“Anytime students are talking with their families about what they're learning, that really pleases me.”
Humanities Assistant Professor Margaret Wiley
alumni awards
The Distinguished Alumni Award is given annually at Commencement in recognition of an alumna or alumnus who has made a distinctive and unique contribution to his or her profession and to society.
2009 Award Recipient: Hannah “Haydi” Caldwell Sowerwine '60
In recognition of her commitment and service to the world community, Colby-Sawyer College recognizes Hannah “Haydi” Caldwell Sowerwine '60 with the Distinguished Alumni Award. For more than a decade, Mrs. Sowerwine has worked toward improving the quality of life for rural people in Nepal.
In 1996, she and her husband, O. David Sowerwine, founded EcoSystems, a company that provides safe, inexpensive and environmentally sound transport and energy systems in Nepal. Their first product, a bridge system designed for Nepal's rugged and remote regions, allows people to safely cross chasms, gorges and rivers, shortening daily trips to schools, health centers and marketplaces from hours to minutes. The Sowerwines' company has already constructed 32 of these bridges across Nepal.
EcoSystems has also developed a human-powered generator and electricity distribution system, which will bring electricity to homes, schools and businesses in rural Nepal. Their innovative designs have won a number of awards, including the San Jose Tech Museum award in 2003 for their bridges and a grant from the World Bank for their new electricity project.
Previously, Mrs. Sowerwine worked with IDEO, a product design firm in Palo Alto, Calif., and raised a blended family with five children. When she and her husband moved to Nepal in 1991, she became involved in Active Women of Nepal (AWON), for which she was instrumental in establishing a scholarship program for Nepalese students. For several years, they assisted the Nepalese people in horticulture, forestry and waste management before starting EcoSystems as a way to offer rural people more feasible transportation and energy.
Mrs. Sowerwine currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Nepalese Youth Opportunity Foundation. Of their time in Nepal, she says, “We have found endless opportunities to be useful and discovered the Nepali culture and people to be a source of constant surprises and pleasure.”
Past Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients
| 2008 | JoAnn Franke Overfield '69 |
| 2007 | Jean “Je-Je” Harding Pierce '47 |
| 2006 | Leslie Wright Dow '57 |
| 2005 | Mary Trafton Simonds '38 |
| 2004 | Suzanne Simons Hammond '66 |
| 2003 | Eleanor Morrison Goldthwait '51, '52 |
| 2002 | Deborah Field McGrath '68 |
| 2001 | Barbara Clough '31, '01 |
| 2000 | Anne Winton Black '73, '75 |
| 1999 | Sharon Fitzpatrick Merrill '68 |
| 1998 | Diane Shugrue Gallagher '57 |
| 1997 | Joyce Juskalian Kolligian '55 |
| 1996 | Rebecca Young Robinson '64 |
| 1995 | Veda Kaufman Levin '67 |
| 1994 | Marilyn Moore Maslow '52 |
| 1993 | Jan Brett '69 |
