PEL alumnae Renee Hamad '10 and Mary Miller '97 honored

Renee Hamad '10 with Eckerd College President Donald Eastman III.

On March 5, 2016, at the Alumni Award Breakfast, two PEL alumnae received awards from President Donald Eastman and Professor Catherine Griggs on behalf of the Women’s Resources Committee.

Renee Hamad ‘10 received the WRC Gender Justice Award. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of PEL. Renee served her internship at the Women’s Resource Center of Sarasota County and became so engaged in helping the women who used the center that she continued to volunteer and offer material support after the internship ended. She was the President from 2012-14 and continues to serve on its board.

Currently Renee is working to fund and establish more scholarships for the Daughters for Life Foundation, which offers awards and scholarships "to young women of any Middle Eastern nationality or background, whether Arab or Israeli, and regardless of religious affiliation, whether Muslim, Jewish, or Christian. Our goal is to invest in their potential for leadership and foster their success in whatever fields they choose to pursue."

With her daughter, a medical doctor, Renee recently sponsored a fundraiser in Sarasota that raised money for two scholarships, and she plans to continue this work

(l-r) Prof. Catherine Griggs, Mary Miller '97, and EC President Donald Eastman III.

Mary Miller ‘97 received the WRC Professional Achievement Award. Mary Miller is a graduate of PEL and has been a trustee of Eckerd College for many years. She was instrumental in inspiring the foundation of alumni chapters in PEL, of sponsoring events to bring alumni, faculty, and students together, of organizing a tennis tournament to raise funds, of sponsoring a scholarship and loan program, and of instituting the David and Blanche Colgan Memorial Prize for a graduating PEL student.

In nominating her for an alumni award, a PEL student wrote: “Mary Miller for her tremendous dedication to PEL students and Eckerd College.”

In 2004 Mary and Dan Miller pledged a gift to Eckerd College that resulted in the complete renovation of the Dan and Mary Miller auditorium, making it a premier venue for film. Mary has been a longtime supporter of film programs at Eckerd College.