Jenifer Alvarado Rivadeneira, a member of the class of 2026 and a triple major in English, Latin American studies, and sociology, was awarded the 2026 Claire Gaudiani ’66 Prize at Connecticut College’s 108th Commencement on May 17. The award recognizes her honors thesis and senior integrative project titled “Civil Disillusionment: Citizens’ Perceptions of Governance in Guayaquil.”
The Claire Gaudiani ’66 Prize is given annually to the student with the best senior integrative project in one of Connecticut College’s interdisciplinary centers. It is named after the college’s eighth president.
Alvarado Rivadeneira’s research focuses on political perceptions in Guayaquil, Ecuador. She spent two summers there as a legal intern and used both quantitative survey data and qualitative analysis of political street art to examine civic knowledge, institutional trust, personal experience, and public sentiment. Her work highlights civic disillusionment as an important aspect of life in Guayaquil.
Her thesis situates current attitudes within historical context and argues that civic disillusionment results from ongoing gaps between constitutional promises and lived reality. She concludes that restoring trust will require structural reform along with consistent accountability aligned with citizens’ expectations.
“Jenifer does an excellent job of analyzing a complicated and shifting political reality,” said Associate Teaching Professor of Hispanic Studies Jessica Koehler, who advised Alvarado Rivadeneira’s thesis. “She effectively shows the patterns of corruption and other factors that have led to the disillusionment of Guayaquil’s citizens, and her discussion of the street art that she photographed provides a genuine representation of their lived experiences.”
Associate Professor Suzuko Knott wrote in support for the prize that Alvarado Rivadeneira’s thesis is “a truly innovative, insightful and interdisciplinary” work that “embodies the core mission of CISLA to educate students to become interculturally competent, socially engaged and politically informed leaders.”
