2026 President's Medallion Winner Ren Horst
Ren Horst carries her story with intention – a story shaped by her Ojibwe heritage, her upbringing in a working-class Chicago neighborhood, and her journey as a single mother pursuing a Master of Social Work at Loyola University Chicago. As this year’s recipient of the President’s Medallion, Ren is recognized not only for her academic excellence, but for the lived experience, cultural grounding, and unwavering purpose that inform her work in social services.
Asiniikwe
For Ren, social work was never just a career choice; it was a calling rooted in identity and history. Growing up, she was given the Ojibwe name Asinikwe, meaning Stone Lady, the significance of which she wouldn’t feel until later in life.
“The idea of a stone for the Ojibwe is that it sits strong,” Ren explained. “It’s a healing symbol and something people draw power from. Growing up, I always thought I was a fighter, so it took a long time for me to embrace my name. I didn’t realize for a long time that I was healing people through my fight for justice.”
Ren speaks of her Ojibwe heritage as a foundation that has guided her values and sense of responsibility to others. Growing up in Chicago, but regularly spending time on her tribe’s reservation six hours north, she learned that community care was not a profession but a way of life – one that emphasized mutual aid, respect for elders, and the importance of healing across generations. Those teachings stayed with her, even as she navigated systems that often failed to reflect or honor Indigenous perspectives.
Ren’s academic work reflects a deep engagement with these tensions. Her research paper, “The Cost of Forced Assimilation: The Intergenerational Struggle for Indigenous Identity and Healing,” examines the enduring impact of colonial policies on Indigenous communities. In it, she traces how historical trauma continues to shape identity, mental health, and access to resources, while also highlighting pathways toward cultural resilience and healing. The paper, which she plans to submit for publication, is deeply personal – her grandmother was sent to an American Indian Boarding School in her youth. Indigenous children attending these schools were often subjected to abuse and forced to abandon their native heritage and traditions. Conversations with her grandmother and other tribe elders motivated her to pursue this area of research.
“My grandmother was not treated very well in boarding school. I saw how my mom struggled on public aid. These brilliant women were educated, maybe not in the western sense but they were educated in our culture, so why were they so sad and struggling? Why were drugs and suicide so rampant in my family? So I did this research to ask why and learned that it’s about identities and how forced assimilation has caused millions of people over the generations to lose who they were. I want to build on that research.”
Formed in Chicago
While Ren has struggled with Catholic faith at times in her life, she recognizes the symmetry between Jesuit values and her own worldview – particularly the emphasis on justice, dignity, and service. This alignment has allowed her to approach her studies not as abstract exercise, but as the continuation of deeply held beliefs about community and social responsibility.
At the same time, Ren’s journey has been shaped by the realities of growing up in a working-class area of Chicago. She describes her childhood self as a “little hood girl” growing up in Humboldt Park. Traveling back and forth between her home and reservation, she witnessed the effects of economic hardship, systemic inequities, and limited access to support systems. These experiences sharpened her awareness of injustice and strengthened her desire to be part of solutions that center dignity and equity.
It’s also part of what drove her to pursue social work.
“I never grew up thinking higher education was for me,” Ren admitted. “I love so many professors [in the School of Social Work]. I have challenged professors at times and they’ve taken those challenges with humility. And there are lots of times I’ve been challenged and been humbled. But that’s growth. That’s education.”
Lessons in Family
Balancing her studies with her work at the Cook County Trauma Center would be challenging under any circumstances, but Ren has done so as a single mother of four children. Her oldest son is 24 and has cerebral palsy. All her children have served as an inspiration to go back to school.
“He has guided my way so much – he is non-verbal and that’s really taught me to read people,” she said. “And I’ve seen all my kids excel in high school and that was actually kind of a wake-up call for me. They had this academic language that I didn’t have and I realized I need to get it into gear and show them you can always do more.”
Receiving the President’s Medallion is, for Ren, both an honor and a reflection of the communities that have shaped her. She is quick to emphasize that her achievements are not hers alone, but are rooted in the support of family, mentors, and cultural traditions that have guided her path. The recognition affirms the importance of bringing diverse perspectives into social work and highlights the impact of students who approach their work with both intellect and lived experience.
Looking ahead, Ren hopes to continue working with indigenous communities and fighting for their well-being. That could take many forms, she says, through academic research, advocacy, or even politics.
Ren’s journey reflects the power of integrating identity with professional practice, and the ways in which personal history can inform meaningful change. Whether in the classroom, the hospital, or her research, she carries forward a commitment to justice and healing that is both deeply rooted and forward-looking.
In honoring Ren with the President’s Medallion, Loyola University Chicago recognizes not only an outstanding student, but a future social worker whose work is already making a difference, and whose impact will continue to grow in the years ahead.
