The David H. Winton Baccalaureate Award is presented to the graduate(s) ranking highest in scholarship among those in the graduating class.
Bailey Bourque ’20
Bailey Bourque, a nursing major from Gardiner, Maine, continues a multi-generational family legacy that began with her grandmother, who served as a nurse during World War II nurse.
As a Wesson Honors Program graduate who excelled during her four years at the college, Bailey is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing and a three-year member of Alpha Chi National College Honor Society, serving as co-president of the Colby-Sawyer chapter during the 2019-20 academic year. She and her Capstone group were awarded the 2020 Nursing Capstone Award for their project, “Standardization of Symptom Triage and Management Among Hospice Patients.”
Bailey was also committed to building a well-rounded academic portfolio through the pursuit of her creative passions. She took Dance Repertory and Performance classes throughout her time at Colby-Sawyer, and could often be found dancing in the studio during her free time. Bailey was also a member of the Student Nurses Association, volunteering with the student-led organization at campus blood drives and flu clinics.
As a student who took full advantage of the academic and professional development opportunities available to her, Bailey took on the role of teaching assistant for Introduction to Professional Nursing, and as laboratory assistant for Health Assessment and Fundamentals of Nursing. She completed her senior practicum on the Birthing Pavilion at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., where she will begin her nursing career as an RN.
Laura Kontoules ’20
Laura Kontoules, a creative writing major and studio art minor from Salem, Mass., is as committed to the arts as she is to academic achievement. An Alpha Chi National Honor Society member who graduated in just three years, Laura used her time at Colby-Sawyer to explore her passions in art, writing, theater and music.
As a member of CSC Players, Laura performed in the musical production Legally Blonde her first year, and in the play Lysistrata her second year. She was a member of the Colby-Sawyer Singers and Dance Club and she took private voice lessons through the college. She was also a member of Word Order and the Anime Club.
Laura completed her internship with the Salem Athenaeum in Salem, Mass., an independent membership library and cultural center that hosts literary, musical and social events. As an intern, Laura helped to plan and organize the 2019 Salem Literary Festival, a weekend event designed “to inspire and promote literacy and a love of books and reading by creating connections through sharing stories.” The 2019 event, held in three venues, featured 60 authors and drew an audience of about 400.
Laura plans to spend the next year further exploring music and theater and developing her creative projects while working as a page at the Salem Public Library. In the future, she hopes to publish chapbooks of poetry, as well as a young adult novel titled Jailbird, which she started as her Colby-Sawyer Capstone project.