personal and professional development and academic achievement so that they can become inspirational in their communities.
- Angelica Patterson '16GSAS
It is a tremendous, tremendous honor to receive this award. The more I learn about Bill Campbell, the more I have come to appreciate his truly remarkable legacy. If I can in my lifetime achieve one small fraction of all that he has done for Columbia, I will be very proud.
- Catherine Djang '16LAW
Being part of the inaugural class of Campbell Award winners is an honor for which I am extremely grateful. In my time at the Mailman School of Public Health I have had the opportunity to take on leadership positions that allowed me to work closely with faculty, administrative staff, and other students. As an alumni I hope to continue to serve the Columbia community by taking an active role in the School of Public Health Alumni Association.
- Austin Coe '16PH
Bill Campbell's legacy lives on through his amazing work at Columbia and abroad, the many lives he has positively affected, and now this wonderful award. I am so honored and proud to be a part of the inaugural class of Campbell Award winners and I will continue to strive for the same excellence Bill believed all Columbia students could achieve.- Rashad Palmer '16GSAPP