DePauw Stories

Representing the Class of 2025 at the annual student awards convocation on April 28, two highly accomplished seniors etched their names in DePauw history by becoming the most recent recipients of the Walker Cup and the Murad Medal — two of the most prestigious honors bestowed upon graduating seniors.

Walker Cup

In 1926, Guy Morrison Walker set out to start a new tradition at his alma mater. Having graduated from DePauw in 1890 before embarking on a successful career in business and finance, Walker envisioned an award that would annually recognize an exceptional graduating senior who had “lived up to the best of DePauw traditions, and done the most to advance the fame and interest of Old DePauw.” Now, nearly a century later, the Walker Cup remains a revered part of DePauw’s legacy.

Given to students who have been nominated by their senior class, this award is among the highest distinctions a DePauw student can receive. Not only have past Walker Cup recipients embodied the values and ideals of DePauw while on campus, but they have also gone on to extend their influence throughout the world as scholars, doctors, authors, U.S. representatives, state supreme court justices, corporate executives and community servants.

Representing the Class of 2025 on that list of esteemed Walker Cup recipients is Ashley Long, a native of Monticello, Ill., who is graduating with a major in economics and a minor in political science.

Long’s presence on campus has been widely felt over the last four years. She has served as a first-year mentor, a peer mentor, an admissions liaison, a Management Fellows ambassador, and the chapter president of Pi Beta Phi. Long has also been a dedicated student-athlete, serving as a three-time captain for the women’s golf team and a two-time recipient of the Tiger Spirit Award while also being named a WGCA All-American Scholar. She has been inducted into Omicron Delta Epsilon and Chi Alpha Sigma, and she was selected to be a rechartering member of the Order of Omega honor society, initiating nearly 100 new members in its first year.

Upon graduation, Long will be joining BMO’s Commercial Bank in Chicago, Illinois.

Joining Long as finalists for the Walker Cup were Christian Archer, Paige Burgess and Elijah Federman.

Murad Medal

Dr. Ferid Murad was a 1958 DePauw graduate and the winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Medicine. His discoveries regarding the use of nitric oxide led to revolutionary changes in the field of cardiovascular medicine, the effects of which continue to influence the treatment of cancer, arthritis and other human diseases. He was a generous supporter of his alma mater and an active member of the scientific community up until his recent passing in September 2023.

Named in his honor, the Murad Medal recognizes an outstanding graduating senior who has attained the most significant achievements in scholarship or artistic mastery. Since its inception in 2014, the company of Murad Medal winners has included students excelling in everything from innovative scientific research to groundbreaking artistic performances, demonstrating expertise in a wide range of academic disciplines.

This year, the Murad Medal has been awarded to Amalie Vacanti, a Rector scholar with a double major in anthropology and global health.

Throughout her DePauw career, Vacanti has been actively involved in innovative research that centers on care work and our tangible and intangible avenues to healthcare, presenting her findings at numerous conferences and professional gatherings. She is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, the American Anthropological Association, the Society for Applied Anthropology and the Association of Applied Ethics. Within the DePauw community, she has been a resident assistant, a presidential ambassador, an admissions ambassador, and the Lead Intern for Off-Campus Programming at the Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics. She also serves on the board of local non-profit The Castle and was a member of the Midwest Doula Research Collective. In addition to the Murad Medal, Vacanti is the recipient of the Edmond H. and Rosamond B. Spicer Student Award and the Ruth McLeod Award for Cultural Anthropology.

Although she is a member of the Class of 2025, Vacanti graduated a semester early and assumed a full-time position as an analyst at Consilience Group, LLC. She plans to continue her studies in graduate school while pursuing a doctorate in medical anthropology.

Additional finalists for the 2025 Murad Medal included Nina Shaffer and Abigail Fathauer.