Honors Discipline Awards: 2023-2024
At the close of each academic year, Honors faculty meet to discuss the academic accomplishments of our students and select one individual within each of our primary areas of study for special recognition. All awardees are nominated by multiple faculty members who they have taken Honors classes with for distinguishing themselves through the excellence of their work, either within their declared pre-major, through completion of a concentration, or through completing multiple Honors classes related to the fields of study that they were nominated for awards in.
Honors Student of the Year: Richard Kim
Richard completed the Honors Scholar Designation with 23 credits in Honors classes, including one Honors Independent Study course, and received the Honors Philosophy Disciplinary Award in 2023 (some of his work in Philosophy was featured in the Honors Student Showcase at that time). He was the first student to present work from an Honors Independent Study course in fulfillment of the Honors Scholar Designation (as a Philosophy colloquium open to the campus community). Honors Faculty stated that Richard consistently distinguished himself from other students through his analytical and writing skills, and his seriousness about the quality of his coursework, and that he was also always a good conversation partner in class discussions as well as one-on-one conversations and appointments. Honors faculty described Richard as “an exemplary student and a wonderful person to talk philosophy with who approaches philosophical questions and problems with a rare combination of critical precision, open-minded speculation, humility, and a sense that philosophy should speak directly to basic human needs for meaning, understanding, consolation, and community.” Through his coursework in Honors Philosophy classes, Richard “shows an ability to navigate the complex and vast literatures on these topics and to make an intellectual contribution to these debates through careful and precise analytical work.”
Honors Coursework: Elementary Statistics, World Religions, Modern and Contemporary Philosophy, Topics in Philosophy: All Our Relations, Contemporary Culture and the Arts, Philosophy of Religion, Independent Study: Thomist Approaches to the Problem of Evil.
Honors Public Intellectual Award and Honors Environmental Studies Concentration Award: Liz Zamora
Liz completed the Honors Scholar Designation with 19 Credits in Honors classes, including two Learning Communities (including the Summer Field Study), and she took a complete schedule of Honors classes in Summer and Fall 2023. Having clearly distinguished herself as a student and an emerging public intellectual, she was selected to receive the inaugural Graff-Stacewicz Public Intellectuals Scholarship at Oakton. She led Oakton’s Environmental Club, was active in the Honors Student Organization, and participated in many other campus events. Liz presented her work from the Honors Summer Field Study during a panel that she helped organize for Native American Heritage month, sharing her insights about the interconnectedness of Native peoples with the geology of each area visited during the Field Study (from Oakton to Yellowstone), addressing broader issues of environmental justice. Multiple Honors Faculty expressed being “profoundly grateful” for Liz’s contributions to the college community, to Honors and ESC classes, and to their own learning. Honors Faculty described Liz as “a dedicated science enthusiast who shares her knowledge naturally and ignites interest in those around her” and stated that “her intellectual curiosity and engagement is wide-ranging and she has a real talent for bringing together disparate ideas and threads and showing how they relate to each other.”
Honors Coursework: A Survey of Ecology, Introduction to Native American Literature, Introduction to Weather and Climate, Elementary Statistics, Environmental Ethics, Social Problems.
English: Breanna Montoya
Breanna completed the Honors Scholar Designation with 18 Credits in Honors classes, including one Learning Community, all within her first year at Oakton. She was a President’s Scholar in her first semester at Oakton. Honors Faculty described Breanna as “an excellent writer with a creative flair” who is willing to work hard at writing, and “an insightful reader and an independent thinker who does not shy away from questioning and challenging others to develop their own perspective”. She plans to transfer to Weinberg School of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University as an English major.
Honors Coursework: Composition I, British Literature I (from Anglo-Saxons to 1800), Ethics, Multicultural Literature of the United States, World Religions, Introduction to Sociology.
