The President’s Commission on the Status of Women honored five women with Clemson University Outstanding Women Awards. The awards were created to recognize those who have made outstanding contributions to improving the status of women at Clemson.
Award recipients include:
Sarah Winslow — Outstanding Academic Faculty Award
Winslow worked through her creative inquiry class to provide candid and thought-provoking materials about consent and sexual assault in our residential communities. A faculty member in the College of Business and Behavioral Sciences, Winslow works tirelessly to provide voice to women who may not feel empowered to have a voice on campus. She serves on the Women’s Studies Steering Committee and Clemson’s Sexual Violence Task Force. Most recently, she presented at the Women’s Leadership Conference as well as the South Carolina Women in Higher Education Conference hosted at Clemson University.
Parvin Lewis — Outstanding Staff Award
The director of the health promotion staff at Redfern Health Center, Lewis has done great work toward enhancing the self-esteem of women suffering from body image issues, decreasing the rate of sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancies at Clemson, and encouraging students to be resilient in times of trial and turmoil. Young women with eating disorders have trusted Lewis’ advice and encouragement to obtain counseling and life-saving treatment.
Natasha Topoluk — Outstanding Graduate Award
Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Bioengineering, Topoluk is fantastic role model for women in the STEM fields. She has engaged in various roles within the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program since she was a freshman undergraduate. She began as a big sister mentor, completed a UPIC internship with WISE, and currently serves as Graduate Administrative Assistant, Women in Science and Engineering Residents.
Casey Cresbaugh — Outstanding Undergraduate Award
Cresbaugh is a health sciences major and serves as a personal trainer at Fike Recreation Center. It is through this position that she became involved in Susan Pope’s Wellness LLC Creative Inquiry. In her work with Wellness LLC, Cresbaugh gained great experience as a peer mentor with female students. She was instrumental in starting the women’s basketball sports club at Clemson. She saw the need for this club when observing that males dominated the basketball courts and she helped organize the club in order to assist female students with court time at Fike.
Jaleese Blake — Thea McCrary Student Award for Outstanding Service
Blake is an active member of Gamma Sigma Sigma, a community-oriented campus sorority. She serves on the Student Health Advisory Committee, which works to promote health and wellness on campus. She has worked with both the Clemson March of Dimes program and Tiger Babies, where she raised money created presentations to further those causes. She has volunteered at the Clemson Child Development Center and the Arts Center as well as at Camp Spearhead, where she assists persons with disabilities.
One of impact areas for Gamma Sigma Sigma is domestic violence. Blake worked with Safe Harbor to collect clothes and send empowering cards to the clients.
These individuals were nominated and recommended by their peers and selected by committees made up of current Women’s Commission members. Each recipient received an engraved plaque to commemorate this achievement.
