Joanna Katherine Wood, a senior at Sweet Briar College, was awarded the Presidential Medal, the highest accolade the college bestows on a senior class member. Elisabeth Muhlenfeld, president of the College, presented the coveted honor on Wednesday, March 22, at the annual academic recognition dinner in Prothro Hall.

The Presidential Medal goes to the student who has demonstrated exemplary intellectual achievement and distinction in areas including service to the community, contributions to the arts, enlargement of the school’s global perspective, athletic fitness and achievement, leadership and contributions to community discourse.

Sweet Briar College President Elisabeth Muhlenfeld (left) and Joanna Katherine Wood, recipient of the Presidential Medal.
Members of the College faculty, staff and administration submit nominations, and a committee headed by the president makes the final decision. Muhlenfeld described the selection process as “one of the most enjoyable — and difficult — tasks for the president and her senior staff each year.”

Prior to presenting the medal, Muhlenfeld said, “[Wood] has not only distinguished herself intellectually and in service to the community, but she has also involved herself with the innermost workings of the broader College community of alumnae as an event planner for Reunion 2006 and Homecoming 2005.”

Wood, of Hopkinton, Mass., will graduate in May with a bachelor of arts in philosophy and a minor in biology. Her honors include the National Honor Society, the Betty Bean Black Scholarship, first year’s honors and the dean’s list.

She is a member and former treasurer of Alpha Lambda Delta and since her freshman year has served on the judicial committee as an elected representative and secretary.

Wood is a member of the varsity lacrosse team and golf club. She is also a member of the College’s LEAP program (Leaders Emerging and Achieving Program), Habitat for Humanity and the QV tap club, and serves on the academic affairs committee.

“These brief descriptions can’t do justice to such a multifaceted woman, but I hope you have a sense of the impressive contributions that our recipient has made to our community,” Muhlenfeld told the audience.

– By Suzanne Ramsey, SBC staff writer