The Cornell Tradition program at Cornell University has honored 12 seniors for their outstanding demonstration of the program's values of work, service and scholarship, with $2,500 awards.

The recipients will donate their prizes either to a non-profit organization of their choice, or to a deserving Tradition fellow next year in the form of a Tradition fellowship. The Cornell Tradition Senior Recognition Award was established in 1989.

Thirty-four seniors were nominated for the award this year. A committee of faculty, staff and alumni selected the 12 winners, who were notified earlier this month.

One of the fellows is Bolanle R. Asuni, a nutritional science major and a Nigerian-American. "When I received notification that I was a recipient of one of the Senior Recognition Awards, I immediately decided that I wanted it to benefit some of the most needy and less privileged," said Asuni. As a volunteer, she worked in a hospital in Lagos, Nigeria, where she saw how great the demand is for medical supplies and health services. She will present her award to the Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas.

"They are dedicated to improving the health condition in Nigeria through medical missions, the donation of medical supplies, and the development of telemedicine and distant learning," she said.

Brian Schultz, a nutrition and dietetics major, is using his award to establish a named Tradition Fellowship in honor of his late grandmother, Virginia Coppola, who he describes as "a true humanitarian, always willing to offer her talents and time to those in her life." He credits her for having instilled in him a strong work ethic and a commitment to community, both of which he was able to display through his volunteer efforts with Cornell's Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Human Ecology Ambassadors. Schultz served as the finance officer for the EMS his junior year and was an executive board member of the ambassadors this year.

Of the Virginia Coppola Fellowship, he says, "It can be awarded to a Human Ecology student who exemplifies a gregarious and jovial personality and who excels not only in the academic setting, but also in the work that he or she does for the community."

The primary component of The Cornell Tradition is a fellowship that replaces the recipient's need-based loans, reducing his or her level of debt. Slightly less than 5 percent of the undergraduate population are selected to be Cornell Tradition Fellows. Incoming freshmen are nominated during the admissions process, while upper-class students apply directly. Next fall the amount of the fellowship will increase to $3,500, and the amount of the Senior Recognition Award will also increase to $3,500 next year.

Janiece Bacon Oblak, director of the Cornell Tradition and assistant dean of admissions and financial aid for recognition programs, describes the fellowship as "a wonderful capstone to the entire undergraduate Tradition experience."

"We hope that when fellows leave Cornell, they carry the knowledge not only that their total level of debt is significantly lower, but also that their dedication to work and service has made a difference," she said. "This is a great introduction to the joys of philanthropy for the fellows who are selected to receive this award, and one that I hope sets a standard for their future."

Below are the names of the 1998 Tradition Senior Recognition Award winners, their hometowns and majors, along with information as to how their $2,500 award is being used:

• Colleen Akehurst of Bel Air, Md.; electrical engineering; $1,500 to the Kirsten B. Akehurst Memorial Scholarship and $1,000 to the Lillian Affinito/Class of '98 Scholarship.
• Bolanle R. Asuni of Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; nutritional science; the Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas, located in Riverside, Calif.
• Jonel Daphnis of Miami; rural sociology/pre-med; the Ken Glover Scholarship Fund. The fund will provide annual awards to two high school students.
• Brian Gaither of San Antonio, Texas; history; $1,250 to the Ivy Council, which is housed at Columbia University, and $1,250 to the Cornell Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers.
• Gabriela A. Gallegos of El Paso, Texas; government and philosophy; Annunciation House, a facility in El Paso that provides meals and shelter for the needy.
• Nathaniel C. Guest of Pottstown, Pa.; independent major in the College of Arts and Sciences; Friends of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, located in Strasburg, Pa.
• Min Peter Kim of Ellicott City, Md.; biology; the Class of 1998 scholarship fund on behalf of his parents.
• Roxanne Ryan of Laurelton, N.Y.; policy analysis and management; the Youth Challenge Training Program in New York City.
• Brian A. Schultz of Seymour, Conn.; nutrition/dietetics; a Tradition Fellowship for a student in the College of Human Ecology, in remembrance of his grandmother, Virginia M. Coppola.
• Scott Strobridge of Merrick, N.Y.; government; $1,500 to the Society for Hospital and Resources Exchange Inc. (SHARE) in New City, N.Y. and $1,000 to the Ithaca Salvation Army.
• Nilda Taveras of Rockville Centre, N.Y.; fine arts/psychology; a Tradition Fellowship for a Latina student at Cornell.
• Rachel Joy Valente of Henrietta, N.Y.; industrial and labor relations; the American Cancer Society of Rochester, N.Y.

For more information on the Cornell Tradition or the Senior Recognition Award, contact Janiece Bacon Oblak at (607) 255-8595 or jbo3@cornell.edu.