Forester named 2021 Outstanding Senior
April 28, 2021
Eleanor Forester, a senior history major from Memphis, Tenn.,was named the 2021 Outstanding Senior.
Finalists for the award included Anastasia Dunn, a biochemistry major from Winston, Ga.; Madison Gilliam, a biochemistry major from Sewanee, Tenn.; Jacorey Jackson, a biochemistry major from Spring Hill, Texas; and Joe Nelson Smith, Jr., an economics and finance/accounting double major from Goodlettsville, Tenn.
Established by the Maryville College Alumni Association in 1974, the Outstanding Senior award recognizes those students whose overall record of academic achievement and participation in extracurricular activities stand out as most exemplary.
Specifically, the award seeks to recognize a senior who has been active in a broad range of activities in college, who best exemplifies an “ideal” Maryville College graduate and who has the potential to be an outstanding alumnus/alumna – both as a representative of the College and in his or her service to the institution.
Only those seniors with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 are considered for nomination for the Outstanding Senior Award. A committee that includes student, faculty and staff representation is given the responsibility of choosing five finalists. Those finalists are invited to respond in writing to questions about their view of their future role as alumni of Maryville College, their goals for the future and their understanding of how the College has influenced them and helped shape those goals.
The awards are typically given out during the Academic Awards Ceremony, held every April in the Clayton Center for the Arts; however, the College could not hold the in-person event this year, due to COVID-19 guidelines for indoor gatherings. The finalists were introduced on social media during the week leading up to the award announcement. The social media announcements included brief videos of the nominating faculty members introducing the finalists (see full list of award Academic Award winners).
Dr. Nancy Locklin-Sofer, professor of history at Maryville College, introduced Forester. Locklin-Sofer described her advisee as “joyful, calm, smart, curious, kind and empathetic.”
“Eleanor is a dedicated student who maintains a 3.98 GPA, despite being involved in activities across campus,” Locklin-Sofer said. “‘Elea’” as she is known, is active in the Center for Campus Ministry, helping to organize weekly services, playing the guitar and singing during worship. She is also an attentive RA in the residence halls. During the pandemic, this means she has arrived onsite well before the rest of the students moved in and will stay until after they leave.”
Forester’s Senior Study, “Peasants, Priests and Other Passersby: Rural Religiosity in 19th Century Russia,” was deemed exemplary by the Division of Humanities and will be added to the library’s permanent collection.
While Forester only recently made her religion minor official, she has long supplemented her historical studies with religious and philosophical course work, Locklin-Sofer said, adding that the one interest of Forester’s that always struck her as being “delightfully eccentric” was her love of mathematics.
“Rare is the history advisee who begs me to find room in her schedule for Calculus III because ‘it’s just so much fun,’” the professor said.
Forester, who plans to attend seminary after graduation, is “quiet but confident” and when she speaks, “she is always worth listening to,” Locklin-Sofer said.
“She doesn’t always have the answers, but her natural curiosity and openness lead her to ask really good questions, and that is often much more valuable,” Locklin-Sofer said. “I liken her quiet presence to the flowers of springtime. One might be lulled by the quiet, gray peacefulness of the outdoors in early spring, but at some point, the sun will break through the clouds and reveal the vibrant colors of nature. It takes your breath away. The colors were always there but have only just come into focus. That’s what it’s like to get to know Elea.”
As this year’s Outstanding Senior, Forester received a framed award along with a $500 cash award. Her name will be added to the Outstanding Senior plaque displayed on campus.
Forester also received this year’s Otto P. Pflanze Prize for Excellence in History.
Recipients of Maryville College's 2021 Academic Awards and Leadership Awards were honored virtually this year, through a series of videos posted on Maryville College's official social media channels during the week leading up the April 17 announcement of the awards.
