St. Scholastica Library 10 Years of the Bede Award

The College of St. Scholastica Library has been celebrating the tenth year of its annual Bede Award. Established in 2014, the award recognizes excellence in undergraduate research and the application of information literacy. It is currently the longest-standing all-college academic award for undergraduates at St. Scholastica.

Overview of the award

Librarians at the College started this unique award highlighting the academic research of undergraduate students. The award recognizes excellence in the following areas:

• The ability to locate, evaluate and select library research material for integration into an academic paper or project.
• Personal learning in the areas of information literacy and research which will be carried into future academic work

Every year, there are around 10 students who submit their A or A- papers, which include at least five outside sources, along with a reflective essay on their research process. Their professors verify their grades and faculty emeriti are the judges who determine the recipient.

Underwritten by The College of St. Scholastica Library Friends group, the cash reward has increased to $350 for the tenth anniversary. The Bede Award inspires students to strive for excellence in their academic pursuits, and it is a testament to the College’s commitment to recognizing and celebrating student academic achievements.

Over the years

The annual ceremonies for the Bede Award have had several venues over the years. The first two modest events took place in the Library classroom before the program moved to the Library’s larger North Reading Room, now known as the Raven Room. The Library had virtual ceremonies in 2020 and 2021 before returning to the Raven Room, which was beautifully renovated during the pandemic. During the past five years, the Library has shared the annual ceremony with the Art Department, whose program director, Sarah Brokke, announces the winner of its annual Deans’ Purchase Award. The winning work of art, selected by the school deans, becomes part of the College’s permanent art collection.

Faculty emeritus and renowned early music specialist Shelley Gruskin

A recent development for the annual ceremonies has been the inclusion of a special guest who starts the program with a performance or reading. Amit Peled, an internationally known cellist, was the first of these guests during the virtual award program in 2020. Other guests have included Native poet Heid Erdrich, faculty member and poet Ryan Vine, and faculty emeritus and renowned early music specialist Shelley Gruskin. The Library’s guest this year will be Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra’s concertmaster, Erin Aldridge.

The panel of judges for the Bede Award has typically included distinguished faculty emeriti from the College. Dr. John Schifsky, faculty emeritus in English, has the special distinction of being the only judge to have served on all ten panels. Other judges in 2023 included Dr. Steve Ostovich (Philosophy), Dr. Paul Stein (Chemistry) and Dr. Mary Tanner (Nursing). In 2023, the Library marked the passing of Sister Sarah Smedman, who served as judge from 2015 to 2021. An Associate Professor of English, she was also a distinguished scholar of children’s literature. She was a great supporter of the Bede Award and always looked forward to reviewing and discussing the next round of student submissions with fellow judges.

The iconic copper frieze

Since the first year of the award, there has been a tradition of photographing the winner with the familiar copper frieze of the Venerable Bede which is seen by patrons and library staff as they descend the steps leading from the Library to the monastery cloister walk. Bede, after whom the Library’s competition is named, is known as the father of English history. His frieze, which flanks the entrance to Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel along with a companion piece depicting St. Gertrude, was created by the Hungarian artist Sister Constantina Kakonyi, who lived in Minnesota from 1950 to 1994 and served as Professor and Artist-in-Residence during her time at the College.

Celebrating student achievements

During the weeks leading up to the 10th annual Bede Award ceremony, the Library made contact with all of its previous recipients, including its first winner Marin Eckstrom ’15. Marin offered remarks about the Bede Award which, in many ways, exemplify what the Library aspired to when it started its competition 10 years ago: “The Bede Award marked an important milestone in my professional and personal development. It allowed me to view research as more than just homework and gave me a confidence boost in terms of identifying myself as a researcher. I have since published numerous short articles and academic pieces on international affairs, including in outlets like The Diplomat and Modern Diplomacy. I hope to continue writing and publishing such pieces in the future, as conducting research serves as a wonderful analytical and creative outlet to better understand our world.”

Catching up with the winners

2023

Striving for Trauma Informed Healthcare Providers

At its annual reception last April, the Library presented the 10th Bede Award to Violet Tessier ’23 (DPT ’26) for her essay originally submitted for Dr. Kirk Allison’s course ENG 3010 Trauma & Recovery: Medicine and Literature. Now enrolled in the graduate Physical Therapy program at St. Scholastica, she is the fourth Bede Award winner to pursue doctoral studies.

2022

The Conceptualization of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Allison Burleson ’23 graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Psychology. In recognition of her leadership in the classroom and community, she was also awarded the Outstanding Student Leadership Award by the Psychology Department prior to graduation. She is now a cognitive skills clinician at Duluth Core Learning.

2021

Willing Paradise: Death, Desire, and Shame in Emily Dickinson’s Poetry

2021 winner Ashley Etter ’22, a Philosophy major, started her PhD in English Literature at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, IN.

2020

The Importance and Benefits of Music Education

Communications major Rose Carpenter ’22 (MBA ’24), is fondly remembered by the Library for her surprised remarks of gratitude when accepting the Bede in 2020 as a freshman. She has gone on to serve as Donor Relations Manager at St. Scholastica while pursuing an MBA in Leadership and Change.

2019

Racism’s Role in Grief: Black Lives Matter and the Impact of Grief on Black Community in America

2019 winner DyAnna Grondahl ’19 hit the ground running in politics after winning St. Scholastica’s Senior Leadership Award and graduating as a double-major in Psychology and Peace and Justice Studies. DyAnna started her career doing field and electoral work for AFSCME Council 5, and since 2020, has served as a Lead Organizer for TakeAction Minnesota.

2018

Identification of a Novel A Cluster Noodle17 and an Unknown Cluster Moosethegoose7 Mycobacteriophage Isolated from Forest Soil

Biology major Erin Burke ’19, will graduate in May with a doctoral degree from the University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

2017

Wittgenstein and the Language of Scientific Discovery

2017 winner Jamie Siemsen ’17, who studied English at St. Scholastica, is now Program Specialist for the Division of International Services at the National Institutes of Health in Washington, D.C. She holds a master’s degree in international education from George Washington University.

2016

Technological Changes and their Impact on Education

Chelsea (Silvers) O’Connell ’17 taught high school English in Mankato, MN, for five years, earning a master’s degree in education along the way. She and her husband, Sean, are now a realtor team for Edina Realty.

2015

Music, Vaughan Williams, Folksong, and English Musical Identity: Research Needs and Methods

Music major Dr. Paul Wojak ’15, whose essay on the music of English composer Vaughan Williams clinched the second Bede Award in 2015, earned his MD at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 2019.

2014

‘White Death’ in the Pursuit of ‘White Gold’: An Analysis of the Uzbek Cotton Industry Within a Human Rights Framework

Marin Eckstrom ’15 has had a fascinating decade since graduating from St. Scholastica with degrees in Global, Cultural, and Language Studies and Russian Studies. She taught English abroad and completed a Master of Arts degree in International Relations from Central European University in Vienna, Austria. She currently lives in the Tokyo metropolitan area and teaches at the university-level, while being involved in several non-profit initiatives.

The 2024 award reception will be held on Thursday, April 25, at 3:30 p.m. in the Raven Room of the Library. For additional information on the Bede Undergraduate Library Research Award, please visit libguides.css.edu/bede.