WISH Essay Awards: A Display of Intellect Good for the Soul

More than 20 participated in the WISH Essay Awards ceremony on Zoom. Shown here, top row, l to r, Irene Andrea, CAS assistant; Julia Hormes, associate professor, Psychology; Kristen Corbosiero, associate professor, DAES; Noreen Guilfoyle, prize winner; CAS Dean Jeanette Altirriba. Middle row: Mary Fucci, prize winner; Distinguished Professor Marlene Belfort; Lauriana Gaudet, prize winner; Janice Pata, associate professor, Biomedical Science; Elga Wulfert, professor, Psychology. Bottom row: Rebecca Orrison,

The time, place and medium needed tweaking, but the commitment and enthusiasm held steady for the 2nd annual WISH Awards essay competition, where two undergrad and two grad students successfully delved into the topic of “Excellence at the Intersection of Science and Life.”

WISH — Women in Science and Health — an organization of women faculty at UAlbany that fosters scientific networking and skill-building opportunities for students, postdocs and faculty in the STEM fields in order to promote gender equality and work-life balance, extended its essay deadline due to COVID-19 and also took its April 17 awards ceremony online via Zoom. The awards were open to students and postdocs of any gender in a STEM field.