Ren Horst carries her story with intention – a story shaped by her Ojibwe heritage, her upbringing in a working-class Chicago neighborhood, and her journey as a single mother pursuing a Master of Social Work at Loyola University Chicago. As this year’s recipient of the President’s Medallion, Ren is recognized not only for her academic excellence, but for the lived experience, cultural grounding, and unwavering purpose that inform her work in social services.
Asiniikwe
For Ren, social work was never just a career choice; it was a calling rooted in identity and history. Growing up, she was given the Ojibwe name Asinikwe, meaning Stone Lady, the significance of which she wouldn’t feel until later in life.
“The idea of a stone for the Ojibwe is that it sits strong,” Ren explained. “It’s a healing symbol and something people draw power from. Growing up, I always thought I was a fighter, so it took a long time for me to embrace my name. I didn’t realize for a long time that I was healing people through my fight for justice.”
Ren speaks of her Ojibwe heritage as a foundation that has guided her values and sense of responsibility to others. Growing up in Chicago, but regularly spending time on her tribe’s reservation six hours north, she learned that community care was not a profession but a way of life – one that emphasized mutual aid, respect for elders, and the importance of healing across generations. Those teachings stayed with her, even as she navigated systems that often failed to reflect or honor Indigenous perspectives.
Ren’s academic work reflects a deep engagement with these tensions. Her research paper, “The Cost of Forced Assimilation: The Intergenerational Struggle for Indigenous Identity and Healing,” examines the enduring impact of colonial policies on Indigenous communities. In it, she traces how historical trauma continues to shape identity, mental health, and access to resources, while also highlighting pathways toward cultural resilience and healing. The paper, which she plans to submit for publication, is deeply personal – her grandmother was sent to an American Indian Boarding School in her youth. Indigenous children attending these schools were often subjected to abuse and forced to abandon their native heritage and traditions. Conversations with her grandmother and other tribe elders motivated her to pursue this area of research.
“My grandmother was not treated very well in boarding school. I saw how my mom struggled on public aid. These brilliant women were educated, maybe not in the western sense but they were educated in our culture, so why were they so sad and struggling? Why were drugs and suicide so rampant in my family? So I did this research to ask why and learned that it’s about identities and how forced assimilation has caused millions of people over the generations to lose who they were. I want to build on that research.”
Formed in Chicago
While Ren has struggled with Catholic faith at times in her life, she recognizes the symmetry between Jesuit values and her own worldview – particularly the emphasis on justice, dignity, and service. This alignment has allowed her to approach her studies not as abstract exercise, but as the continuation of deeply held beliefs about community and social responsibility.
At the same time, Ren’s journey has been shaped by the realities of growing up in a working-class area of Chicago. She describes her childhood self as a “little hood girl” growing up in Humboldt Park. Traveling back and forth between her home and reservation, she witnessed the effects of economic hardship, systemic inequities, and limited access to support systems. These experiences sharpened her awareness of injustice and strengthened her desire to be part of solutions that center dignity and equity.
It’s also part of what drove her to pursue social work.
“I never grew up thinking higher education was for me,” Ren admitted. “I love so many professors [in the School of Social Work]. I have challenged professors at times and they’ve taken those challenges with humility. And there are lots of times I’ve been challenged and been humbled. But that’s growth. That’s education.”
Lessons in Family
Balancing her studies with her work at the Cook County Trauma Center would be challenging under any circumstances, but Ren has done so as a single mother of four children. Her oldest son is 24 and has cerebral palsy. All her children have served as an inspiration to go back to school.
“He has guided my way so much – he is non-verbal and that’s really taught me to read people,” she said. “And I’ve seen all my kids excel in high school and that was actually kind of a wake-up call for me. They had this academic language that I didn’t have and I realized I need to get it into gear and show them you can always do more.”
Receiving the President’s Medallion is, for Ren, both an honor and a reflection of the communities that have shaped her. She is quick to emphasize that her achievements are not hers alone, but are rooted in the support of family, mentors, and cultural traditions that have guided her path. The recognition affirms the importance of bringing diverse perspectives into social work and highlights the impact of students who approach their work with both intellect and lived experience.
Looking ahead, Ren hopes to continue working with indigenous communities and fighting for their well-being. That could take many forms, she says, through academic research, advocacy, or even politics.
Ren’s journey reflects the power of integrating identity with professional practice, and the ways in which personal history can inform meaningful change. Whether in the classroom, the hospital, or her research, she carries forward a commitment to justice and healing that is both deeply rooted and forward-looking.
In honoring Ren with the President’s Medallion, Loyola University Chicago recognizes not only an outstanding student, but a future social worker whose work is already making a difference, and whose impact will continue to grow in the years ahead.