CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard Athletics and the Harvard Varsity Club honored the Class of 2022 on Wednesday night, May 25, at the annual Senior Letterwinners' Dinner, held inside the Bright-Landry Hockey Center for the first time since 2019, to honor the standout athletic and academic achievements of this year's graduating student-athletes.
The Class of 2022 included 176 All-America selections, and 68 Academic All-America honorees. This senior class also earned numerous all-conference and academic awards.
Hannah Pearce from field hockey and Dean Farris from men's swimming and diving earned the top honors of the evening as recipients of the Radcliffe Prize and the William J. Bingham '16 Award as Harvard's top female and male student-athletes, respectively.
A psychology concentrator in Winthrop House. Pearce helped the field hockey team to its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament semifinals, earning Northeast Player of the Year and All-America first team recognition from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) along the way. This year's Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, she is a four-time All-Ivy League selection and three-time All-Northeast Region pick. Pearce ranks among the Crimson's all-time leaders in goals and game-winning goals, with her seven game-winning goals this season ranking second in program history. As co-captain of this year's team she was also named to the NFHCA National Academic Squad.
A history & science concentrator in Quincy House, Farris won NCAA Championships in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke in 2019 and established both the NCAA and American records in the 200 freestyle as the lead leg of Harvard's 800 free relay team. In total he has earned 23 All-America honors, won 27 Ivy League titles, and helped the Crimson win four-consecutive Ivy League team championships. Farris also received Academic All-America third team recognition in 2019, has twice been named to the Academic All-Ivy League team, and this past fall helped Harvard's men's swimming & diving program post the highest GPA in the country among Division I programs.
The Harvard-Radcliffe Foundation for Women's Athletics Prize (HRFWA), which is awarded to the top female scholar athlete, was given to Felicia Pasadyn of women's swimming and diving. An integrative biology concentrator in Lowell House. Pasadyn won the 2022 NCAA Elite 90 Award for women's swimming and diving which recognizes the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's championships. A 10-time Ivy League Champion, six-time All-American, and holder of seven Harvard records despite only competing two years, Pasadyn is also a two-time John Harvard Scholar Award and Detur Book Prize recipient. In addition, she led the Equity, Reform, and Accountability Committee as part of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was the winner of the 2022 Joseph L. Barrett Prize for dedication to student learning and excellence as an exceptional leader of the ARC Peer Tutoring Community.
Charles Lego of men's track and field earned the John P. Reardon '60 Award as the top male scholar athlete. A physics concentrator in Pforzheimer House, Lego has excelled in the classroom as a physics concentrator with a heavy dose of theoretical mathematics. Lego has also been cited as a selfless leader, frequently recounting the achievements of others when asked about his own achievements. In the Pforzheimer House community, his Deans, tutors, and fellow students have all noted his maturity, good humor, and willingness to take extra steps to make people feel welcome. Lego overcame injury to become a multiple-time All-Ivy League performer and won an Ivy League Championship as a member of the Crimson's indoor 4x400 relay team in 2019-20.
Jason Shen of men's volleyball earned the Arthur L. Boland Prize, presented each year to the senior varsity athlete who will be attending medical school and who best exemplifies those characteristics and qualities which were the hallmark of Dr. Boland's care for Harvard student-athletes. A neuroscience concentrator in Leverett House, Shen co-founded Harvard Undergraduate Global Surgery, a global health club whose vision is to promote a future for accessible, affordable, and sustainable surgical care worldwide. In his role as Vice President, Shen led fundraising and volunteer coordination for international patients undergoing surgery in the U.S. He has also served as a Board Member for the Harvard Society for Mind, Brain, and Behavior, and has worked as a member of the Harvard Premedical Society Peer Advising Program. He was awarded a Harvard College Research Program Summer Fellowship for his research with Dr. Dusica Bajic on the impact of complex perioperative critical care on infant development, and most recently worked alongside Dr. Matthew Anderson at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to elucidate behavioral circuitries driving aggression in mouse models of autism spectrum disorder. Shen is a John Harvard Scholar, Detur Book Prize recipient, and a three-time Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association All-Academic selection.
The John P. Fadden Award, given annually to a senior student (Varsity, JV or Intramural) who has overcome physical adversity to make a contribution to an eligible program, was awarded to Justin Mitchell from football. An economics concentrator in Adams House. Mitchell overcame a preseason hamstring injury as a first-year to appear in two games. That spring he became ill and endured an extended hospitalization—requiring both a chest tube and follow-up surgery—forcing him to miss his entire sophomore season. As a junior, Mitchell suffered a torn patella tendon in preseason, again forcing him to miss the entire season, and then re-tore the same tendon months later during rehab. This season, as a senior, Mitchel saw action in three games and returned a fumble 13 yards for a touchdown against Brown.
