The James Frederic Carr Memorial Cup
Kelsey M. McAlister ’24 - 2024 Award Recipient
The James Frederic Carr Memorial Cup was established in honor of a William & Mary student who served with distinction in the First World War and lost his life before he could return to graduate. The award recognizes the student who best exemplifies character, scholarship and leadership. The recipient of the 2024 Carr Memorial Cup is Kelsey M. McAlister.
Ms. McAlister’s quest for excellence in scholarship, leadership and community impact exemplifies the qualities of the Carr Memorial Cup. In her own words, Ms. McAlister strives “to learn, and to always be thirsty for more knowledge.”
Ms. McAlister graduates with a double major in government and sociology: criminology, law & society. She has achieved a near-perfect 3.9 GPA and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and a Sharpe Community Scholar. Ms. McAlister’s extensive service stretches into her role as a student partner at the Studio for Teaching & Learning Innovation and her membership of the Chi Omega Fraternity.
Ms. McAlister pours her “heart and soul into advocating against wrongful convictions.” In late 2020, Ms. McAlister helped her peers register the William & Mary Innocence Club as a recognized student organization. She served as the club’s vice president of outreach for three years before taking the helm as president in her senior year. Ms. McAlister organized dozens of events with guest speakers, including influential exonerees and lawyers.
Ms. McAlister also serves as vice president of outreach on the executive board of Camp Kesem. Even after camp is over, she continues to build relationships and contact with the children and their families.
A distinguished scholar, Ms. McAlister served as a research assistant before becoming the only undergraduate fellow for the William & Mary Law School’s Center for Criminal Justice Policy and Reform under the guidance of Vice Dean Kami Chavis. Ms. McAlister researched how Conviction Integrity Units across the nation can help exonerate those wrongfully convicted. As an intern at a law firm specializing in prosecutions, Ms. McAlister learned the intricacies of seeking a conviction. She has also researched the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act’s effect on habeas corpus petitions for the “actually innocent” for a William & Mary alumni-funded nonprofit.
Ms. McAlister will attend Wake Forest School of Law on a full-tuition merit scholarship next year. As one nominator noted, Kelsey McAlister “is well-rounded and dedicated to her commitments, a strong leader on campus, and an overall inspiration to be around.”
