LATROBE, PA – Senior biochemistry major Mary R. Anand has been named the winner of the 47^th annual Saint Vincent College President’s Award. The College’s highest honor, it is annually presented to the member of the graduating senior class who best embodies what the Catholic, Benedictine, liberal arts and sciences college values in its students – outstanding academic achievement, student leadership and community service.

In bestowing the honor on Anand, College president Father Paul R. Taylor, O.S.B., commented, “For her academic accomplishments and conscientious, insightful approach to learning; for the ways in which she exemplifies a holistic education rooted in the liberal arts and sciences by integrating her coursework with her vocation, including an exploration of the relationship between theological teachings and her career aspirations to become a physician; for her leadership in academics, service both locally and abroad, campus ministry and student life; and for embodying the mission of Saint Vincent College by undertaking the opportunity for a transformational experience of the mind and spirit; It is my honor as president of Saint Vincent College to convey upon Mary Anand the President’s Award on the fifth day of May, 2021.”

Mary Anand headshot A native of Wexford, Pennsylvania, Anand has been named to the Dean’s List in each of her seven semesters at Saint Vincent College and has earned induction into the Alpha Lambda Delta, Gamma Sigma Epsilon and Alpha Chi honor societies, while she is a Benedictine Leadership Studies fellow and is enrolled in the SVC Honors Program. She is a four-year member of the SVC Respect Life Club, presently serving as secretary, while for the past three years, she has volunteered with Bearcat B.E.S.T. as a Bearcat Buddy.

For the duration of her time at SVC, she has been active with Campus Ministry, regularly serving as lector, eucharistic minister and altar server. She was also honored to have the opportunity to deliver the “I Have a Dream” speech at the College’s 2018 celebration of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

She is a mentor for the American Medical Student Association, having presented seminars on MCAT preparation and sharing her experiences on applying to medical school with her fellow SVC health professions students. Off-campus, she has volunteered at the Mission of Mercy Clinic and has worked at Canonsburg Hospital as a patient fall prevention volunteer, purposeful patient volunteer and general volunteer.

In 2019, Anand was named Outstanding Intern in the Allegheny Health Network Singer Medicine Institute research internship program as a member of the gastroenterology research team under Dr. Shayam Thakkar. Also in the summer of 2019, she took part in the Faith, Work and God in India service-learning trip, where she volunteered at the Missionaries of Charity Home for disabled girls in Kolkata.

She is the daughter of Herm and Anita Anand and the older sister of Joseph, Thomas and Regina Anand. A member of Saints John and Paul Roman Catholic Parish in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, Anand is certified by the Diocese of Pittsburgh as a Level 1 Catechist in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program.

Following graduation, she will pursue a medical degree with plans to become a physician scientist, performing both clinical care and medical research.

Anand was chosen from a field of five distinguished finalists, which included Michael J. Cella, a biology major from Pittsburgh (15221); Shae S. Robson, an accounting major from Tarentum; Julia C. Snyder, an English and communication double major from Murrysville; and Moira J. Sullivan, an anthropology major from Waldorf, Maryland.

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PR2021-065