Honors Convocation recognizes excellence
Students receive awards for academic accomplishments
Loud cheers filled Cole Memorial Chapel on Thursday, May 5, as the campus community gathered for Honors Convocation to celebrate Wheaton College students who have excelled in their academic and intellectual pursuits.
This was the first time the annual event was held in person since the start of the pandemic. President Michaele Whelan, Interim Provost Touba Ghadessi and Dean of Students Darnell Parker presented departmental and college awards to students who have earned distinguished academic records or have stood out as leaders in the campus community.
Global Honors and Taylor and Lane Honors, which are newly established within the Compass curriculum, were announced for the first time. Anna Fairbairn ’22, an anthropology and Hispanic studies double major (who is studying abroad in Spain); Amber Medero ’22, a Hispanic studies and international relations double major; and Tatianna Staszkow ’22, an anthropology and Russian studies double major, received Global Honors. Sinèad Garvey ’22, a double major in women’s and gender studies and anthropology and public health major; and Delia MacLaughlin ’22, a sociology and environmental science double major, earned Taylor and Lane Scholars.
Senior Class President Eva Danielson ’22 presented the Faculty Appreciation Award to Leah Niederstadt, associate professor of museum studies/history of art. Ghadessi presented this year’s endowed honorary chair, The Bojan Hamlin Jennings Chair in the natural sciences, to Laura Ekstrom, associate professor of biology.
Assistant Professor of Political Science Jonathan Chow delivered the keynote address “Finding Our Passion in a Time of Grief,” a deeply moving speech about the connection between grief, love and passion and how they shed meaningful light on our lives.
Chow noted in his speech: “If we recognize that the potential for suffering and grief is contained within love and passion, then the question, ‘What are you passionate about?’ becomes much more profound than a career choice. Instead, it asks: ‘For what joy will you willingly open your heart? For what purpose will you willingly assume the burden of suffering and grief?’”
Photos by Keith Nordstrom
