Mazel tov to award-winning scholar Rachel Levine

Rachel Serena Levine of Orlando graduated at the top of a class of more than 5,000 bachelor's degree candidates during the 134th Commencement at the University of Southern California held in May.

A member of Temple Shir Shalom, Oviedo, and a graduate of the Center for International Studies at Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, Levine, and 16 other straight-A students, was honored on May 11, 2017, as part of a Wall of Scholars recognition ceremony held in the Leavey Library on the Los Angeles, California, campus. As a recipient of the Emma Josephine Bradley Bovard Award, her name will be etched into glass panels lining the walls of the Weingart Reading Room in the Leavey Library.

At the 2017 Student Recognition Ceremony held earlier in the day, Rachel, a 2016 recipient of the Phi Beta Kappa key, received the Order of Troy, awarded to graduating undergraduates whose leadership, in conjunction with academic excellence, has provided significant value to the USC community, as well as being recognized as a Steven and Kathryn Sample USC Renaissance Scholar, recognizing students who excel in two or more unrelated disciplines.

During her senior year at USC, Levine helped found the organization USC Undergraduates Studying East Asia, which provided a venue for students in the various East Asian Language and Culture disciplines to meet and share cultural aspects of their programs. She was also a tutor in the Athletic Services department, as well as a mentor to other tutors.

Levine has been award a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, in East Asian Language and Culture, with minors in International Relations and Psychology. She has enrolled in the Master of Arts in Asian Studies program at Florida International University where she will be a teaching assistant.