2021 Outstanding Religious Studies Thesis Award — Anna-Elena Maheu, “Laying the Groundwork: Desert Spaces and the Sacralization of U.S. Settler Colonialism” (Honors Thesis in Religious Studies)
This award is given in recognition of an outstanding Bates thesis completed in Religious Studies. Nominations are made by Religious Studies faculty on the basis of quality of research, technical and analytical excellence, and original contribution to the field of Religious Studies. Names and thesis titles of recipients of this award will appear on the Awards page of the Religious Studies website and on a dedicated plaque hung in the Religious Studies lounge or thesis room.

2021 Rev. West Gould Willis Award – Anna Maheu
This endowed award, administered annually by Bates College with a small cash prize, is given, by stipulation of the prize endowment, to one or more students for “reading of the Bible with Expression.” The Willis Award “for excellence in reading from the Bible was established by Dr. Ellen A. Williamson of Los Angeles, California, in memory of her father, the Reverend West Gould Willis, Cobb Divinity School, 1871.” It is currently awarded in recognition of excellent work in biblical studies.