The Williamson Medal is the highest student award presented each year at Franklin & Marshall’s Commencement. It is given to the member of the graduating class who has, during her or his senior year, reached the highest standing in character, leadership and scholarship. The medal was endowed by Owen Moon Jr., in memory of former Trustee Henry S. Williamson, and has been presented annually since 1922. This year, the Williamson Medal is awarded to Nadezhda (Nadya) Ivanova.

Nadya came to F&M from Sofia, Bulgaria. She graduates summa cum laude with a major in government and a minor in German literature and culture.

Time and again in her four years at F&M, Nadya has demonstrated her deep commitment to a just society and her passion for using international relations to create peace among nations. She recently successfully defended her honors thesis that examined the jockeying for power in the Middle East among Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and which of those three countries tips the regional balance of power most in its favor. Nadya studied at the London School of Economics and Political Science last academic year. She has served as a delegate to the 73rd Student Conference on U.S. Affairs, held at West Point, and as the program management intern at the Congressional Office for International Leadership in Washington, D.C.

Nadya has served in numerous leadership roles on campus, including as co-president of the International Student Advisory Board and a representative on the Student Code of Conduct Committee. She is a tutor at the Writing Center and a javelin thrower for the Diplomat track and field team. Among her many honors, she has earned a Ken Duberstein ’65 Public Service Internship Award and a Hackman Summer Research grant. She is a member of Black Pyramid Senior Honor Society; John Marshall Pre-Law Honor Society; Pi Sigma Alpha, national political science honor society; and Delta Phi Alpha, national German honor society.

Nadya will intern this summer in the legal division of the Corporate Banking and Foreclosure Department at Eurobank Bulgaria, where she hopes to better understand how the corporate world works. After considering numerous graduate schools, she plans to start her master’s degree in international relations at Johns Hopkins University this fall. She plans to be a policy analyst at a think tank or international organization, focusing on combating corruption in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Nadya Ivanova, for your insatiable intellectual curiosity and the depth of understanding it already has given you; for your dedication to improving international relations and creating a more stable world; and for using your knowledge and empathy to take the lead in improving life for your fellow students and the broader world, you personify the spirit of the liberal arts and Franklin & Marshall College’s ideal of developing graduates of intellect, character and leadership. Congratulations!