Robie Gold Medal Award
These medals and cash awards were given by the late Wendell T. Robie of the class of 1917 and Inez Benzie Robie of the class of 1916 of The University of Arizona. Robie was president of Heart Federal Savings and Loan Association in Auburn, California.
Past Robie Medal Recipients
2013 Outstanding Senior Award Recipients:
Meardey Kong
Meardey Kong will graduate Magna Cum Laude from the Honors College with a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy, politics, economics and law and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology.
Born and raised in Cambodia, her parents knew that, after surviving the Khmer Rouge genocide, the post-conflict society could not provide adequate educational opportunities for their children. Therefore, in 2002 Meardey (age 10) and her family immigrated to the U.S to pursue a better life.
Her passion for research began when she was admitted into the Ronald E. McNair Achievement Program, a federally funded initiative designed to prepare traditionally underrepresented students for graduate school. Later as a recipient of Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship, she was able to return to Cambodia to collect data for her undergraduate honors thesis. During this trip Meardey was able to witness how psychological trauma from the genocide continues to afflict the country today and hopes to add to the field of psychology by conducting research on countries plagued with historic trauma.
Meardey was recognition as the Honors College Junior of the Year in 2012, and invited to join prestigious national fraternities including Phi Beta Kappa and Psi Chi.
Meardey considers highlight of her undergraduate career to be her work as a peer advisor for Student Support Services/TRiO; her service as Youth Commissioner to the Tucson City Council; and her mentoring of high school students through the Refugee Youth Coalition.
This fall, Meardey will begin the doctoral program in clinical psychology at the University of Massachusetts Boston at the University of Massachusetts Boston to pursue her research and her desire to work with adolescents and families with histories of collective trauma. She is committed to serving underserved and underprivileged populations, such as immigrant and refugee communities.
Victor AriasAs the oldest of three, Victor’s life changed forever at the age of 9, when his father was murdered. After that drastic event, his primary preoccupation became his family and Victor took on the responsibility of role model/father figure for his siblings. During this time Victor learned the amount of effort one invests in one’s goal determines success.
Victor’s dreams of attending college became a reality after being awarded the Dorrance Scholarship, the University of Arizona Hispanic Alumni Association Scholarship and the Homa and Irene Wood Foundation Scholarship.
At the UA, Victor was involved in the Ambassador Program for the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the mentor program. Victor was a member of the Blue Chip Leadership Program, and volunteered at the Habitat for Humanity worksite in Veles, Macedonia. Victor was also involved in the reinstitution of the Chicano Students for Community Medicine organization and helped as the scholarship chair, where he directed an MCAT preparation class.
After joining the structural biochemistry lab of Dr. Andrew Hausrath, Victor was selected as a Galileo Circle Scholar and was awarded the Galileo Circle Gilbert R. Escalante Scholarship.
In his senior year, Victor was selected to join the UA Mortar Board Senior Honor Society and volunteered to become the co-director of Clean Up Crew, a service project aimed at cleaning the streets and landscape of the five communities surrounding the UA campus.
Victor is graduating with honors in biochemistry and molecular and cellular biology, with a minor in mathematics. After graduation, he will be begin his first year of medical school at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine on a full tuition scholarship.