Samuel Rueter Awarded the 2021 Psychology Excellence Prize

Published:

September 02, 2021

left to right: Sam Rueter, Will Telingator and Zeke Miller

Rueter is pictured here on the left with fellow 2021 Grinnell graduates Will Telingator (middle) and Zeke Miller (right). Rueter and Miller wear silver stoles to represent their membership in Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology.

The Grinnell College Department of Psychology faculty named Samuel Rueter ’21 the recipient of the 2021 Psychology Excellence Prize. Rueter received a letter from the department along with an honorarium and his name appears on an engraved plaque displayed in the psychology commons in the Noyce Science Center.

The Psychology Excellence Prize is awarded to the senior psychology major who notably demonstrated voluntary engagement with and commitment to the values of the discipline, such as in a particular research project, application of psychology, or outstanding involvement in departmental activities.

Rueter distinguished himself in the department through his commitment to psychology as demonstrated by the completion of challenging Mentored Advanced Projects (MAPs), leadership in the Student Educational Policy Committee (SEPC), off-campus work with Big Brothers Big Sisters and Connecting Grinnellians, and contributions to the campus-wide work on diversity and inclusion.

Rueter’s MAP work, portions of which he presented at the April 2021 Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, demonstrated excellence in undergraduate scholarship in psychology. Rueter also provided leadership on the SEPC to help bring community to majors dispersed across the globe during the pandemic, to advocate for additional and more visible for tutoring services, and to assist in the search for future faculty in our department. His perspective as a student representative on the college working group for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the psychology SEPC was tremendously valuable to the faculty’s understanding of student classroom experiences. Rueter was a role model in his classroom behavior, work habits, and his commitment to the psychology department and the shared educational endeavor of psychology faculty and students.

After a summer leading the Counselor Development Program at Camp Sewataro in Sudbury, Massachusetts, Rueter is continuing his pursuits in psychology as a clinical research assistant at the Bradley Hasbro Children’s Research Center at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, which is a step on the way to his goal of obtaining a Ph.D. in psychology and, eventually, a career serving children and youth.

The Department of Psychology thanks Rueter for the positive impact he made while a student at Grinnell and wishes him well in all his future endeavors.

Past Psychology Excellence Prize Winners

2020: Miho Tatsuki
2019: Maisie Grace Lewis
2019: Nicole Susan Carver
2018: Lauren Patrice Hurley
2018: Helena Frances Alacha
2017: Samantha R. Fitzsimmons-Schoenberger
2016: Angela Mae Bowles Edwards
2015: Emily Lynn Twedell
2014: Claire Yiting Tseng
2013: Jennifer Raffety Peek
2012: Jian Ming Colin Wee
2011: Scott Martin Phillips
2010 Megan Elizabeth McDoniel
2009: Paul Frederick Kramer
2008: Graciela Patricia Paz Arias
2007: Samantha Lee Worzalla
2006: Jessica Rae Peltan
2005: Alissa C. Briggs