The Manly E. Wright Award is the valedictory award presented to the graduate who ranks first in scholarship at the May commencement ceremony. Per UNC Asheville’s tradition, the Manley E. Wright Award winner receives their degree on a silver platter.
Manly Wright was one of the key figures in the history of UNC Asheville. He served as a long-time member of the Board of Trustees of Asheville-Biltmore College and was Chairman of the Board during two crucial periods in the history of the university: when it became a four-year institution in 1964 and when it joined the University of North Carolina System in 1969. Mr. Wright was the one who, in 1958, scouted farmland north of the Montford neighborhood and negotiated with Landon Roberts and heirs of the Kimberley Estate, for the sale of nearly 100 acres that would become the new permanent home of UNC Asheville as it moved down from Seeley Castle on Town Mountain. Mr. Wright pleaded with the Carlyle Commission in 1962 to award Asheville-Biltmore College status as a 4-year school under the Omnibus Higher Education Act of 1963. In 1965, Mr. Wright brought greetings to the first graduating class of the new 4-year institution. When Mr. Wright passed away in 1979, the top student award was renamed from the Cecil L. Reid Academic Award to the Manly E. Wright Scholarship Award by Mrs. Elizabeth Wright, the daughter of Mr. Reid and wife of Mr. Wright. The first recipient of this award was Helen Bobo, a 1966 graduate.
May 2024
Ona Elkins
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May 2023
Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard, a chemistry major and neuroscience minor and a member of the University Honors Program, was selected as this year’s student speaker. With an overall GPA of 4.0, Sam was one of only 10 national recipients of the Marion B. Sewer Distinguished Scholarship for Undergraduates awarded by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. They have also been accepted as a Research Training Award Fellow at the National Institutes of Health, joining the laboratory of Dr. Robert Seder at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease in Bethesda, MD, whose lab played a critical role in developing the Moderna mRNA vaccine.
May 2022
Grace Volk
Grace Volk, a chemistry major and Division I volleyball player, entered the chemistry program at UNC Asheville as a North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Scholar, which introduced her to the Chemistry Department’s rigorous research program in her first year. Volk is also a UNC Asheville Chemistry Scholar, funded by the National Science Foundation; a member of the Honors Program; and has played on the volleyball team since her first year.
In 2021, Volk was awarded a Goldwater Scholarship, the preeminent national scholarship awarded to undergraduates studying the natural sciences, engineering and mathematics. Her research with Associate Professor of Chemistry Amanda Wolfe has been published with Volk as a co-author, titled, “Advances in antibiotic drug discovery: reducing the barriers for antibiotic development” in Future Medicinal Chemistry (2020). After graduating from UNC Asheville, Volk will pursue a medical degree at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and become a doctor. In the future, she hopes to further her study in the antibiotic resistance of bacteria such as E. coli and S. aureus.
May 2021
Alyssa Vanerelli
A biology major with a minor in mathematics, Alyssa Vanerelli was one of only eight students accepted into the 2019 Harvard University cohort of the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program. The project she completed at Harvard produced findings that were then presented at Harvard, the Leadership Alliance National Symposium in Hartford, Connecticut and the Society for Systematic Biologists Annual Meeting in Gainesville, Florida, a conference of some of the top biologists in the nation including UNC Asheville faculty member and Alyssa’s advisor Dr. Graham Reynolds.
Alyssa Vanerelli, biology major and mathematics minor
May 2020
Samantha Creech
Samantha Creech, physics major, astronomy and mathematics minor
A physics major from Horse Shoe N.C. just a half-hour south of Asheville, with minors in astronomy and mathematics, Samantha Creech’s fascination with the cosmos began just a few years before she began college. Creech worked closely with faculty mentor Britt Lundgren, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, looking for patterns in the large scale winds produced by galaxies due to supernova explosions, to shed light on how galaxies grow and evolve over time. She has presented their findings at two of the world’s largest professional astronomy conference, is one of the lead co-authors of a coming peer-reviewed article on galactic evolution in the early universe, and is interning as a science writer for Physics Today.
On campus, Creech also served as president of the University’s chapter of the Society of Physics Students, and as a docent at Lookout Observatory, and earned the Astronomy Club of Asheville-Carolyn Keefe Scholarship. She also was office supervisor for UNC Asheville’s Outdoor Programs and became a trip leader for backpacking, mountain biking, and climbing expeditions.
May 2019
Blanton Gillespie
A chemistry major and neuroscience minor, and member of the cross country and track and field teams, Blanton Gillespie graduated with a 3.996 GPA. He is a four-time Big South Scholar Athlete of the Year, and in 2018 he was awarded a Goldwater Scholarship, one of the most prestigious undergraduate scholarships in the natural sciences. He has published three papers in the Journal of Physical Chemistry, completed NASA fellowships, and plans to study medicine, then practice rural medicine in underserved Western North Carolina communities.
Blanton Gillespie, Chemistry with Neuroscience minor, student-athlete
May 2018
Olivia Godfrey
Olivia Godfrey, Psychology with Health and Wellness Promotion minor
Olivia Godfrey began conducting research during her first year on campus. “During freshman orientation, I visited the Psychology Department table and chatted with Dr. Melissa Smith about my interest in majoring in the program,” recalled Godfrey. “Two months later, I was sitting in her developmental psychology classroom, with a growing appreciation for research in human behavior, health, and mental processes. Dr. Smith gave me the opportunity to conduct independent undergraduate research, and mentored me through the grant application, presentation, and publication process for our project.”
Godfrey will pursue a Master of Arts in experimental psychology at Appalachian State University, working under a grant from the National Institute on Aging to research cognition, memory, and health in older adulthood. She also received the William and Ida Friday Award for outstanding service to the community.
May 2017
Dylan Cromer
Dylan Cromer earned a full scholarship to Cornell University where he will pursue a doctorate in theoretical astronomy, having had the goal to be a research scientist since arriving at UNC Asheville. “I had in mind becoming a research scientist so that I could spend my time studying a subject I love,” said Cromer speaking to his fellow graduates. “But at UNC Asheville, through all the people around me and the experiences I’ve had, I learned that this isn’t all I want to do. I want to have a meaningful social impact on the world.”
Dylan Cromer, Physics and Mathematics
May 2016
Emily Lanier
Emily Lanier, Chemistry
Emily Lanier graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree with distinction in chemistry, distinction as a University Scholar and as a University Research Scholar, and summa cum laude honors. Lanier spent three years researching new methods of synthesizing new antibiotics for the next generation of resistant bacterial infections and presented her work at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society. She also served as a writing consultant at the University Writing Center.
May 2015
Kelly Olshan
Kelly Olshan graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with distinction in art, distinction as a University Scholar and as a University Research Scholar, and summa cum laude honors. She also served as a writing consultant at the University Writing Center for three years and as president for the student organization Art Front, and she is a member of the Phi Eta Sigma National Honors Society.
Kelly Olshan, Art
May 2014
Zoe Hamel
Zoe Hamel, Mathematics and Economics
Zoe Hamel double-majored in mathematics and economics and graduated with distinction in both major areas, distinction as a University Research Scholar, and summa cum laude honors. Hamel will pursue graduate studies in the fall at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, where she has been offered a research fellowship in pure mathematics.
A native of Sedan, France, Hamel came to UNC Asheville for a rigorous academic experience and a chance to play competitive Division I tennis. She became captain of the women’s tennis team and number one Bulldog player in singles and doubles, and made the Big South All-Academic Team her junior and senior years. Hamel also cultivated an interest in food economics, conducting undergraduate research on the impact of interactions between farmers and consumers at tailgate markets.