Honors Discipline Awards: 2022-2023

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 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 classes related to the fields of study that they were nominated for awards in.

Honors Student of the Year and Honors Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Award: Lucia Zdenahlik

Lucia completed an exceptional number of Honors classes in two years (33 credits), including three Honors Learning Communities. She was actively involved in the Honors Student Organization, and served as HSO President in 2022-2023, helping to plan and promote Honors events, and serve as an ambassador for the Honors Program to her fellow students as well as the campus community. Beyond the HSO, Lucia demonstrated an incredible investment in the betterment of the campus community through her work as a student employee in the Koehnline Museum and her many student club activities, for which she was recognized with a Student Leadership award by Oakton’s Board of Trustees. In the classroom, Lucia impressed Honors faculty with her work, as well as her abilities to foster collaboration among faculty and classmates. Lucia “contributed greatly to the synergy and learning trajectory of the Learning Communities” that she completed, “fostering engaging and productive discussion among the participants.” On her courses within Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, faculty commented “whether addressing la conciencia de la mestiza, rape as weapon of war, or links between financial and reproductive autonomy, Lucia distinguished herself as a careful thinker and supportive interlocutor.” Lucia participated in the WGSS program’s Reproductive Justice conversations by leading the discussion on a reading from Reproductive Justice for Native American Women, in which “her confidence and insights actively fostered an engaging and productive discussion amongst the participants”.

Honors Coursework: Introduction to Native American Literature, Introduction to Philosophy, Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies, Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology, Plants and Society, Calculus I, Women and Creativity, Ethics, Elementary Statistics, Principles of Microeconomics

Honors Public Intellectual Award: Hasan Ali Khan

Hasan has been very involved in the Muslim Student Association and active in the Honors Student Organization, serving as HSO Secretary for 2022-2023, and he is otherwise very involved in co-curricular events at Oakton. Honors faculty were impressed by Hasan’s independent projects for Youtube and other platforms, and the “truly interdisciplinary” nature of his learning and public outreach activities. In the classroom, Hasan distinguished himself as a “well-rounded student” who “loves learning and teaching and is constantly seeking out experiences to challenge his already considerable base of knowledge”. In the Learning Community, Hasan “approached learning with an openness and passion that is refreshing and rare”.

Honors Coursework: Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies, Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology, Plants and Society, Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Laboratory Research, World Religions, Topics in Philosophy: All Our Relations

Honors STEM Award: Amy Miller

Amy distinguished herself as “a very hard working, driven student who has the capability to succeed at whatever she wants to achieve in life”. Honors Faculty described Amy as “one of the most talented and dedicated students that has ever taken Honors Microbiology”. In the Honors Microbiology class, Amy completed an Honors Case Study that “demonstrated exceptional research skills” and “when she was faced with bumps in the road, her dogged persistence allowed her to overcome those obstacles”. Amy completed a research project on Nobel prize winners in the field of Physiology and Medicine and their Collective Contributions to Cardiovascular Medicine Since the Inception of the Nobel Award. Amy has worked for the campus as a Lab Assistant, and faculty commented that “her written and lab work are exceptional”.

Honors Coursework: General College Biology II, Microbiology, Organic Chemistry II

Honors Environmental Studies Award: Blake Sommer

Blake has worked as the Assistant to Oakton College’s Naturalist, and can be seen on campus doing eco-restoration and working in the DP community garden with other students. Blake produced consistently thoughtful and excellent work in their papers, lab reports, and presentations across their Honors classes and the Learning Community. Faculty commented that Blake “would often make novel and interesting connections in their writing that often helped me think about topics and issues in new ways. The originality of their thinking and analysis definitely stood out in very positive ways.” In the interdisciplinary setting of the Learning Community, Blake was “able to integrate the two different disciplinary perspectives in interesting and novel ways”. Blake is “really passionate” about gender justice and LGBTQ+ rights as much as they are about plants and botany and “is able to articulate the intersections between patriarchy, heterosexism, and environmental degradation”. Blake is also active in Oakton’s Pride Club.