Honors STEM Award: Aliki Stamati-Chaidropoulou
Aliki completed the Honors Summer Field Study and plans to complete the Honors Scholar Designation in Fall 2024. Honors faculty described Aliki as a thoughtful and dedicated student who excels in many STEM classes, particularly in Biology courses, but also in the more interdisciplinary field of Environmental Studies. Honors Faculty pointed to Aliki’s excellent work on the Honors Summer Field study, “from gorgeous illustrations in her field journal to making the best pancakes we've ever had”. Aliki is active in the work of Biology and Environmental Studies both in and beyond the classroom. She has worked as a conservation crew member at the River Trail Nature Center, doing ecological management and restoration to put some of what she has learned in her STEM and Environmental Studies classes into action. In addition, she works in Oakton’s Biology lab, preparing solutions, media, and other equipment to support many STEM lab classes at Oakton. Aliki is planning to continue her studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she intends to major in Molecular Biology and pursue a career in research.
Honors Coursework: Composition I, A Survey of Ecology, Introduction to Native American Literature, Human Genetics, Introduction to Environmental Science.
Honors Health Careers Award: Caroline Barnett
Caroline Barnett completed the Honors Scholar Designation with 18 credits in Honors classes, including the Honors Interdisciplinary Lab (her poster from the lab was featured in the Student Scholar Showcase). She is continuing at Oakton next year, and then plans to transfer to a four year university to continue studying Medical Laboratory Science. Honors faculty described Caroline as a “committed, proactive, and excellent student who is eager to learn and improve herself with every opportunity” and “a wonderful and bright student who does not hesitate to help out her fellow classmates and is quite passionate about science and learning”. Multiple faculty referred to Caroline as having the great empathy that is necessary in Health careers. Honors faculty also commented on Caroline’s passion for the lab, and being glad that she has found her place there and will continue pursuing Laboratory Science.
Honors Coursework: Human Genetics, Microbiology, Elementary Statistics, Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Laboratory Research, Immunohematology/Blood Bank.
Honors Humanities Award: George Owen
George Owen completed the Honors Scholar Designation with 18 Credits in Honors classes, including one Learning Community and the Student/Faculty Seminar, all within one year. He was a President’s Scholar for his final three semesters at Oakton. He plans to transfer to Northwestern University, University of Illinois, Chicago, or Loyola University, Chicago to study Environmental Engineering. Honors faculty praised George as an “integral participant” in the Student/Faculty Seminar with “an ability to read and persevere through complicated and often opaque texts”. Honors faculty stated that George “consistently offered creative and sensitive readings of all the texts—art, music, and especially literature—deftly and respectfully toggling between the intricacies of close reading climate fiction and the larger implications of thinking, creating, and dwelling in our time of environmental catastrophe.” Multiple faculty members commented on George's kindness and support for his fellow students which “helped everyone to enjoy” different classes.
Honors Coursework: Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology, Plants and Society, Topics in Philosophy: All Our Relations, United States History from 1877, Contemporary Culture and the Arts, Environmental Humanities.
Honors Social and Behavioral Sciences Award: Georgie Charalambous
Georgie completed 14 credits in Honors classes, including one Learning Community. Honors Faculty described how “it was a joy to have Georgie” in Honors classes. One Honors faculty member stated: “I loved watching Georgie's Sociological perspective grow deeper as the semester unfolded and I appreciated his ability to ‘see’ Sociology in his everyday experiences”.
Honors Coursework: Religious Diversity in America, Elementary Statistics, Social Problems, Introduction to Environmental Science.
Honors Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Award: Angellei Cortes
Angellei completed the Honors Scholar Designation with 21 credits in Honors classes, including one Learning Community, all within one year, while working as an Emergency Medical Technician. Angellei plans to transfer North Central College and major in Behavioral Neuroscience, with the goal of becoming a Pediatric Critical Care Nurse. Honors Faculty praised Angellei’s deep commitment in both her writings and research and her contributions to classroom and community learning. Honors Faculty stated that Angellei as “shared with all of us an astute power of analysis and curiosity, made evident in her academic work, including a recent paper on the ‘colonization of imagination’ through dance histories and practices in the United States.” As a working EMT, Angel is integrating insights from WGSS classes in her analyses of medicine, currently exploring sexism in medical diagnoses and research, and how gender, class, and race shape care.
