Bates Prize and Mary Ward Lewis Prize awarded at Senior Investiture and Honors Convocation
Tyra N. Pritchett, a Psychology major with a minor in Theatre Arts, received The Mary Ward Lewis Prize, while Kramoh T. Mansalay, a Biomedical Science major and Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies major with a Linguistic specialization, with minors in Biology and Chemistry, was awarded The Bates Prize. Both represent outstanding members of the graduating class.
The Bates Prize and the Mary Ward Lewis Prize were awarded on May 17 during McDaniel College’s Senior Investiture and Honors Convocation for the Class of 2024.
The Mary Ward Lewis Prize
The Mary Ward Lewis Prize recipient is Tyra N. Pritchett of Hanover, Maryland, who is graduating magna cum laude with a major in Psychology and a minor in Theatre Arts.
Pritchett is a member of the Honors Program and highly involved in other honor societies across campus. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa national honor society, Alpha Lambda Delta first-year seminar national honor society, Psi Chi psychology honor society, and has been president of Beta Alpha Chi music honor society and an executive board member for Alpha Psi Omega theatre honor society.
Highly committed to music and theatre arts at McDaniel, Pritchett was a four-year member of the College Choir and A Cappella Ensemble and was involved in 11 theatre productions in various roles including actor and stage manager.
During her time on the Hill, Pritchett conducted student-faculty Psychology research in the campus pigeon lab and interned at Kennedy Krieger Child and Family Therapy Clinic for two summers. At the third annual Academic Symposium, she presented her Psychology capstone research “Fake It Til You Make It,” which explores how college students can decrease their stress levels with drama therapy techniques.
After receiving her bachelor’s degree in Psychology, she will be continuing her studies at McDaniel in the accelerated five-year bachelor’s-to-master’s pathway in Mental Health Counseling.
The Bates Prize
The Bates Prize is awarded to Kramoh T. Mansalay of Darby, Pennsylvania, who is graduating with majors in Biomedical Science and Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies – Linguistic Specialization, with minors in Chemistry and Biology.
A Global Fellow, he studied abroad for a semester in Ifrane, Morocco. His capstone in Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies focused on Arabic-to-English translations, while his Biomedical Science capstone focused on creating potent organic molecules for a future COVID-19 antiviral.
Mansalay was a highly active member of the Pre-Health Club, Africa’s Legacy, Gamma Sigma Epsilon chemistry honor society, and was president of the Muslim Students Association. In his roles in these organizations, he planned and implemented numerous events for the campus community to foster connection.
A pre-medical student, he received a McDaniel Summer Intern Fellowship to shadow a family nurse practitioner and also volunteered at the Pediatric Emergency Department of the University of Maryland Medical Center. He also engaged in multiple hands-on undergraduate research opportunities, including Chemistry research during the Student-Faculty Collaborative Summer Research Program and student-faculty research during January Term. At the third annual Academic Symposium, he presented his Global Fellows project, study abroad experience, and Chemistry research in three separate sessions.
After his graduation from McDaniel College, he plans to pursue medical school.
