The award will be presented at the 2006 CEIA Annual Conference to be held April 23-25 in Cinncinnati, Ohio.

Smothermon was nominated for the CEIA Award for her internship performance, as well as her leadership on campus and in the community. CEIA assists more than 500 colleges and universities that offer cooperative education and internship programs, and all participating members of the organization were eligible to nominate their internship students for the award.

Smothermon interned with the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., in the fall of 2004. She worked in the Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary, and had numerous responsibilities, including maintaining a database of the agency’s science and technology experts, organizing briefings related to science and technology issues, and updating the office’s Web pages.

At Southwestern, Smothermon has been involved with a wide variety of activities, including the SU Gymnastics Club, Delta Omicron (the professional music fraternity), and the SU orchestra. When Hurricane Rita was approaching Texas, she organized volunteers to welcome families of students who came to Southwestern to escape the hurricane. Smothermon is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Chi National Honor Society and Pi Sigma Alpha Political Science Honor Society.

After graduation, she plans to work for a few years and then attend law school.