Hillsdale College Honors Master’s Graduate Joshua Lawson with Finn Memorial Award
Graduate student receives annual academic honor
Hillsdale, Mich. — Hillsdale College congratulates Joshua Lawson on receiving the Judith Finn Memorial Exemplary Master’s Graduate Award.
“Joshua is an outstanding student with a dedication to America’s first principles,” said Ronald J. Pestritto, Dean of the Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship at Hillsdale College. “His commitment to scholarship and his enthusiasm for the subject matter will serve him well in his future endeavors.”
The Judith Finn Memorial Award was established by Finn’s husband, Michael Finn, and family following her passing in 2015. Finn earned a master’s degree in political science from another program/university, but, as noted by her family, “would have much preferred a degree from Hillsdale College had its graduate school been established 50 years earlier.”
In honor of Finn’s legacy of civic engagement and scholarly work, the award is presented each spring to a Hillsdale College master’s student selected by a committee from Hillsdale’s Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship based on quality of thesis or comprehensive exam performance, and overall graduate program performance.
Lawson earned a bachelor’s degree in music in 2007 and a bachelor’s degree in education in 2008, both from Queen’s University. He taught high school history and music for ten years at Whitinsville Christian School in Massachusetts before enrolling in the Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship in 2018. He will receive his M.A. in politics at Hillsdale College’s commencement ceremony in July. Lawson became an American citizen in January 2020 and recently accepted a position as managing editor of The Federalist.