LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ -- Andrea Torano (left), a junior from Southampton, PA, has been named the recipient of Rider University's Gary A. Carskaddan History Prize, an award presented twice a year to the Rider history major with the highest grade point average in history courses during the previous semester.

The award was presented by Dr. Thomas Callahan Jr. (right), chairperson of Rider's department of history.

A 1996 graduate of Archbishop Wood High School in Warminster, PA, Torano is double-majoring in history and elementary education. In addition to her continuing excellence in her Rider classes, she is also spreading her knowledge in grade school classrooms this semester while student-teaching at Dutch Neck Elementary School in West Windsor Township, NJ.

The Carskaddan prize is the second major academic accolade garnered by Torano recently. Her outstanding academic work has also earned her recognition as an Andrew J. Rider Scholar, the University's highest student honor. The Andrew J. Rider Scholars are the four seniors, three juniors, and three sophomores with the highest cumulative grade point average in each of the University's five colleges and schools at the end of the spring semester. A second-year honoree, Torano will be recognized along with 52 other Andrew J. Rider Scholars during the campus-wide observance of Founder's Day on Saturday, November 7, at 11 a.m. in the Student Center Theater.

Torano's extra-curricular activities on campus include membership in Kappa Psi Kappa honor society for education. She is also a member of the track and field and cross country teams, the latter of which currently holds a 3-1 record in NCAA competition.

As part of the Carskaddan prize, Torano will have her name added to a plaque displayed in the history department. She will also receive a gift certificate from the Rider University Store.

Gary A. Carskaddan is a 1985 Rider graduate who has funded the history prize for several years. He is currently a student life administrator at Holy Cross College in Worcester, MA.