Recognizing the manager in the senior class who has best displayed integrity, courage, leadership and ability, Sam Lincoln of men's alpine skiing was the recipient of the Carrol F. Getchell Manager of the Year Award. A joint concentrator in classics and comparative literature in Lowell House, Lincoln served the alpine skiing program as head manager all four seasons. His work redefined the role of manager to include supervising the start area on race days. In this position, Lincoln kept athletes prepared and focused while also relaying critical information to the coaching staff prior to the start of races. Additionally, Lincoln served as the Eastern NCAA region's Media Intern for two years, writing event recaps and interviewing athletes and staff.
Derek Schaedig of men's ice hockey earned the Francis J. Toland Community Service Award. A psychology concentrator in Eliot House, as a sophomore, Schaedig published The Harvard Crimson's #1 sports feature, "Down But Not Out", revealing his struggles with mental health and urging other student-athletes to break their silence and seek help when needed. As an advocate for student-athlete mental health, Schaedig has conducted research into how NCAA coaches can better support their student-athlete's psychological health. He has also been deeply involved with MyHuddle, a program that provides mental training services for both student-athletes and coaches.
Chelsea Offiaeli of women's track and field earned The Director's Award, established in 2007 to recogniaze the person (or persons) who, through their pursuit of excellence and service to Harvard Athletics, has displayed exceptional leadership, personal character, integrity and commitment to education through athletics. A joint concentrator in studies of women, gender & sexuality and African & African American studies in Adams House. Offiaeli co-founded the Harvard Track & Field Anti-Racist Education Committee, working to create and facilitate anti-racist education for teammates and coaches. She has also consulted with Athletic Department staff to create structural changes that will improve the experiences of Harvard's student-athletes. In addition, Offiaeli served as the Outreach Coordinator & Women of Color Collective Coordinator for the Harvard College Women's Center, supervising student volunteers and leading them in creating events and media content to support women of color at Harvard College. As an intern with the Harvard College Office of Communications, Offiaeli produced YouTube and Instagram content highlighting the student experience at the College while ensuring the content was reflective of the diversity of Harvard. She has done all this while earning All-Ivy League second team honors in the shot put at this year's Ivy League Indoor Championships.
Sofie Fella of women's rugby was the recipient of the Mary G. Paget Prize, which is awarded to the senior that has contributed the most to women's athletics. A psychology concentrator in Winthrop House. Fella served as vice president of the Undergraduate Women of Harvard Athletics (uWHA) before assuming the role of co-president as a junior. During this time the uWHA became a Department Sponsored Student Organization with Harvard Athletics working to address the most pressing problems faced by female student-athletes while also supporting women in achieving their personal and professional goals. Fella also represented the women's rugby team on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and served a term as co-president as a junior.
The Francis H. Burr '09 Scholarship is the oldest athletic award presented by Harvard, and was given to Isabelle Bastian of women's heavyweight rowing and George Nageeb of men's soccer.
A social studies concentrator in Kirkland House. Bastian serves as a co-captain of the women's heavyweight rowing program and as a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative, Peer Advising Fellow, and First-Year Outdoor Program Leader. She has performed research into how local healthcare providers communicate with diverse patient populations and has tutored a Boston Public School student in biology and physics through the RowBoston program. As a first-year she earned NRCA National Scholar-Athlete honors while helping the Crimson to an appearance in the NCAA Championships.
A biomedical engineering and comparative study of religion concentrator in Mather House. Nageeb founded an eye clinic and surgery center in Egypt with the goal of making a dent in curable blindness among the poor. He also co-founded the Je Suis Soccer Academy in Egypt to train economically disadvantaged and religious minority youths, providing a critical social determinant of health for children of poor families. As a member of the Crimson, Nageeb earned a spot on the men's soccer team as a walk-on and this season helped the team to its highest win total since 2016.
The Harvard Varsity Club has been instrumental to the success of Harvard Athletics since it was founded in 1886. The Varsity Club preserves the traditions, fosters the ideals, and advances the interests of Harvard Athletics through a wide range of activities for our 20,000+ members. The annual Senior Letterwinners' Dinner, established in 1967 to honor the contributions of the outgoing senior class, is one example of the many functions provided by the Varsity Club.
