Each year, seniors in the College are invited to nominate a high school teacher or staff member for consideration for the Singer Family Prize. The four award winners receive a plaque and $3,000, as well as $2,500 for their school. Singer Prize recipients are also invited to the Ģ����ý’s commencement ceremony to watch as their former students graduate.

“The Paul Singer Family Foundation feels strongly that while devoted secondary school teachers play a vital role in the intellectual development of American society, they often receive little recognition or acclaim for their endeavors,” said Gordon Singer, son of Paul Singer ’66, who endowed the prize.

Mary Bohning, AP Environmental Science and Ecology, Harborside Academy, Kenosha, Wisconsin

Mary Bohning was nominated by graduating senior Pablo Arroyo for her dedication to the environment and helping to instill healthy eating habits in children at a young age.

Arroyo, who is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in environmental science, says that through the gardening initiative Bohning began in 2010 at Harborside Academy, she taught him to understand the importance of not only the scientific aspects of gardening, but also how gardening is a complete action that requires “nurturing the fruits of our labors, both physically and mentally.”

In his nomination letter, Arroyo says, “Here at the URochester our mantra is Learn, Discover, Heal, Create—and make the world Ever Better. Mrs. Bohning has met each and every one of these five parts of the mantra through her work in not only helping to create school gardens, but also by instilling a sense of community and passion in those she has taught.”

“I can honestly say that she has made the world ever better one student at a time,” Arroyo concluded.

Chris Hartman, Sustainability, The Harley School, Rochester, New York

Chris Hartman, a Warner School of Education alumnus, was nominated by Ulrik Soderstrom, who will receive a dual bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and data science. Soderstrom says that he has been waiting since his freshman year to nominate Hartman for this award because Hartman “intrinsically motivates and empowers students. He simultaneously challenges students to question the world around them, while encouraging the growth of their personal identities and strengths.”

In addition to teaching sustainability, Hartman constructs greenhouses in the back of The Harley School, builds boats with students from diverse backgrounds to help foster understanding among children from different areas of Rochester, and mentors and empowers students by giving them roles in his own local sustainable food company.

“Hartman taught me to put the ‘why’ before the ‘what.’ When I became interested in sustainability, he showed me how to passionately investigate how to do my part with excellence,” Soderstrom writes in his nominating letter. “Hartman takes the initiative to get to know a student and this deeply influences students for the rest of their careers and lives.”

Randall Harper, History, Maine West High School, Des Plaines, Illinois

Randall Harper was nominated by graduating senior Angela Remus. Remus notes in her nominating letter that Harper is “infamous at Maine West High School for demanding the most of his students, especially in his AP European History course.”

Remus says that Harper defined the trajectory of her college career. Because of him, she is earning a bachelor’s degree in international relations and has a passion for human rights, especially related to migration.

Remus’ first class with Harper was called “History of the Western World” and was taught through the lens of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, comparing its ideals to current events happening in the world today. This sparked in her a lifelong passion to end social injustices throughout the world. Harper also presented her with an application to travel to Cambodia and study the Khmer Rouge her junior of high school, an experience she later wrote about for her college admissions essay.

“Were it not for Mr. Harper and the opportunities he facilitated for me, I would likely not have attended the URochester,” Remus says. “I can’t imagine standing where I am today without having had Mr. Harper in my life for the last seven years.”

William Kibler, Academic Decathlon, Cesar Chavez High School, Laveen Village, Arizona

William Kibler was nominated by Jessica He, who says that while Kibler is “obviously over-qualified for his position, he has never considered doing anything else.”

He says she remembers distinctly Kibler once saying that high school is the time when teachers have the most influence on students and that nothing could give him more pleasure than impacting the life of a student.

As the Academic Decathlon teacher, Kibler instructs his students on a vast array of topics, from math, natural sciences and economics to writing, American history, speech and literature, preparing his students to compete against other schools in fierce academic competitions. Despite the limited resources available to his school, Kibler was able to elevate his public high school to rank among the top tier schools in the state, He says.

“Mr. Kibler taught me that anyone has the capacity for knowledge, however, it is up to you to determine what you do with this capacity. He reminded me that I can never ‘finish’ learning, that I should always strive with 100 percent of my effort and always aim higher than I could possibly imagine.”

He is receiving a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences.

“I’ve wanted to be in a room with interesting people saying interesting things about Transparent since I binge-watched the first season back in 2014,” said Rubel. And this coming December, she’ll get her wish.

On Dec.1 and 2, the Institute will hold a two-day symposium aimed at fostering conversations aimed at the nexus of sex and gender studies, Jewish studies, American studies, and media studies. Through this symposium, Rubel hopes to bring together scholars, writers, and critics who are asked to submit research and questions related to the show’s content, as well as the show’s soundtrack and score and changing patterns of television viewing.

Transparent tracks the journey of the Pfeffermans, a secular Jewish family based in Los Angeles in the aftermath of their father’s decision to transition from Mort to Maura. The show has won many awards since the first season began streaming on Amazon in the fall of 2014, including Golden Globes for both “Best Television Series—Musical or Comedy” and “Best Actor in a Television Series—Musical or Comedy” for actor Jeffrey Tambor.

Rubel says that from the first episode, the show “seemed personal to me in a way that was almost uncomfortable. I really felt that the transgender angle of the show was the hook, but that the story of the Pfefferman family was what kept me pressing ‘Play Next Episode.’” In her academic life, Rubel writes mostly about Judaism and gender and she says that out of these two topics, she was struck most by the very real and relatable portrayal of the modern Jewish family that the Pfeffermans present.

She says that this is one of the defining characteristics of Transparent—that everyone can find something to identify with and to take away from the show. “Some people see it as a queer story, some see it as a Jewish story and some see it as an LA story.” It’s this element of connecting and attracting so many different types of people and issues that sparked her idea of a symposium.

But above all, Rubel hopes the symposium will help highlight the “many strengths and diverse subjects that make up the humanities at the URochester.” She has already enlisted co-sponsorships from the departments of Film and Media Studies, Religion and Classics, English and American Studies and hopes to include many more in the coming months.

Essay and topic submissions for the symposium are due Monday, August 1, 2016. For more information, visit