The Aleene Schneider Zawada Award in Jewish Studies began in 2020.
Emily Gross has been awarded the first annual Aleene Schneider Zawada Award in Jewish Studies from the Department of Jewish, Islamic, and Middle Eastern Studies. This award acknowledges exceptional academic achievement in the field of Jewish studies.
Gross is a double major in political science and Jewish, Islamic, and Middle Eastern studies, and she graduates this semester with distinction in JIMES. "This award is a wonderful surprise and I am truly honored to be the recipient," Gross said. "Being a student in JIMES has been the most wonderful part of my college career and has shaped who I am and how I think. I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to study Arabic along with Islamic and Jewish studies the past four years. This award is a testament to the hard work and dedication required to being a JIMES student."
Pamela Barmash, associate professor of Hebrew Bible and biblical Hebrew, helped Schneider Zawada coordinate with Washington University in developing the award. “Aleene is a great supporter of the university,” Barmash said. “She and I were conversing after Sabbath services at a local Saint Louis synagogue. She was saying how important it is for outstanding students to be recognized and how she wanted to support Jewish Studies at Washington University. So, we came up with the idea for an award to recognize the effort and dedication that an outstanding student devotes to Jewish Studies. Aleene herself is a humble and generous person.”
