Carnegie Mellon University
June 15, 2021

Senior Recognized With Gretchen Goldsmith Lankford Award

By Stefanie Johndrow

Alana Mittleman (DC 2021) has been selected as the recipient of the 2021 Gretchen Goldsmith Lankford Award. The award is given to a graduating senior in Carnegie Mellon University’s Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences for outstanding academic achievement who plans to attend graduate school and pursue a career in education.

“I was very honored to be nominated and selected for this award. It's wonderful to know that the college supports my goals in educational technology. I look forward to pursuing my career in the company of all the past recipients of this award,” said Mittleman, who graduated this spring with a bachelor of science in cognitive science with an additional major in statistics.

This spring, Mittleman worked as a junior product specialist at Carnegie Learning, where she worked with product managers for math and STEM education. In August, Mittleman will enter CMU’s Master of Human-Computer Interaction program.

“I look forward to strengthening my design skills and gaining more experience with cross-discipline collaboration. I believe this experience will prepare me to work as a product manager in the field of educational technology,” wrote Mittleman in her candidate statement. “I hope to contribute to educational software that is accessible and enables students to further their education independently.”

Lankford Prize honorees receive a monetary grant and a book from the student’s discipline that is chosen by the student’s nominators. The prize is named after the late Gretchen Goldsmith Lankford (MM 1943, HNZ 1990).

Learn about past Gretchen Goldsmith Lankford Award recipients