U. awards Holland, Mackey top honor

On Feb. 12, Lester Mackey '07 received an email from Dean of Undergraduate Students Kathleen Deignan instructing him to come immediately to her office. He obeyed the summons, thinking, "What did I do this time?"

The news, though, was anything but bad.

Deignan informed Mackey that he had been selected, along with Alisha Holland '07, to receive the Moses Taylor Pyne Honor Prize, an annual award given to one or more graduating seniors who have manifested exceptional scholarship, leadership and personal character. The prize is the highest general award bestowed by the University upon an undergraduate.

Both Holland and Mackey have earned the respect of their professors for their dedication to academics and extracurricular activities.

"What makes Alisha stand out," said politics professor Deborah Yashar, "is that she excels in multiple domains at the same time." Yashar also directs the Program in Latin American Studies.

Holland, a Wilson School major pursuing a certificate in Latin American studies, said she sees her studies as a way to contribute meaningfully to the larger world. Originally a prospective chemistry major, Holland's plans changed after coming to Princeton.

"I was first attracted to science because I believed research had the potential to alleviate human suffering and save lives," she said. "At Princeton, I realized the study of international affairs and public policy contained the same potential humanitarian impact."

Holland's senior thesis incorporates these interests by investigating the political process that gave rise to anti-gang strategies in Latin American countries. As part of her research, she traveled to Guatemala and El Salvador to conduct interviews with politicians, police and nongovernmental organization workers.

"Alisha cares passionately about politics and social justice; is extremely articulate and theoretically insightful; and maintains a humility and kindness as she engages with others," Yashar said in an email. "This is a powerful combination."

Mackey also said he sees his career as an opportunity to help others. A computer science major pursuing a certificate in applied and computational mathematics, he was recently named the 2007 outstanding male undergraduate by the Computing Research Association for his junior independent work on computer hardware faults.

He has also worked to create a means of communication for victims of aphasia, a condition that causes individuals to have trouble creating or articulating speech. For his certificate, Mackey is designing a machine learning program that would enable Netflix to better predict how an individual will rate a movie based on past film experiences.

"At every step, but particularly in his research activities, [Mackey] has far exceeded what I imagined it possible for any undergraduate to do," computer science professor David Walker said in a statement.

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Mackey and Holland have both pursued extensive extracurricular endeavors in addition to their studies. These activities, they said, are an integral part of their lives and reflect the diversity of their interests.

"[Extracurricular activities] give me energy for academics," Holland said. She is a co-founder of the Latin American Studies Student Organization and an active member of the Princeton Justice Project. She is also a former president of the Princeton Figure Skating Club and Flamenco Puro, a traditional Spanish dance troupe.

Mackey is a chair of the Undergraduate Research Symposium, a Computer Science Undergraduate Council representative, computer science tutor and student advisor for Forbes College and the engineering school. He also branches out into other areas, singing with the Chapel Choir and the a cappella group Kindred Spirit in addition to participating in Music Outreach, a Student Volunteers Council organization that sings at local nursing homes. Mackey is also an editor of Prism magazine and has coached for the Let's Get Ready program.

"I think it would be very sad to have all my activities be computer-science related," Mackey said in an email. "That wouldn't fully capture who I am."