2023 Cherry Braswell Rutland Memorial Award Recipients

Award Recipient: Mary Callie Turner

Mary Callie Turner is a second year student majoring in Nursing. She grew up in Roebuck, South Carolina, after she was adopted from Nanning, China at 14 months old. She attests that being adopted is a large part of her personal story. Turner is involved in Clemson’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Lifepoint Church, National Student Nurses Association and the fundraising committee for the Clemson Period Project, which allows her to express her passion for women’s health and awareness. She attests that ethical leadership is a way to promote unity and that this kind of leadership regardless of the scale, is essential in forming and maintaining one’s moral compass. Post-graduation, Turner aspires to be a labor and delivery nurse and continue her education to become a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner. She anticipates ethics will intersect nearly every decision she makes in healthcare including culturally appropriate treatment recommendations, promoting and upholding equal care for all patients, and handling sensitive patient information. In this role,  she anticipates her strong ethical leadership will increase her self-awareness, and help her grow into a more thoughtful and caring practitioner. 

This year, the Rutland Institute is pleased to also give awards to two honorable mention applications that are both very deserving.

Honorable Mention: Walter Brian Kirby

Walter Kirby is a senior in the Criminal Justice Program program at Clemson. He is a retired Army Special Operations Paratrooper and active member of the Clemson Student Veterans Association. Kirby's goal is to  work with Veteran students at Clemson University to succeed in achieving their higher education goals. He offers that ethical leadership provides purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish missions, tasks and set standards.

Honorable Mention: Sutton Jess Walters

Sutton Walters is a freshman at Clemson University majoring in Criminal Justice. She attests that ethics, in the crime lab and the courtroom, are sometimes difficult to see. She notes that many guilty people get away with wrongful actions because of their race and class. Walters hopes to combat the corruptness of the US Justice system. For Walters, ethical leadership involves trust and respect, and those who do not treat these in correct manner, will not bring justice.