Laurel Long of Longs, S.C., is the first recipient of the James Branham History Award, a new award that recognizes the top graduate of Coastal Carolina University's history program.

Long, a senior history major with a 4.0 grade point average, was presented with a medallion and a $500 check prior to the induction of seventeen CCU students into Phi Alpha Theta, the history honor society of which she is a member. Long says she has always had a passion for history and plans to pursue a master's degree in history from the University of South Carolina after she graduates from Coastal in May 2007. She has six children and five grandchildren.

The new award is named for James Branham, who served on Coastal's history faculty from 1963 to 1991. Regarded as one of the most popular professors in the university's history, Branham hosts an annual alumni gathering at his home every other year that is a Coastal tradition.