Honors Discipline Awards: 2021-2022

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.

Honors Student of the Year and Honors STEM Award: Zaid Syed

Zaid was the leader of his case study group in Honors: Microbiology and helped to organize and shepherd his group to what faculty described as “one of the most smooth and efficient research and diagnosis processes that I have seen.” As a STEM Scholar, Zaid was placed into a summer internship with Dr. Katie Amato at Northwestern University in Evanston doing research studying the gut microbiota to try to understand how changes in the microbiome impact human health and nutrition, particularly among those with limited nutritional access. Zaid demonstrated impressive initiative, commitment, and care to synthesize many years of work at Oakton to produce a comprehensive report about mitigating bird collisions and deaths on the Des Plaines Campus. Though majoring in science, Zaid also did outstanding work over two Honors learning communities, leading discussions in Philosophy and Literature courses, and presenting his work on environmental justice during Earth Week 2022.

Honors Coursework: Intro to Social and Cultural Anthropology, Intro to Environmental Science, Composition II, Intro to Native American Literature, Intro to Philosophy, Environmental Ethics, Microbiology

Honors Public Intellectual Award: Paola Castro

For Paola’s Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies capstone project, she created portraits engendering the stories of hardship, violence, and resilience of the undocumented people whom she interviewed. Faculty were impressed by Paola’s sensitivity to how creative platforms are not safe, relevant, or accessible for many. Paola made use of art to express vulnerability without betraying or exploiting subjects vulnerable to workplace abuse, detention, and deportation. As COVID-19 and other crises interrupted campus services and clubs, Paola fostered close connections with and between classmates, staff, and faculty. Paola’s engagement with issues of social justice both inside and outside of the classroom consistently impressed faculty. Faculty commented that “Paola uses a particularly nuanced lens in her analysis of intersectional systems of oppression that affect some of the most marginalized and vulnerable LGBTQ+ communities, both in the United States, and globally.” Paola researched the inequities confronting LGBTQ+ individuals in Colombia and presented this to the class for her Honors project in the Intro to LGBTQ Studies class.

Honors Coursework: Intro to Philosophy, Women and Literature, Intro to Women’s and Gender Studies, Contemporary Culture and the Arts, Ethics, Intro to LGBTQ Studies

Honors Peace and Social Justice Studies Award: Melanie Buskin

Melanie’s interests are global and interpersonal. Faculty commented that Melanie’s “depth of research is comparable to a graduate student. Melanie makes thoughtful revision of their positions and is able to pursue evolving questions of concern.” Melanie produced a 20+ page zine/chapbook as a final project and led other students in dialogue to more nuanced positions. Melanie’s commitment to issues of social justice has always been a clear part of their work here at Oakton and elsewhere. Faculty deeply appreciated Melanie’s work to keep Oakton’s Students for Social Justice club moving forward and active as co-president just before COVID-19.

Honors Coursework: U.S. History Since 1945, Effective Speech, Composition I, Comparative Government, Intro to Literature, Environmental History of the U.S., International Relations, Environmental Ethics, Contemporary Culture and the Arts

Honors Environmental Studies Award: Lucia Zdenahlik

Lucia’s work demonstrated a rigorous curiosity regarding the history and contemporary issues, perspectives, philosophies, and worldviews of many of the Indigenous cultures of North America. Applying critiques of capitalism to many environmental justice and social welfare issues, Lucia has a strong commitment to analyzing environmental challenges from a systemic perspective. She also acted as a compassionate co-learner and offered support to her fellow students as a key member of the Honors Student Organization.

Honors Coursework: Intro to Social and Cultural Anthropology, Plants and Society, Calculus I, Women and Creativity, Ethics

Honors Global Studies Award: Hasan Khan

Across his Honors and other classes, Hasan has demonstrated the open-minded sensibilities of a “cultural nomad” in negotiating new topics, ideas, concepts, and histories. Hasan generously invites perspectives from colleagues, students, and professors to sharpen his own thinking or to open up new possibilities to consider. He seamlessly weaves his own knowledge as a medical student, international traveler, and devout Muslim into class discussions on indigenous systems of knowledge, the ethics of ecosystem stewardship, and human relations to the natural world. He has a unique ability to stay firmly rooted in his own values and beliefs while demonstrating a curiosity and openness for new and differing cultural practices and perspectives on the world.

