Princeton Weekly Bulletin March 1, 1999

Hsia, Sierk win Pyne Prize

   

Pyne Prize cowinner Renee Hsia (c) with her parents, Fontaine and Pei

 

Pyne Prize cowinner Alexander Sierk (l), with his parents Patricia and Donald

 
Seniors Renee Hsia and Alexander Sierk were cowinners of the M. Taylor Pyne Prize, the highest honor conferred on a Princeton undergraduate. Both plan to attend medical school after graduation. Hsia, a public policy major at the Woodrow Wilson School, also plans to pursue a master's in public health for a career in international health in developing countries. Sierk, who is majoring in molecular biology, hopes to specialize in either surgery or oncology.

Hsia is writing her senior thesis on the activities of nongovernmental organizations in China. She also is pursuing a certificate in East Asian Studies. She has been involved with the Princeton Evangelical Fellowship, the Symphony Orchestra and the Student Volunteers Council, having served as project director for the Conversational English Program.

Sierk's senior thesis is on the p53 gene, the most important known tumor suppressor. Place-kicker for the football squad, he was a 1998 NCAA Graduate Scholarship finalist, received All-Ivy honors in 1997 and 1998, and received a graduate fellowship from the National Football Foundation and the College Hall of Fame. In December 1998 the University received $25,000 for a scholarship fund in his honor from the Burger King Foundation. A Big Brother for two years, Sierk participated in a mentoring program at the Newgrange School in Trenton.