2025 Dean's Scholars Named at Commencement
May 12, 2025
At commencement on May 11, Interim Dean of the College Betsy Sandlin announced the recipients of the Dean’s Scholar award. Created in 2023 to recognize the top academic achievers in the graduating class, the award was given to five graduates of the College.
The 2025 Dean’s Scholars included:
Kostas Andriotis: A native of the Thessaloniki, Greece, area, Andriotis completed a major in integrative biology, for which he received the Biology Department's Harry C. Yeatman Award. A four-year member of Professor Kristen Cecala's research lab, Andriotis completed work on the effects of hydrologic variability on leopard frogs that was published in Herpetological Conservation & Biology, and has an additional manuscript under review. Andriotis also served as a co-director of the Arcadian Program in the Office of Admission, studied abroad in Australia, and represented Sewanee at Camp 2030, a conference in which changemakers from around the globe pitched innovative solutions to a problem related to one of six United Nations sustainable development goals.
Ashton Butler: A politics major from Columbia, South Carolina, Butler pursued a course of study rooted in both global and local perspectives. A Canale intern at the Franklin County Prevention Coalition, Butler completed a community engaged research project in which she mapped the availability and advertising of tobacco and THC products within a five-mile radius of Franklin County schools. During a semester in Ghana, Butler undertook an original research project on youth in politics. At Commencement, Butler was also honored with the Alex Shipley Jr. Award for distinction in politics. This fall, Butler will begin pursuing a Ph.D. in comparative/African politics at the University of Michigan.
Kamilla Haidaienko: Originally from Odesa, Ukraine, Haidaienko graduated as a triple major in art, mathematics, and German and German studies. Integrating her interests and majors, Haidaienko incorporated research on art and architecture with an investigation of post-WWII and post-unification reconstruction in German cities into her comp presentation. The goal of her research is to consider how lessons from Germany can be applied to Ukraine after the war ends. An inductee into Phi Beta Kappa and recipient of the Jackson Cross Memorial Award for outstanding performance in German, Haidaienko was also active in sports, theme houses, and educating the Sewanee community about the war in Ukraine.
Abood Najjar: A neuroscience and biochemistry double major from Gaza City, Palestine, Najjar pursued his expansive research interests in multiple labs, including at Sewanee with Professors Chris Shelley and Kate Cammack and at Rockefeller University. The president of the Sewanee Health Professions Society, Najjar has given back to the community as a tutor for pre-health and chemistry students and as a medical intern in Beersheba Springs. Najjar also completed a minor in computer science, was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa last fall, and has had his work presented at multiple regional conferences.
Taylor Tunstall: A Latin and English double major from Memphis, Tennessee, Tunstall has engaged in significant scholarship since her freshman year, when she won both first- and second-place with two papers entered for Sewanee's Robert Daniel Prize in Expository Writing. Tunstall developed an interest in creative translation and paleography, both of which led her to collaborate with College faculty on independent research projects. Tunstall has served as a tutor in the Writing Center and as the DEI Chair for the Order of the Gown. This fall, Tunstall will enter the classics Ph.D. program at the University of Toronto as the recipient of the Connaught International Scholarship, one of the most prestigious graduate admission awards at the university. At Commencement, Tunstall was also recognized with the Walter Guerry Green Medal for Latin. Earlier this year, she was a finalist for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship.
Dean’s Scholar award honorees were selected by the dean of the College in consultation with the associate deans of the College and members of the College’s Standards Committee. College faculty submitted nominations for consideration. Winners were chosen according to a number of factors, including GPA, the additional academic challenges they sought, having performed or presented for a broader audience, and for their contributions to Sewanee’s intellectual community.