Honors Coursework: Into to Women’s and Gender Studies, Intro to Social and Cultural Anthropology, Plants and Society, Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Laboratory Research (currently registered), and World Religions (currently registered)

Honors Philosophy Award: Chloe White

Chloe completed seven Philosophy courses while at Oakton–a majority of the classes offered in the discipline. Faculty described Chloe as a strong critical thinker, able to see arguments, see how they work, and see their implications. Over four semesters, faculty watched Chloe gain experience and confidence sharing her work, contradicting or questioning interpretations, and taking ideas she learns and spinning out possible inferences, “all of which makes her a great partner for philosophical or any intellectual conversation!” Chloe also makes solid and clear connections between the work she is doing in all of her classes and is a clear and critical thinker who is very skilled at interrogating and bringing to light the unstated assumptions at the heart of an argument. Chloe was also a key contributor in an online, asynchronous Honors Humanities course, taking up transnational and indigenous feminist theory over weeks of sustained discussion. She completed an excellent final project on “The Forgotten Contributions of Marxist and Socialist Feminism through the 1900s” in the Honors Intro to Women and Gender Studies class.

Honors Coursework: Ancient and Medieval Philosophy, Introduction to Political Science, Introduction to Native American Literature, Introduction to Philosophy, Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies, Global Political Philosophy

Honors Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies: Ani Joy

Ani completed “very insightful and thoughtful work” integrating perspectives from anthropology and biology/botany, especially on topics of environmental and social justice. Ani is Very skilled at bringing empirical/anthropological considerations to bear on philosophical arguments. She shows a healthy skepticism about universalizing claims about humanity, motivation, etc. and is always willing to hear multiple sides of an argument and weigh them on their own terms, even though she certainly has strong opinions of her own. Faculty commented that Ani “particularly shines in her analysis of cultural constructions of gender and sexuality and is able to deconstruct heteronormative binaries using queer, anthropological, and philosophical lenses.” Her excellent WGSS project blends sculptural art, poetry, and prose as a form of queer ecofeminist critique of white, Eurocentric, exploitative relationships to both female-identified folx and nature.

Honors Coursework: Intro to Social and Cultural Anthropology, Plants and Society

Honors Social and Behavioral Sciences Award: Ilie Suciu

Ilie completed six Honors contracts and courses tightly focused on his interest in political and social science. He holds himself to exacting standards of academic rigor, is generous in his support of other students, and determined to take on challenging material. Faculty commented that Ilie is “very intelligent, knowledgeable, analytical, extremely competent, insightful, organized and able to apply what he had learned in the classroom to specific real-life situations.” Ilie has strong leadership qualities, is always willing to learn, and showed himself excellent at working with people. All these qualities were showcased by Ilie’s numerous activities and performance as a student at Oakton as well as his other activities and accomplishments.

Honors Coursework: History of the Islamic Middle East in Modern Times, American Government, International Relations, Intro to Political Science, Non-Western Comparative Government, Sociology of Marriage and Family

Honors Humanities Award: Gaby Dizon

Over two Honors core seminars and several Honors courses, Gaby demonstrated how Humanities study connects us across disciplines and differences. Faculty described how on the Honors field study course (to Yellowstone), “we all became eco-artist photographers with Gaby, and she regularly rocked Environmental Humanities” with activist-informed perspectives on environmental artists, musicians and writers, as well as her own unique approach to environmental humanities pedagogy. Other faculty commented “I have two clear memories of Gaby: first, her sitting on top of the shelter in the Badlands (at Yellowstone) watching the morning sun rise over the arid landscape; second, a brief conversation years later in our Environmental Ethics class in which Gaby told me how she had ‘started to see connections between the readings in this class and stuff we read in other classes,’ adding with a smile ‘it’s really cool.’ I remember thinking: you are a researcher, my friend!”

Honors Coursework: Plants and Society, Contemporary Culture and the Arts, History of Contemporary Non-Western Civilizations, Environmental Humanities, Environmental Ethics