Hampshire College Graduate Hayden Gadd 18S Announced as Winner of 2021 Lorna M. Peterson Prize

Recent Hampshire College graduate Hayden Gadd 18S was announced as the winner of the 2021 Lorna M. Peterson Prize. The Lorna M. Peterson Prize supports scholarly and creative work by undergraduate students taking part in a Five College program. The prize is awarded annually based on nominations from Five College programs to a student who has demonstrated commitment to collaboration in their academic career.

Gadd, who studied neuroscience and biology at Hampshire College, received a Five College Certificate in cognitive neuroscience and a Certificate of Advanced Specialization in American Sign Language (ASL) from the Five College Center for World Languages. Gadd also served as a technical director's assistant for Hampshire’s dance department beginning in February of 2018. Gadd completed his tenure with the department by stage-managing the spring 2021 Div III concert, a hybrid performance of screendances, zoom dances, and live-streamed dances.

"I'm proud to be an alum of not only Hampshire, but of the Five College Consortium as well. Where else can a neurobiology student also learn to be an audio engineer and simultaneously sing and interpret music into ASL? The Lorna M. Peterson prize is not only a great honor, but a testament to the versatility that the Consortium has to offer its students," Gadd said.

Gadd plans to use the prize money to sponsor a workshop highlighting Deaf musical interpretation at a Five College conference next year.

Dr. Lorna M. Peterson served as the executive director of the Five College Consortium from 1990 to 2009. This prize honors her commitment to collaboration as a means of advancing understanding and expanding opportunity, especially for students.

View a virtual performance of “Glory” featuring the Amherst Glee Club and Gadd: