Assumption University Students Recognized for Academic Excellence at 41st Annual Honors Convocation
On April 14, 75 Assumption students were recognized with awards at the 41st Annual Honors Convocation. Students were presented with Augustine Scholarships, Departmental Major Awards, Special Awards and Scholarships, and the Donec Formetur Christus Presidential Award during the evening. Winners of each of these distinguished awards can be found listed below.
In an opening address, President Greg Weiner reflected on how Catholic liberal education speaks to each person, regardless of what they study, uniting us through the pursuit of truth.
“Our challenge as the Assumption community is to recognize that just as each individual uniquely reflects the divine image, each of these academic pursuits uniquely reflects a common goal–seeking truth, goodness, and beauty wherever we find them. Similarly, our challenge is to remind ourselves that this immense range of pursuits requires community,” said Weiner in his address. “I ask you to be ambassadors for the education you represent today. Show how joyful it can be. Be exemplars of the truth wherever it is found.”
The guest speaker for the evening was Stephen F. Knott ’79, a scholar and political scientist who spent much of his career teaching courses on policy analysis, leadership, national security, and the presidency. In his remarks, Knott reflected on the lessons Assumption taught him as an undergraduate, namely the importance of liberal arts education and engaging with the principles on which our nation was founded.
“This institution taught me to think critically in the truest sense of that phrase,” said Knott. “My Assumption education prepared me to be engaged and productive and employed, but it also taught me, more importantly, that a job–a career–is not the purpose of human life. I learned that there were certain truths that were not defined by time or place or public opinion. I learned to listen and to grapple with differing perspectives.”
“The challenge of the 21st century will be to reject the crass and superficial view of our nation and to keep alive the traditional view of a liberal arts education as practiced here at Assumption,” Knott continued. “This will be a difficult struggle, and the outcome is by no means certain, but if we all do this, then we will keep our republic and hand it down to future generations, which I see as a sacred obligation.”
Following the remarks, the 2025 Honors Convocation Honorees were announced as follows:
Augustine Scholarship
Augustine scholars are students chosen by faculty, staff, and administration that exemplify the Assumption mission. These students are rising juniors and seniors.
Class of 2026 Augustine Scholars
Akariza Kanamugire Shekinah Christa
Anne Bisson Ingersoll
Thomas Foley
Julia Forest
Hala Jaber
Kyle Lee
Keegan McLeod
Robert Mullins
Madison Prendergast
Dean Simeone
Madeline Snow
Savina Villani
Charles White
Class of 2027 Augustine Scholars
Nicholas Fall
Dylan Guile
Kyla Hughes
Sean Leary
Isabella Nolan
Departmental Major Awards
Chosen by faculty from each of the named departments, seniors who are awarded Departmental Major Awards are among the most meritorious in each major program of study.
Award in Accounting – Teagan Kamm
Award in Actuarial Science – Charles White
Award in Biology – Emily Arpino
Award in Biology with a Concentration in Neuroscience and Behavior – Kate Famiglietti
Award in Biotechnology and Molecular Biology – Alexa Shea
Award in Chemistry – Ngoc Nguyen
Award in Communication and Media – Katrina Meehan
Award in Criminology – Colby Bartley
Award in Computer Science – Nicholas Giovanello
Award in Cybersecurity – Robert Russell
Award in Economics – Patrick St. George
Award in Economics with a Business Concentration – Evan McCarthy
Award in Middle and Secondary Education – Kendra Smith
Award in Elementary Education – Alexis Demko
Award in English – Alexis Demko
Award in Environmental Science – Teodora Bastug
Award in Finance – Teagan Kamm
Award in Graphic Design – Katherine Adams
Award in Health Sciences – Jamie Erickson