Honors Coursework: Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology, Plants and Society, Introduction to Native American Literature

Honors Health Careers Award: Ololade Shittu

Ololade did excellent work across a challenging set of Honors courses, including the Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory, Organic Chemistry, and Microbiology. She excelled in the Honors Microbiology class, leading her group in their independent project. Faculty commented that Ololade “demonstrates intellectual curiosity, organization, and drive that rivals any of the students that I have had previously, managing all of this under less than ideal circumstances—she is really a force to be reckoned with.” In addition to her work in STEM and Health Careers, Ololade  completed excellent work in Honors Religious Diversity in America, including a community profile with interviews. Ololade plans to attend Nursing School and eventually pursue a career as a doctor.

Honors Coursework: Microbiology, Effective Speech, Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Laboratory Research, Elementary Organic Chemistry, Religious Diversity in America

Honors Philosophy Award: Richard Kim

Richard wrote “an outstanding paper on a difficult topic”, on the dialectic of self-consciousness in Hegel’s ‘Phenomenology of Spirit’ in comparison to Sartre’s ‘Transcendence of the Ego’. Faculty commented that Richard has “outstanding analytical skills, and has a great future ahead of him”. Other Honors Faculty mentioned their strong positive experiences with Richard in his Honors classes and working with him on Honors contracts, and that Richard was a great contributor to discussion in the the Faculty/Student Philosophy Seminar “All Our Relations”.

Honors Coursework: Elementary Statistics, World Religions, Modern and Contemporary Philosophy, Topics in Philosophy: All Our Relations, Contemporary Culture and the Arts

Honors Business Award: Yun Song

Yun completed 18 Credits in Honors classes and Honors Contracts and was an active member of the Honors Student Organization. In Honors Principles of Financial Accounting, Yun completed an Honors Project analyzing Tesla, Inc. and applying the concepts she learned within financial accounting. Faculty commented that “Yun is organized, self-disciplined, and she demonstrated excellent time management skills. I am impressed with her dedication, maturity, and reliability. She has an excellent work ethic, and possesses a true desire not only to learn, but to understand the material.” In her Honors Principles of Managerial Accounting class, faculty highlighted Yun’s “genuine desire to learn accounting and in all her projects” and her work that “goes above what is asked from her.”

Honors Coursework: Composition I, Principles of Financial Accounting, Principles of Managerial Accounting, Asian Humanities

Honors Social and Behavioral Sciences Award: Brett Morris

Brett’s work in completing the Honors Scholar Designation included completing multiple Honors Contracts in upper level and Independent Study courses in Psychology. He completed an excellent Honors Project on the impact of diet, sleep, and exercise on cognitive decline. Faculty commented that Brett has “a natural curiosity to dig deeper into culturally relevant topics that have practical and meaningful application” and that “it was a pleasure to work with such a bright and engaging student.” In the Learning Community, Faculty described Brett as a “a passionate and thoughtful contributor to the learning process” of his peers who is “able to reflect upon and speak to the important intersections/impacts of colonial, capitalist, environmental, and racist systems of oppression, both globally and within our own communities”.

Honors Coursework: Introduction to Life Science, Adult Psychology, Theories of Personality, Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology, Plants and Society, Contemporary Culture and the Arts

Honors Accounting Award: Grace Antar

Grace Antar received the Honors Scholarship out of high school. She completed the full requirements of the Honors Scholar Designation within her first year at Oakton, and was also recognized as a President’s Scholar in her first semester at the college. Grace completed multiple Honors Contracts for Accounting courses. Faculty described Grace as “focused” and “a very detail oriented individual who thinks through situations, analyzes and then asks pertinent questions”. Faculty further stated that Grace’s “study methods make her an ideal person for an accounting major”.

Honors Coursework: Principles of Financial Accounting, Women and Creativity, Ethics, Principles of Managerial Accounting, Introduction to Environmental Science, Composition II

Honors Humanities Award: Ashour Daniel

Ashour distinguished himself doing excellent work in multiple Honors Humanities classes. Faculty commented that Ashour “was a standout student” who was “always prepared, and always a model of thoughtful and civil discussion”. Ashour completed an excellent paper on the Epic of Gilgamesh for Honors World Mythologies, as well as excellent work in Honors Religious Diversity in America, including a final project with interviews profiling the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe near the Des Plaines campus. Faculty noted Ashour’s collaborative spirit and contributions to discussion in the Learning Community and Faculty/Student Seminar in Philosophy, and described him as hardworking, sincere, and thoughtful as both a student and person.

Honors Coursework: United States History from 1877, World Mythologies, Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology, Plants and Society, Religious Diversity in America, Topics in Philosophy: All Our Relations