GRADUATION AWARD WINNERS 2025
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary awarded prizes to members of the Class of 2025 during the graduation exercises held May 33. This year’s honorees were:
The Ashton History Prize, outstanding achievement in church history, Scott K. Stolte, Pittsburgh, Pa.
The Jennie Rigg Barbour Memorial Prize, for second highest rank, Alexis Rachel Obernauer, Pittsburgh, Pa.
The Watson Samuel Boyce Music Prize, John Davis Creach, Pittsburgh, Pa.
The Brooks Foundation Commencement Prize, for highest standing in pastoral care, Anne Leech, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Robert M. Ezzell Homiletics Prize, excellence in preaching, Scott K. Stolte, Pittsburgh, Pa.
The Faculty Prize in Formation, for embodying the formative values of the Seminary, Alexis Rachel Obernauer, Pittsburgh, Pa., and Destini Hodges, Harrisburg, Pa.
The Faculty Prize in Leadership, for a D.Min. student who significantly contributed to cohort formation, Frances Yi-Hsun Lin, Escondido, Calif., and Kathryn P. Lester-Bacon, Durham, N.C.
The Faculty Prize in Public Theology, Ebony J. Grisom, Bronz, N.Y.
The Paul T. Gerrard Prize in Homiletics and Pastoral Care, Scott K. Stolte, Pittsburgh, Pa.
The Jackson Hale Prize in Polity, Scott K. Stolte, Pittsburgh, Pa.
The Thomas Jamison Scholarship, for the student with the highest grade average, Emily P. Cowser, Bethel Park, Pa.
The Michael Wilson Keith Memorial Prize in Homiletics, Emily P. Cowser, Bethel Park, Pa.
The Robert A. Lee Church History Prize, Winnie Wang, Pittsburgh, Pa.
The Sylvester S. Marvin Fellowship, for post-graduate study to the highest standard in coursework across the curriculum, Emma Katherine Lander, Severn, Md., and Alexis Rachel Obernauer, Pittsburgh, Pa.
The John W. and Miriam G. Meister Award in Pastoral Ministry, Destini Hodges, Harrisburg, Pa.
Middlesex United Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.) Memorial Prize in Biblical Studies, Emma Katherine Lander, Severn, Md.
The Clara Edna Miller Prize in Pastoral Theology, Mathew David Meyer, Beaver Falls, Pa.
The Richard J. Rapp Memorial Award in Doctor of Ministry Studies, Nsenga Gad Mpoyo, Atlanta, Ga.; Michael Warren Galicia, Butler, Pa.; Karleen A. Jung; Monticello, Minn.; Sheryl Anne Spencer, Tobermory, Ontario, Canada; Joann White, Saranac Lake, N.Y.; Ebony J. Grisom, Bronx, N.Y.
The Andrew Reed Prize, excellence in Bible exegesis, Wendy S. Farone, Glenshaw, Pa.
The Henry A. Riddle Fund for Graduate Study, Emily P. Cowser, Bethel Park, Pa.
The John Watson Prize in New Testament Greek, Emily P. Cowser, Bethel Park, Pa.
The William B. Watson Prize in Hebrew, Emma Katherine Lander, Severn, Md., and John Davis Creach, Pittsburgh, Pa.