Prize Day 2020: Frank Bailey (1885) Prize winner Samuel Fogarty

Publication Date

At Prize Day 2020, the Frank Bailey (1885) Prize for the senior who has rendered the greatest service to the College in any field was awarded to Samuel Fogarty. The citation from President David R. Harris:

The recipient of the Frank Bailey Prize is selected by the faculty and the prize is awarded annually to the fourth-year student deemed to have rendered the greatest service to the College in any field.

 Samuel Fogarty

Samuel Fogarty

Faculty nominators called this student “a visible force for acceptance, responsibility and celebration” of all groups on campus and beyond.

He has worked tirelessly to ensure that instances of homophobia and transphobia were acknowledged and addressed. He planned events around inclusivity, facilitating difficult conversations by leading LGBTQ training workshops. He has been active in Union Pride, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the Next Step Social Justice Retreat, the Leadership in Diversity Committee and the Presidential Committee on LGBTQ Affairs. As a senior intern in Admissions, he has been active in recruitment events that promote diversity and inclusion in the student body.

Outside of Union, he is deeply committed to the kind of activist work for which he is known on campus. Last summer he received a competitive community service internship stipend to work at the Ali Forney Center in New York City, one of the largest organizations in the U.S. dedicated to LGBT youth homelessness.

As a Spanish major, he is intellectually curious, a great contributor to class discussions, rigorous at work, and always pushing himself to continue honing his linguistic skills. One nominator said simply: “[He] is the student we want in our classrooms.” On a term abroad in Argentina, he performed at the top of his class academically, but also excelled in cultural and linguistic immersion. Naturally, he lent his support to a number of causes in Argentina: LGBTQ rights, gender violence and abortion rights.

He has earned the respect of his classmates through camaraderie, social solidarity, a strong sense of social justice and compassion. He knows how to assume leadership roles, always heeding and championing the voices of others.

In recognition of the many ways he has brought our community together, I am pleased to present the Frank Bailey Prize to Samuel Fogarty.