Economics major and graduating senior, Anna Elizabeth Russo, is this year’s recipient both the the Russell Henry Chittenden and Wrexham Prizes.
The Russell Henry Chittenden Prize is awarded annually to a senior in Yale College majoring in the natural sciences or in mathematics who ranks highest in scholarship.
The Wrexham/Heinz Prize, established in 1992 in memory of Senator Henry John Heinz, III, ‘60, is awarded to the writer of the outstanding senior essay – or any other substantial piece of writing done by a senior in Yale College – in the field of the social sciences, principally to include history, politics, political economy and economics. The terms of the bequest specifically envision a piece of writing that emphasizes “the link between political and economic ideas, and analysis and public policy.”
Russo, elected to Phi Beta Kappa in her junior year, graduated summa cum laude with Distinction in both of her majors: Applied Mathematics and Economics. In every one of her 39.5 credits, she has earned the grade of A.
She was also the recipient of numerous awards, among them the Charles Heber Dickerman Memorial Prize for the best senior essay in the Economics Department; the Yale Science and Engineering Association Award of Outstanding Academic Achievement; and the Bishop Berkeley Prize, given by Berkeley College to the student who “best discovered the intellectual potentialities of a university.”
Russo has balanced her academic accomplishments with others in the Yale and New Haven communities. As a regular contributor and Co-Editor-in-Chief for the Yale Globalist, she has written eloquently on women’s issues around the world, focusing on health and education. And here in New Haven, she has mentored low-income high school students, serving as a valued guide to them as they prepare for college.