Academic awards
04/24/2019
Recipients of departmental honors for independent study projects were Jena O’Brien, public relations; Emily Rush, English; Elizabeth Luersman, art; Cara Echols, art and writing; and Katelyn Amstutz, biology (not pictured.)
Students honored for academic excellence
Bluffton University recognized many of its top students for their academic achievements at the annual Academic Awards and Honors Forum on April 23.
Thirty-two seniors were honored as distinguished scholars in their respective academic areas.
Six seniors were recognized for completion of the Honors Program. They are: Katelyn Amstutz, of Dalton, Ohio; Hannah Conklin, of Westerville, Ohio; Morganne Faler, of Huntsville, Ohio; Celia Alyssa Hornback, of Jeffersonville, Ind.; Elizabeth Luersman, of Fort Jennings, Ohio; and Emily Rush, of Quakertown, Pa.
Receiving departmental honors for their independent-study projects were five seniors. Katelyn Amstutz of Dalton, Ohio, for her biology project; Cara Echols of New Bremen, Ohio, for her art and writing project; Elizabeth Luersman of Fort Jennings, Ohio, for her art project; Jena O’Brien of Toledo, Ohio, for her public relations project; and Emily Rush of Quakertown, Pa., for her English project.
Other awards went to:
- Madison Heckman, Ottawa, Ohio, the Naomi Brenneman Prize for an outstanding research and/or interpretive essay on a literary topic. Her essay was titled “Under the Surface: Pre-Raphaelite Oppression of Female Writers.”
- Timothy Bender, Wellman, Iowa, the John D. Unruh Award for exceptional research paper written for humanities. His essay was titled “Eureka Town: A Neighborhood Reconstructed.”
- Rowena Zuercher, Apple Creek, Ohio, the John D. Unruh Award for exceptional research paper written for social sciences. Her essay was titled “Cases for Culture in Language Learning: A Proposal for Developing Interlanguage Communication.”
- Becky Boban, Madison, Ohio, Creative Writing Award
- Jordan Stutzman, Millersburg, Ohio, the Beaver-Falcon Master of Accountancy Scholarship
- Benjamin Heck, Alvada, Ohio, the CRC Press Chemistry Achievement Award
- Sydney Cobb, Archbold, Ohio, the Esta Lugibill Dye Award for Excellence in Chemical Science by a Woman
- Emma Cobb, Archbold, Ohio, the Instrumental Music Award
- Justin Dorsey, Hilliard, Ohio; Brista Drake, Richwood, Ohio; Berlin Fuqua, Ada, Ohio; and Elizabeth Luersman, Fort Jennings, Ohio; the Art Show Juror’s Awards of Distinction
- Elizabeth Luersman, Fort Jennings, Ohio, The Gregg Luginbuhl Award for Best of Show
- Mary Bias, Lima, Ohio, The Gregg Luginbuhl Award for Ceramics
- Mary Bias, Lima, Ohio, the Lion and Lamb Art Award
- Makayla Noble, Bluffton, Ohio, the Dr. Elizabeth Hostetler Outstanding Educator Award
- Hannah Conklin, Westerville, Ohio; Kiera Suffel, Edgerton, Ohio; and Zachary Lykins, Pickerington, Ohio, for first, second and third places respectively in the 2019 C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Competition
- Casey Clark, Lima, Ohio, Athlete with the Highest Scholastic Record
- Chanhee Hwang, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, International Student with the Highest Scholastic Record
Concluding the program was the recognition of two graduating members of Pi Lambda Theta National Education Honor Society; six graduating members of Psi Chi National Psychology Honor Society; 37 new members of Bluffton’s Pi Delta Society, an honor for seniors with a grade point average of at least 3.75 during their college careers; and 43 C. Henry Smith Scholars—17 graduating, 7 continuing and 19 newly elected scholars.