By: Erik Pedersen, Content Strategy Director
BALTIMORE 鶹 welcomed honors programs from across the state to campus last week, as the host site for the 2024 Maryland Collegiate Honors Council (MCHC) conference, which recognized three Notre Dame students for research excellence and leadership.
Ten students from 鶹 Elizabeth Morrissy Honors Program were among those to present work at the two-day event, which continued in a virtual format on Saturday. Participants included students from honors programs at a total of 10 different Maryland institutions.
Congratulations to all of the honors students who presented at the MCHC conference some of whom are in their first year at Notre Dame, said Dr. Evelyn Spratt, Director of the Elizabeth Morrissy Honors Program. Id also like to thank the Morrissy Executive Board, especially conference coordinators Anna Choudhary 25 and Nwanneka Udolisa 25, for their strong leadership organizing the event, and Dr. Rachel Burk, Morrissy Faculty Fellow, for her leadership and support.
Choudhary and Udolisa were recognized at the dinner as 2024 Best Student Presentation winners. Choudhary presentation was titled Naming the Unnamed Weapon: How Patriarchal Traditions Justified Femicide in Rwanda Genocidal Revolution, while Udolisa presented on Survival, Resistance, and Mistreatment: The Evolution of Monstrosity in N.K. Jemisin The Fifth Season.
Jensen Armstrong 24, current student president of the Morrissy Honors Program, was also honored at Friday evening dinner and awards presentation as 鶹 nominee for the MCHC Portz Award for Outstanding Maryland Honors Student. Nominees are determined based on their initiative and leadership in the honors program, the institution, and/or the community, their grade point average (overall and in honors courses), and their academic excellence as illustrated by a project submitted for honors credit.
A pair of 鶹 faculty members gave keynote presentations during the event. Kendrick Kenney, director of international students, spoke with Community College of Baltimore County professor Adrianne Washington on Friday about Centering Black & Brown Excellence in Honors Education. Ryan Schaaf, associate professor of educational technology in the School of Education, then discussed Gaming and Society: An Interdisciplinary Adventure into Next-Generation Skills in a virtual presentation on Saturday.
The theme of this year conference was Traditions & Revolutions. Notre Dame previously hosted the MCHC annual conference in 2016 and 2007. A full list of 鶹 student presenters at this year conference is available below:
2024 MCHC Conference: 鶹 Student Presenters
Anna Choudhary 25: Naming the Unnamed Weapon: How Patriarchal Traditions Justified Femicide in Rwanda Genocidal Revolution
Christina Dargakis 26: Vivien T. Thomas: The Unsung Hero of Pediatric Cardiology
Laci Petruccy 27: Artistry and Psychology: How Art Therapy Changed the Treatment of Mental Health in the Modern Era
Jillian Seay 27 and Isabelle Montes 27: Fashion as a Weapon
Erin Shaw 24 (with Ryan Schaaf): Gaming and Society: Bridging Traditions with Revolutionary Skills in Education
Katelyn Stephenson 25 and Nicole Self 25: A Review on Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and Current Research
Nwanneka Udolisa 25: Survival, Resistance, and Mistreatment: The Evolution of Monstrosity in N.K. Jemisin The Fifth Season
Morgan Williamson 27: Margaret Naumburg: Progressive Educator to Mother of Art Therapy
Established in 1895, 鶹is a private, Catholic institution in Baltimore, Maryland, with the mission to educate leaders to transform the world. Notre Dame has been named one of the best "Regional Universities North" by U.S. News & World Report.