Honors Coursework: Elementary Statistics, Ethics, Social Problems, Introduction to Life Science, Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies, Adult Psychology.
Honors Peace and Social Justice Studies Award: Krysha Adaza
Krysha completed the Honors Scholar Designation with 19 credits in Honors classes, including one Learning Community. Honors Faculty stated that Krysha's writing and discussion “exemplifies some core Peace and Social Justice Studies abilities: the ability to see connections and similarities across different cultural and political situations, the ability to focus on the central ethical dimensions of texts, and the desire to grasp a context more fully before arriving at a personal take.” Krysha is a very active student leader, with leadership roles on the Campus Activities Board, Phi Theta Kappa, and the Robotics Team, and she played a big role in coordinating and communicating student participation at the Creating Justice event in April 2024. Honors Faculty described Krysha as “one of the most serious and thoughtful students I have had the pleasure to teach” who “demonstrated an outstanding sensitivity to and appreciation for issues of social justice” and “raised insightful observations and questions”.
Honors Coursework: Social Problems, Principles of Managerial Accounting, Contemporary Culture and the Arts, Ethics, Multicultural Literature of the United States, World Religions.
Honors Global Studies Award: John Christ
John completed the Honors Scholar Designation with 22 credits in Honors classes, including one Learning Community. He plans to transfer to either Loyola University Chicago or Northwestern University School of Professional Studies to study History and Pre-Law. He earned high grades in the four Honors classes he completed with the Global Studies tag. One Honors faculty member commented “in a small class during the peak of the pandemic, John kept conversations going in the discussion forum with thoughtful posts reflecting on our readings. Other Honors faculty members agreed that “John was always a strong member of the classroom community” and “supported all of the students in improving discussion”. Honors faculty also praised John’s “excellent textual analysis”, his “willingness to question his presuppositions and take a second look at materials again”, and the time he spends “learning how to organize and clearly communicate his thoughts and ideas” in his writing.
Honors Coursework: Introduction to Native American Literature, Introduction to Philosophy, Environmental Studies, World Mythologies, Elementary Statistics, Contemporary Culture and the Arts, Composition II.
Honors Community Engagement and Activism Award: Ankhiluun Erdene
Ankhiluun completed 22 credits in Honors classes, including one Learning Community. She is planning to transfer to Northeastern Illinois University. Honors Faculty described Ankhiluun as “without question one of the most delightful and memorable students with whom I have worked” and “caring, empathetic, creative and committed to making the world a more just and wonderful place in everything that she does.” Honors Faculty mentioned that Ankhiluun single-handedly organized a donation drive to provide warm winter clothes for newly-arrived immigrants living in police shelters. She made flyers and a creative and eye-catching collection box, encouraged donations, and then made several trips throughout the semester to the city to get the clothes in the hands of folks who needed them, and did all of this while also working and taking classes. Honors Faculty also related that on the Summer Field Study, on the last 2½ weeks of the course, with 12 students tent-camping from Chicagoland to Yellowstone and back, Ankhiluun was one of the few on the trip who handled all the exigencies of living outdoors for 17 days—bugs, early morning set-ups and take-downs, Badlands winds, and long, ambitious hikes—with unfailing enthusiasm for finding the beauty in every place visited, and “a capacious and quirky sense of humor that helped our group through the rough patches”. Other Honors faculty praised Ankhiluun’s “unflappable, consistently positive attitude and talent for connecting people even in difficult situations and moments”, stating she “is a wonderful group mediator and has an authentic warmth and kindness that allows her to help others have productive conversations and discussions about all kinds of issues; personal, global, concrete, and abstract”.
Honors Coursework: Introduction to Literature, Environmental History of the U.S., Plants and Society, Contemporary Culture and the Arts, Environmental Ethics, Elementary Statistics, Social Problems.