Senior Wins USA Today Academic Honors

Anne-Marie Oreskovich '99 has been named to the 1999 USA Today All-USA College Academic Team, and will attend an awards luncheon at USA Today headquarters in Arlington, Va. on Feb. 26, the newspaper announced today.

Oreskovich, a Quincy House resident, is one of only 20 students named to USA Today's "First Team" out of 983 nominees from colleges nationwide.

A mathematics concentrator, Oreskovich is described by friends as a "brilliant" and "well-balanced" student who also" knows how to relax."

"I won't be surprised when she wins her Fields Prize," said Marc P. Diaz '99, a fellow Quincy House resident.

Diaz, who plays tennis with Oreskovich, says she is a fun and "really tremendous" person.

In addition to writing a mathematics thesis on knot theory, Oreskovich is also fulfilling pre-med requirements. With plans to acquire both a Ph.D. in mathematics and a M.D., she is applying to graduate schools and medical schools this year and has already been accepted at Cornell.

Danielle M. Estrada '99, Oreskovich's roommate, called her "the average Harvard student."

"She's also just incredibly smart," Estrada added.

Oreskovich, who grew up in Spokane, Wash., came to Harvard in 1995 after a year off in which she appeared as a nurse on "ER."

Oreskovich is co-captain of the Crimson Women's Tennis Club, and also volunteers with Sing Boston, a group that sings and carols in Boston-area nursing homes and hospitals.

This is the tenth consecutive year USA Today has honored students for "outstanding intellectual achievement and leadership." In addition to being named to the team, Oreskovich will receive a $2,500 cash award.

Under the tutelage of Mathematics Head Tutor Clifford H. Taubes, who is her thesis adviser, Oreskovich recently began work on an "open" or unsolved problem, a rare problem for undergraduate math students to tackle, according to Diaz.