Sharon Philpott, class of 1985 and Accounting major, receives the 2021 W&M Alumni Medallion.
In 2010, Sharon generously helped establish the Philpott-Perez Faculty-Student Research Endowment, which has since that time permitted the undertaking of several initiatives by Hispanic Studies faculty in support of undergraduate research. With her support, students have been able to tra
vel abroad and conduct research abroad in Guatemala (with Prof. Tandeciarz), to the Basque country (with Prof. Buck) and to Madrid, Spain as part of a freshman seminar during Spring 2018 (with Prof. Cate-Aries), among other places.
Mary Trotto, one of the graduating students who travelled during spring 2018 offered some reflections on the experiences that the Philpott-Perez Endowment helped make a reality:
“I still think of the Imagina Madrid seminar’s trip to Spain as the greatest opportunity I had at William and Mary! This trip was the first opportunity I ever had to leave the U.S., and its accessibility in helping students to experience a trip to another country was a formative part of my becoming a Hispanic Studies major and pursuing a research project on Francoism in Cádiz the following summer. This trip was truly remarkable in how it let us students experience firsthand what we had been reading about all semester, and it really opened my eyes to the benefits of international experiences and studying another country’s history and culture.”
Additional ways that Sharon’s contribution has supported student research and international experiences can be found here: http://globalvoices.wm.edu/?s=philpott
The full story of Sharon Philpott’s award reception is here: https://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2021/meet-the-2021-alumni-medallion-recipients.php
More about Sharon can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSI_fZ9wRW4