Isabel Murphy

Eli and Mildred Sokol Prize

Presented by Alan Czaplicki, Associate Dean of the College

Dear Campus Community –

My name is Alan Czaplicki. For the past several years, I have had the honor of presenting the Eli and Mildred Sokol Prize in my capacity as Associate Dean of the College. The Sokol Prize is awarded annually to a sophomore student with demonstrated leadership abilities and the desire to support and inspire fellow students over the next two years. It has been given to students who have immersed themselves fully in the life of the campus community, promoting community values and engaging in the sometimes difficult, yet always rewarding, work of making positive change on campus. This tradition continues with this year’s awardee, Isabel Murphy, who has exemplified a commitment to community service and the campus environment during her time in the College.

Isabel has compiled an impressive record of achievements since arriving in the College. Given that she came to us as valedictorian of her high school, none of this is surprising, and includes multiple Dean’s List appearances, the declaration of a double degree in Environmental Science and Political Science, and appointment as a teaching assistant in Earth and Environmental Science. Outside the classroom, Isabel has been active in student government, serving as a senator in the Student Association and as the secretary and historian of the 2022 Class Council. She has actively engaged in Mock Trials for the past two years, honing her presentation and public speaking skills, and organized twenty fellow students, across political parties, to serve as poll workers on Election Day this past fall. She also participates as a member of the Sigma Delta Tau sorority, with its focus on building a supportive and socially engaged community of women.

All of this would fill out a resume in itself, but it leaves out the most important theme, or perhaps driving force, behind Isabel’s service to the campus. This is her strong and persistent advocacy to increase awareness and generate concrete action on climate change. Isabel is a co-president of the student organization Grassroots and serves as a leader in advocating for resource conservation, environmental justice, and sustainability on campus. She has extended this effort to working with the Rochester People’s Climate Coalition (RPCC) to further the organization’s mission to promote a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and campaign for a more environmentally just and sustainable society. As Isabel describes it, she is interested in helping the group “build a region-wide, politically powerful coalition that can help shape environmental policy in the future.” This builds on work undertaken by Isabel over the summer as a AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associate, in which she assisted the Rochester 19th Ward Community Association in planning and organizing logistics for the 2019 Westside Farmer’s Market. This directly connects to her interests in promoting sustainability through efforts to make fresh foods available to low-income community members. As her recommender, Glenn Cerosaletti, Director of the Center for Community Engagement, notes, Isabel has been successful in all of these activities through “her passion, organizational skills, and keen intellect, as well as her dedication to principles of social justice.”

In the future, Isabel intends to continue her engagement in Student Government and in promoting sustainability and environmental justice on campus and in the community. She plans to continue to work with Grassroots to develop a campus climate action plan by engaging student leaders and senior leadership of the University to further this cause. In this and other efforts with Mock Trial and Sigma Delta Tau, she desires to strengthen her abilities and impact as a mentor with her peers. As she notes, she desires to “empower every student around me.”

Clearly, Isabel Murphy embodies the ideals of the Eli and Mildred Sokol Prize in furthering the welfare of fellow students on campus. I look forward to following her many initiatives over the coming years, and my sincerest congratulations to Isabel!

About the Award

The Eli and Mildred Sokol Prize was established in 1985 by a gift from Eli and Mildred Sokol (class of 1933). This prize is awarded to a sophomore who has emerged as a leader who can be expected to contribute significantly to the welfare of their fellow students in the next two years.