Award in Health Sciences with a Concentration in Pre-Physical Therapy – Alexander Franklin
Award in History – Isabella Mastrototoro
Award in Human Services – Talia Caloggero
Award in Human Services with a Concentration in Working with Children and Adolescents in a Community Setting – Amy Parlato
Award in Human Services and Rehabilitation Studies with a Concentration in Communication Sciences and Disorders – Lindsey Kuniewich
Award in Human Services and Rehabilitation Studies with a Concentration in Pre-Occupational Therapy – Alyssa Johnson
Award in International Business – Declan Casey
Award in Management – Chloe Scornavacca
Award in Marketing – Maximillian Bordas
Award in Marketing with a Concentration in Digital Marketing – Delaney Farinha
Award in Marketing with a Concentration in Sales – Kaitlyn Merson
Award in Mathematics – Akariza Kanamugire Shekinah Christa
Award in Music – Lorilei Jones
Award in Neuroscience with a Cellular Path – Emily Le
Award in Nursing – Evelyn Humphries
Award in Organizational Communication – Declan Casey
Award in Philosophy – Anthony Fayette
Award in Political Science – Demetri McPherson
Award in Pre-Clinical Health Science – Jordan Tully
Award in Psychology – Gemma Gabrielli
Award in Psychology with a Concentration in Mental Health and Pre-Clinical Counseling – Emily Moran
Award in Psychology with a Concentration in Child and Adolescent Development – Laura Byrne
Award in Psychology with a Concentration in Neuroscience of Human Behavior – Madison Wells
Award in Sociology – Allyson Wargo
Award in Spanish – Noelia Amadis
Award in Theology – Anna Murphy
Special Awards and Scholarships
The Ray Marion Award – Gemma Gabrielli, Mary Kate Hamilton, and Teagan Kamm
The George Doyle Award – Matthew O’Connell
The Father Brunelle Memorial Award in Computer Science – Narmean Khaled
The Dr. Eugene W. Byrnes Scholarship in the Natural Sciences – Maria Kapoukranidis
The Mary Whiton Calkins Award in Psychology – Ashley MacGilvray
The Community Service Learning Student of the Year – Sara Flayhan
The Special Award for Women’s Studies – Lindsey Kuniewich
The Michele and Donald D’Amour Humanitas Award – Anthony Fayette
The Lyceum Award in Philosophy – Sara Higgins
The Academy Award in Philosophy – Gabriel Matraia
The William James Award in Psychology – Claire Thomassen
The James McCarthy Scholarship for the Study of Economics or Global Studies – Alexander Meesig
The Luca Pacioli Accounting Achievement Award – Huyen Nguyen
The Shirley Thompson Scholarship in the Visual Arts – Mikaela Woll
The Colleen Ritzer Memorial Award – Caroline Mastergeorge
The Daniel L. Christianson Award for the Study of Foreign Languages – Thomas Leanarts
The Omer & Laurette Boivin Scholarship in French or Foreign Languages – Molly Walsh
The George E. and Sarah Denomme Scholarship – Nayala Baucejour
The Award for the Minor in French – Nayala Baucejour
The Leo and Madeleine Remillard Scholarship for the Study of French – Nayala Baucejour
The Cynthia Courtney and Adelard F. Landry Scholarship in French Studies – Isabella Nolan
The Minor in Italian Award – Thomas Lenaerts
The Joseph E. Sheerin Merit Prize in the Study of Classical Languages and Literatures – Savina Villani
The Special Award in Public History – Madeline Johnson
The Ken Moynihan Special Award in American History – Harrison Leone
The Paul Ziegler Award for Excellence in European History – Tyler Dias
The Special Award in History and Citizenship – Gabriela Vargas
The Donec Formetur Christus Presidential Award
This special award, presented by President Greg Weiner, is granted each year to a Junior or Senior whose life embodies the ideals of an Assumption education. The recipient has pursued in an exemplary manner the goals of Catholic liberal education, engaging in the pursuit of truth by means of both reason and faith, understanding at a deep level the relationship between the intellectual and the spiritual life. In granting this award, the University recognizes the recipient for the contribution he or she has made to the institution and for the witness he or she gives, in both word and deed, to its mission and educational goals.
Akariza Kanamugire Shekinah Christa