Zach Pearson
Equinox Staff
Women’s History Month 2013 ended in style Wednesday night with the Outstanding Women of N.H. Award Ceremony. This marked the twenty-third annual ceremony in which four women are recognized for their contributions to the Granite State. Each year has boasted a different theme; this year’s awards revolved around the STEM disciplines: science, technology, engineering and math.
The event is hosted annually by the campus commission for the status of women which Meriem Pages, the co-chair for the commission, described as “an advisory committee of faculty, staff, and students appointed by the president to improve the quality of life for women on this campus.”
Keene State College Interim President Jay Kahn and the nominators of each award winner presented four awards. First to the stage was the state of New Hampshire winner, Dr. Trinidad Tellez and her nominator, Dottie Morris. Her second nominator, Jessica Santos, could not attend the event.
karina barriga albring / news editor
Deena Snoke (top right), KSC biology senior and mother during the award ceremony held in the Mabel Brown Room on Wednesday, March 27. Dr. Jay Kahn (bottom left) introduced the award winners. Trinidad Tellez (bottom right), director of the Office of Minority Health and Women services, was recognized with the state award.
Tellez serves as director of the Office of Minority Health at the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services working to improve disparities in health and create better access to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for minorities. She became director of the Office of Minority Health and Refugee Affairs in 2010 and helped create the N.H. Health and Equity Partnership, a statewide coalition promoting the ideal that everyone in New Hampshire should have the chance to live a long and healthy life.
Morris praised Tellez’s career, saying, “Your work demonstrates that scientific endeavor at its very best works to further the welfare and health of all humanity.”
Looking back, Tellez recounted her surprise at hearing she had been nominated, admitting “Sometimes I think that I’m very busy, and I just think of the work I do as the work I do. I don’t really stop to think about what it is.”
Tellez said, “It’s great to be celebrating and recognizing women. I think it should be all the time. And not just one day a year or one month a year. But we appreciate progress where it is and hopefully this can be a positive thing.”
The Keene State College student award winner was senior biology major Deena Snoke, joined on the stage by both of her nominators, Susan Whittemore and Patricia Halloran.
Rattling off Snoke’s list of achievements, Halloran made it clear why Snoke was selected to be the Outstanding Student Woman of the year. Three years of research in developmental toxicology at KSC led her to present her work at national, regional, and local conferences. A summer of research in the Dartmouth laboratory of neurobiologist Dr. Leslie Henderson was so successful that she was asked back for a second consecutive summer.
Her current focus is neurobiology with a focus on developmental neural disorders such as autism. She is currently looking to enter a PhD program in developmental neurobiology.
“On campus I’ve never felt that my personal identity as a woman has held me back from anything I put my mind to, and I think this is a really important message,” Snoke told the audience.
Like the other outstanding women in attendance, Snoke was taken aback by the nomination. Snoke recounted that when Jeanne Hearn from Aspire called her, she assumed that it was to scold her to turn in her time sheets, “So I was a little caught off guard. I didn’t even know that I was nominated for it.”
The Outstanding Women of N.H. Award Ceremony commemorates Women’s History Month, a national celebration which, according to the Library of Congress website, dates back to 1981. Originally just a week-long event called Women’s History Week, we now take the full month of March to celebrate and honor the women in our society.
Kahn introduced Yvonne Goldsberry, the winner for the Monadnock region and her nominator Dottie Morris. Goldsberry’s second nominator, Dr. Meg Henning, was also not able to attend.
Goldsberry was recently promoted to vice president of population health at Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene after years of service as their senior director of community health. According to Kahn, who works with Goldsberry, the award winner is at the “cutting edge” of health advocacy population care and regularly contributes to KSC’s Health Science program. At Cheshire Medical Center, Goldsberry has worked tirelessly with various organizations to design and implement programs for public health in the Monadnock region.
Goldsberry was surprised and thankful for the nomination. “It’s a rich tradition,” Goldsberry said of the ceremony, “And I think it’s an opportunity to just reflect on the amazing people that are here in the community and the state.”
Lastly, Kahn introduced the faculty award winner, biology professor Loren Launen. Her nominators, Susan Whittemore and Dr. Kristen Porter-Utley, joined her onstage.
Porter-Utley spoke to Launen’s amazing career as an educator and a woman of science saying, “In addition to collaborating with other women scientists across the country you’ve been an outstanding teacher and mentor, communicating to students the knowledge as well as a sense of curiosity, awe, and mystery necessary to pursue the study of nature.” Launen has taught a wide range of engaging science courses at Keene State College, developed a very successful undergraduate program, and dedicates much of her time to the college campus.
Launen spoke highly of the mentors she has had in her past saying, “So I see it now as my responsibility to try to be the force that pushes a little bit. Sometimes that can be strong encouragement, sometimes it can be gentle encouragement, and sometimes it can be just a helping hand.”
Entertainment for the night was provide by Keene State College’s own a capella group, Chock Full of Notes, playing both before and after the presentation of awards. The night was capped by a short reception.
Those in attendance spoke highly of the ceremony. Cheryl Khan said, “I thought it was very nice. I was very impressed with the women who were honored.”
Dottie Morris echoed this sentiment, “It was easy for it to be good because these were four amazing women with a lot of wonderful inspirational stories.”
Zach Pearson can be contacted at zpearson@keene-equinox.com