The Williamson Medal

The Williamson Medal is the highest student award presented each year at Franklin & Marshall’s Commencement. It is given to the member of the graduating class who has, during his or her senior year, reached the highest standing in character, leadership and scholarship. The medal was endowed by Owen Moon Jr., in memory of former trustee Henry S. Williamson, and has been presented annually since 1922. This year, the Williamson Medal is awarded to Shayra Nunez.

Shayra is from the South Bronx. A New York City Posse Scholar, she graduates summa cum laude with a joint studies major in business, organizations and society, and government.

Shayra and her family immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic when she was eight. As a first-generation college student, her immigrant experience has shaped many of her academic pursuits. Her independent study through her study-abroad semester examined the 2021 border crisis between Morocco and Spain, while her independent study for the Department of Government was titled, “Who Gets In? The Ethics, History and Future of the U.S. Immigration System.”

Shayra is familiar to many on campus for her leadership roles in student organizations. As senior class president with Diplomatic Congress, she is the first student government leader to earn the Williamson Medal since the late Dr. Stanley Dudrick, a 1957 F&M graduate who went on to pioneer intravenous feeding of medical patients following surgery. She also has served as co-president and senior adviser of S.I.S.T.E.R.S.; a three-year member of Brooks College House Congress, where she also has been a house adviser and house manager; a four-year member of First-Generation Diplomats; and a two-year member of Mi Gente Latina.

Shayra has earned numerous academic honors, including the A.V. Hiester Memorial Prize in Political Science, the Thomas Gilmore Apple Prize, the Jacob Miller Prize, the George W. Wagner Prize and the William H. Hager Prize. She is a member of three academic honor societies: the Black Pyramid Society, Phi Sigma Alpha Political Science Honor Society, and Phi Gamma Mu National Social Science Honor Society. She has served this year as the legal intern with F&M’s Office of General Counsel.

Shayra’s passion for advocacy ties together all her F&M academic and leadership activities. During her junior year, while taking the course, “Open Doors, Closed Borders,” she volunteered with the Lancaster office of Church World Services, a refugee resettlement agency. She continues to volunteer, mentoring refugee students and hosting them for campus tours. After graduation, she wants to continue the work of supporting and empowering the voices of marginalized communities, either through legal advocacy or policy reform.

Shayra, your stellar scholarly accomplishments and outstanding academic research, your service and leadership with a variety of student organizations, and your passion for advocacy for underrepresented communities to ensure that all perspectives are recognized clearly demonstrate Franklin & Marshall College’s ideal of developing difference-making graduates of intellect, character and leadership. You represent all that makes Franklin & Marshall College such a special place. Congratulations!

Shayra Nunez '25, Williamson Medalist

Shayra Nunez '25, Williamson Medalist

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