Guilford College presented Algernon Sydney Sullivan Awards at Commencement May 18 to Honors Program graduating seniors Grace Christensen ’24 and Maren Lamb ’24 and long-time community leader and philanthropist John Googe ’50 for excellence of character and service to humanity.
Grace graduated with high honors with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. and was on the Dean’s list all four years. She was a Multicultural Leadership Scholar, Principled Problem Solving Scholar, Resident Advisor and Assistant Community Director. She was president of the Reaching out for Animal Rights (ROAR) club and a member of Student Government. Grace assisted the Admission Office as a tour guide for prospective students and families. During the summer months, she worked as a summer teacher at the Goddard School, as a summer youth programs director and a day camp counselor. She is from New York State.
Her nominator stated, “Grace is one of our unstoppable Honors Program students, who is incredibly talented in the classroom, in the community, and on campus. She steps up when asked to contribute and finds solutions to problems or obstacles in the way.”
Maren graduated with high honors with a bachelor’s degree in Art. She was a Principled Problem Solving Scholar and Sullivan Scholar and a member of several organizations including the Reaching out for Animal Rights club and Quaker Closet. She was a leader and fundraiser for Free Press. Also, she has been a tutor.Maren completed a two-year internship with the Greensboro Public Art Endowment of the Community Greensboro Foundation, where she helped promote, document, and support public art projects in and around the Greensboro area. She is from Philadelphia, Pa.
Her nominator stated, “Maren constantly puts herself ‘out there,’ trying new things and pushing herself beyond comfort levels as an artist and student. She’s an ideal community leader, one who attracts others to her projects and gets an extraordinary amount of things done.”
John, who turned 99 on May 9, is a business leader who has made significant contributions as a philanthropist and volunteer. He was instrumental in establishing Industries for the Blind (IFB) in the Triad region and served as chair of Goodwill International. He chaired the board of Miracles for Sight and was a longtime member of the Winston-Salem Jaycees. He established the Googe Family Scholarship at Guilford and created an endowed fund that led to a partnership between the College and IFB Solutions. And before graduating from Guilford as an adult in 1950, he flew dangerous missions over Iwo Jima in World War II. He is a resident of Winston-Salem, N.C.
In 2019, John received the Lifetime Achievement in Philanthropy Award from the Triad Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Alumni Excellence Award from Guilford.
Since 2002, Guilford has been among a select group of colleges and universities in the southeastern U.S. authorized to present the Sullivan Awards.