WKU News

Pictured from top left to bottom right: Vivian Rivera (top left), Tani Washington (top right), Katrina Fjeld (bottom left), Steven and Nancy Breidenich (center), Autumn Howard (bottom right). Not pictured: Lily Lang; Grace Salloum. 

On Friday, May 3, 2024, the Mahurin Honors College recognized outsanding academic, global, and community contributions of its seniors of the Class of 2024. The MHC Key to the College was awarded to Steven and Nancy Breidenich. 

Katrina Fjeld - MHC Global Citizen of the Year

This award is given to a scholar whose depth and breadth of international experiences personify the ideals of the university mission: to prepare students of all backgrounds to be productive, engaged, and socially responsible citizen-leaders of a global society. 

Excerpt from her nomination: "Despite starting her college education during the pandemic, this year’s recipient pursued international experiences near and far. In fact, that was her first chance; she petitioned her representatives to support foreign aid to promote vaccine equity. That same year, she was the only scholar from Kentucky selected to complete the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Summer Enrichment Program toward careers in international service. From there, she went directly into a semester-long study abroad in Jordan, a country in the Middle East where she could advance the Arabic proficiency she was building at WKU. While abroad, she interned with an organization that serves refugee women in Amman—work she hopes to revisit. (And spoiler alert: it seems likely she’ll get to!)  Still, she hasn’t had enough. This year’s recipient, who is now a first-generation college graduate with degrees in International Affairs and Arabic, will spend next year as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Jordan. And she is prepared—she has served as an MHC Peer Mentor for three years, and she has taught psychological skills workshops for children and adolescents at Rivendell Behavioral Health Hospital. I am delighted to recognize this year’s MHC Global Citizen of the Year, a first-generation college graduate committed to staying curious about the world through work on the crisis affecting refugees and their host countries in the Middle East. And, perhaps most impressively, a graduate with great persistence and open-mindedness about what the future might bring."

Lily Lang - MHC Citizen of the Year

This award is given annually to a graduating scholar whose career at WKU has personified the ideals of honors citizenship by investing an extraordinary amount of time and energy in developing collegial association and community within the Mahurin Honors College.

Excerpt from her nomination: "From the moment she arrived on the Hill, this scholar has reflected the values and vision of The Mahurin Honors College daily. She has been a leader across campus – involved in a variety of academic, social, and community organizations, including Greek Life and American Society for Deaf Children. A founding member of MHC Branding Team, she has ably led the group in facilitating and creating all the content you see on our website, our social media, and even in soon to be printed viewbook. She has worked for over two years to collect stories, data, and to continually revise the viewbook and we’re thankful to her for taking on this challenge."

Vivian Rivera - MHC Scholar of the Year

Excerpt from her nomination: "An active member of the WKU community, she started the WKU Native Plant Pollinator Garden and was TriBeta President. For study abroad, she traveled to Guatemala, the Amazon Rainforest and Ecuador to study medicinal plants to further her goal of becoming a pharmaceutical scientist focused on medicinal plants. For her internship, she participated in an National Science Foundation, Research Experience for Undergraduates at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. And, she did research with 2 biology professors, Drs. Marquardt and Dr. Sharma, finishing her thesis project with the title “The Effect of Dietary Flavonoids on Growth in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.”

Autumn Howard - MHC Capstone Experience of the Year

Execerpt from her nomination: "Throughout her academic journey, she immersed herself in the rich tapestry of literary exploration and cultural exchange. For her capstone experience, she embarked on a year-long study abroad in Spain, to research the literature and lives of 2 iconic figures, exemplifying her dedication to interdisciplinary research and global understanding. She completed an extremely well written analysis titled “Two Stories, One War: The Intertextuality Between Arturo Barea, George Orwell, and the Spanish Civil War”. Additionally, as an HonorsTopper, she has demonstrated outstanding leadership and service within the academic community, earning recognition for her exceptional contributions. This award celebrates her commitment to excellence, innovation, and collaborative spirit, making her a beacon of inspiration for her peers and educators alike."

Grace Salloum - MHC Thesis of the Year

Excerpt from her nomination: "Any scholar who passes their CE/T defense with distinction may be nominated. She is a psychological sciences and criminology major and her thesis project was titled “Diagnosed by Dr. Hollywood, The media’s on-screen depiction of mental illness and scripting the public’s perceptions”. This work was completed with the mentorship of Dr. Andrew Mienaltowski."

Tani Washington - Scholar Speaker

Excerpt from her introduction: "Since the spring of 2021, she has served as the student ambassador for the Africana Studies program - a position that has allowed her to organize several campus-wide events. As a member of the WKU Forensics team, she has garnered several national titles in competitive public speaking. As a scholar researcher, Tani focuses on racialized theories of democratization and nation building in the African context. After studying abroad in Senegal during the summer of 2023, she began conducting field work toward her undergraduate thesis - Viva Wakanda: What Afrofuturism Gives to an Emancipated Diaspora. This fall, she will start her year-long fellowship as a research assistant at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace."