Valedictorian Sarah Minahan ’21 (Communication Studies and Religious Studies double-major, Ethics minor) was recently named the winner of H. W. Murray Medal for Scholarship. RMC’s highest academic honor, the H. W. Murray Medal for Scholarship was established in 1889 by legacy of Mrs. W. T. Goodwin of Louisa County, Virginia, in memory of her father. It is awarded to the member of the graduating class who holds the highest cumulative academic average.

Minahan, a Stafford, Virginia native, said that walking across the graduation stage after more than a year of face masks, Zoom meetings, and social distancing was an emotional experience that gave her a new appreciation for the Yellow Jacket community’s resilience. The valedictorian credited the memories she made at RMC as inspiration to push through the pandemic’s more trying moments, pointing to her time in the Delta Zeta sorority, studying abroad, and bonding with roommates as sources of meaningful connection to reflect on during a time of great disconnect.

“Though I didn’t get to make as many memories as I’d planned to this last year, the memories that I’ve made over the past four years still feel like a lifetime’s worth,” Minahan said. “For that, I am so grateful to the dedicated staff members, passionate professors, amazing friends, and friendly faces who all took part in creating those shared moments. Without a doubt, it’s the people who made my short time at RMC so precious.”

In addition to the Murray Medal, Minahan earned numerous other academic honors as a student at RMC. Among them, she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest academic honor society, and earned the George Spotswood Tarry Prize, awarded to a junior or senior Religious Studies major who embodies the personal and social values and the academic excellence to which Professor Tarry was committed. Minahan also earned the Theta Alpha Kappa honor society’s Undergraduate Achievement Award for overall academic excellence in the fields of Religious Studies and Theology, as well as the Communication Studies Outstanding Major Award, given to the highest achieving Communication Studies major.