Loyola University Chicago

Interdisciplinary Honors Program

Honors Student Award Winners

2022-2023

The Graduating Senior Award Winner: Christine Severude

Christine is president of Loyola's chapter of Tri Beta, a national biology honors society. Through this club, she organized monthly events, including academic lectures, an annual beach cleanup, and volunteer projects, like the creation of care packages for children in Misericordia Home. Christine also studies piano and music composition. With the mentorship of Prof. Ulery and Dr. Lowe, she composed an original piece for Loyola's wind ensemble titled Scheme of the Jellyfish, which was performed at their March recital. According to Christine, her "most significant accomplishment was being named a Goldwater Scholar, a national research scholarship sponsored by the U.S. government that recognizes excellence in STEM research and leadership potential. She continues her studies next year at Northwesten's IBiS program and will pursue a PhD in Biological Sciences.

Social Justice Award Winner: Emily Ibrahim

Inspired by her own family's history during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and their journey to America, Emily started the "Loyola Refugee Coalition", a new student organization on campus under the mentorship of Dr. Ghazal Nadi. The organization educates the student body on refugee crises, including the problems leading up to forced migration and the structural barriers that prevent refugees from succeeding after resettling in safer locations. Through financial contributions, volunteering, and advocacy, the student group also supports community organizations that are aiding refugee populations in Chicago. They have plans to expand their activities next year by collaborating with ethnic-based student organizations to advocate for the refugee populations of specific regions, and by organizing a student forum to foster a dialogue between individuals on campus who have been directly impacted by the refugee crisis. 

Leadership Award Winner: Bella Tokushiro

Inspired by the obstacles her own family experienced as immigrants and ethnic minorities in America, Bella has committted her time as an undergraduate to helping people make their voices heard. As an intern for the Democratic National Committee, she learned the importance of state parties to mobilizing voters of all demographics, working closely with the Association of State Democratic Committees that deals with all 57 state parties and territories to bring attention to local communities and their issues. Following her internship, Bella joined a project to mobilize young voters around the country, helping college students connect with their local and state elected officials. Over the course of this past school year, her team has traveled to Washington D.C., Maryland, Washington, California, Minnesota, New York, Puerto Rico, and many more, talking with over 50,000 voters about their elected officials and how they can get out the vote in their area. 

The Freshman Essay Prize Winners:

Announcing the Honors Freshman Essay Champions:

Libby Bastow: "Deception and Truth in To the Lighthouse"

Grace Kubek: "In To the Lighthouse, Mrs. Ramsay Has Control Over the Domestic Realm"

Megan Marie Martinez: "The Emotional Labor of Motherhood and Womanhood: Fences & To the Lighthouse"

Catherine Meyer: "All my anger will wash away but we cannot go back to how it was: Forgiveness, Release, and Reparation in August Wilson's Fences"

Mia Szalaj: "And So She Stays: George Bizet's Carmen and August Wilson's Fences"

2021-2022

The Graduating Senior Award Winner: Samantha Chipman

Samantha has pursured a BA/MA in English, with minors in Philosophy and Chinese, and will graduate with Honors Summa Cum Laude laudatory status. She has won the Surtz Award of Excellence in Literary Study (the English Department's highest honor) and a John Grant Award for undergraduates dedicated to healthcare ethics. She currently holds a Provost Fellowship, to conduct research with a faculty mentor, and this summer, she will work as a Graduate Bioethics Intern at the Mayo Clinic.

Social Justice Award Winner: Stephanie Miller

Stephanie spent the last year creating and developing a registered student organization called Invisible Illness Awareness at Loyola (IIAL). IIAL Spreads awareness about invisible illnesses to pre-health students with the goal of decreasing the time it takes for patients to be diagnosed with these illnesses in the future, allowing them to be treated more quickly and effectively. 

Leadership Award Winner: Emily Cerkvenik & Diya Patel

The inaugural recipients of the Honors Leadership Award are Emily Cerkvenik, for her creation of the Honors Mentorship Program that served 200 students this year, and Diya Patel, for the leadership of the student group, the Honors BIPOC Coalition, through its first full year. Both students are active volunteers and leaders across our campus.

The Freshman Essay Prize Winners:

 Announcing the recipients of the Honors Freshman Essay Awards:

Jenna Daube: "Movement and Stillness in the Poetry of Langston Hughes and the Photography of Roy DeCarava"

Allie Edwards: "Beauty in Bold Beats, Bass, and Bands: The Musicality in 'The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes'"

Rohan Jaiswal: "Finding Unity in Diversity" 

2020-2021                     

The Graduating Senior Award Winner: Natalie Murdock 
Natalie’s award is in recognition of her academic success throughout her years in the program and at Loyola. Natalie is originally from Honduras but has lived in Chicago for most of her life. She will graduate from CAS with a double major in Studio Art and International Studies, as well as a minor in French. After graduation, she plans on completing service with either Americorps or the Peace Corps. In the future, she hopes to work as an art therapist for youth from diverse backgrounds and immigrant communities. 

Social Justice Award Winner: Hassan Khan

Hassan Khan’s history of service, while an Honors student, is nothing short of inspirational. He is a founding member of Loyola’s chapter of Doctors Without Borders and helped the chapter grow into the largest of its kind in the United States. As the vice president, chair of elections, and director of external affairs, he manages a thirty-person leadership team with a $10,000 semi-annual budget. Hassan has further demonstrated his commitment to those who are suffering by organizing over 135 Loyola students to tutor at the Rohingya Cultural Center. The Rohingya are an ethnic group that has been systematically oppressed in Myanmar. He has written grants and led information seminars to ensure that others know about the ethnic cleansing taking place in Myanmar. When the pandemic hit, he secured technology and PPE donations and helped to raise $20,000 to prevent the Center from closing. Hassan has also been active with the Muslim Student Association, the Feminist Forum, and Alternative Break Immersion Trips at Loyola. 

The Capstone Prize Winner: Claire Evans 

Claire Evans completed her Honors requirements with a final essay on the potential legal grounds for holding that women (or domestic partners) who had been battered over time may claim self-defense or another justification for killing their batterers even when the women weren’t being actively battered at the time of the killing. The success of the paper itself was accompanied by its development of her personal intellectual and ethical commitments. As her professor, Dr. Malm, wrote, the topic brought together Claire’s “academic studies, her personal interests and commitments, and her likely career in law.” Her work is thus exemplary of what can be achieved in the Honors Capstone, and it is exemplary of the Jesuit educational commitment to the development of the individual, for service to others. 

The Freshman Essay Prize Winners:

This year we are awarding the prize to two students:

Charlene Guerrero: "Dreams Deferred: The Efficacy of Hope in Langston Hughes' Poetry and Impressionist Art"

Campbell Rosener: "The Labyrynth of a Single Line: Gulliver's (Time) Travels and Versailles' Grand Canal." 

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