I was selected as the Art History Top Graduate at Southern Utah University, an honor awarded by faculty to one graduating student in each major. This recognition reflects overall academic achievement, engagement, and contribution to the department, and recipients are nominated for consideration as university valedictorian. I was recognized during a ceremony hosted by the College of Performing and Visual Arts. A significant part of this recognition was my research on Mary Cassatt and Eva Gonzalès, which examined gender disparities in artistic recognition and legacy.  As part of this academic award, I was asked to present the findings of my research to the college. This work was completed under the mentorship of Dr. Andy Kent-Marvick and became a defining piece of my academic experience. Of my work, Dr. Marvick wrote:

"This is a very, very good piece of work...[due to] the organization of the points, the generally excellent writing and the even-handed, step-by-step presentation of the basic facts. But this paper does more than this. Amanda's been wise in first citing the more prosaic explanations for the gap in dollar value between the two artists, then finishing with that astounding gap between the men and the women. It’s a really sound piece of logic we have here: as I’m reading it, in the end Amanda's not saying 'Cassatt sells for more than Gonzalès because [insert market/popularity/etc. here].' Instead, she's really saying, 'Come on! Why are we even fussing over the price gap between Cassatt and Gonzalès when the real issue continues to stare us all in the face, and that’s the price gap between women artists and men artists!' I think Amanda's nailed that point here – albeit in very polite language. She has written a genuinely valuable essay here"