A University Senate committee has announced the 12 students who will be the 2016 Syracuse University Scholars.

The award is the highest undergraduate honor that the university bestows, according to SU’s website. Winners will represent the entire undergraduate class at the Class of 2016 commencement ceremony on May 15.

A snapshot of this year’s University Scholars reveals a dynamic group of students. There’s a graphic novelist, a chemical engineer who hails from a small town, a short-film creator from a Haudenosaunee territory and a recently named Fulbright Scholar, among others.

Many of the students were surprised when they found out they’d been named University Scholars. One recipient, Alice Blank, said she thought it was a mistake.

“I thought, ‘Oh, this must be wrong.’ I waited a week until I got the email notification and then I told people,” said Blank, a senior English and textual studies major. “I do some things, but I feel like other people do more. I don’t feel worthy.”

The Senate Committee on Academic Affairs made the announcement of the scholars’ names at Wednesday’s meeting, eliciting a round of applause from the faculty and staff who filled Maxwell Auditorium.

One member of the group will be chosen to be the undergraduate commencement speaker, said Kait Hobson, an award recipient and former assistant feature editor for The Daily Orange. The group of scholars will meet every week up until graduation to choose the speaker.

Many of the scholars were nominated to win the award by their respective program’s department chair. Students are nominated for their academic achievement and additional work, such as research or co-curricular activities, according to SU’s website.

When he was nominated, Terry Jones, a senior film student, said he had never heard of the University Scholar award before. He opened the letter containing the nomination when he was with his parents at a restaurant in his hometown. The envelope was inscribed with Chancellor Kent Syverud’s address.

“When I read the letter aloud, my mother had tears in her eyes,” Jones said in an email. “It was an eventful moment because I’m the only one who attended college in my immediate family.”

The submission process required applicants to send their resume, as well as a personal statement of some kind. Jones said he decided to write about his experiences as a non-traditional Haudenosaunee Promise Scholar on campus — an award given to first-year Native American students who are citizens of an Haudenosaunee territory, such as the Mohawk, Onondaga or Seneca nations.

“I wanted the selection committee to understand who I was as a person, aside from my GPA and letters,” said Jones, who under the username Cornsoupman, uploads his work to YouTube and Vimeo. One of his videos, titled “What in the Hell is Corn Soup” discusses the historical and cultural context of Iroquois corn soup.

Adrian Hatch said that when he sat down to write his personal statement, he realized what was most important was to tell a compelling story. He chose to write about his personal growth through the School of Information Studies’ information technology, design and startups program, which he said is a minor that allows students to develop entrepreneurial skills and eventually launch a company.

“It has to be a story that shares a journey of some kind,” Hatch said. “So I kind of looked at it as I followed this journey from someone who was content to do anything for anyone, so now I really try and make sure that something I do creates something new and positive.”

Blank, the recipient who thought she’d been named a University Scholar by mistake, originally came to SU on a pre-med track. But by her sophomore year — the same year that she came out as being gay — she realized there was more value in doing what she loves, rather than appeasing anyone else.

Blank is creating a graphic novel interpretation of Horace Walpole’s “The Castle of Otranto,” which is a gothic novel from the 1700s. Initially, her art was used a form of escapism. In her personal statement, Blank said she talked about how she’s since “stopped running” and now uses her art as a way to help people.

Hobson said her “journey” at SU came less from creating something — though she did produce a 40-page research thesis — and more from listening and learning from what others were creating around campus.

“Syracuse taught me to be quiet and listen to other stories that people had to tell,” said Hobson, a magazine journalism and English and textual studies dual major. “It sort of changed my story.”

The following students have been named University Scholars:

• Alice Blank – College of Arts and Sciences
• Lisa Chan – School of Architecture
• Cora Cool-Mihalyi – School of Education
• Adrian Hatch – School of Information Studies
• Kaitlyn Hobson – College of Arts and Sciences/S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
• Terry Jones – College of Visual and Performing Arts
• Eun-Jin Kim – College of Arts and Sciences
• Mailyn Nishiguchi – College of Arts and Sciences
• Veronica Ortiz-Calderon – S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
• Robert Swanda – David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics
• Samantha Usman – College of Arts and Sciences
• Joshua Woods – College of Engineering and Computer Science

Published on March 30, 2016 at 10:35 pm

Contact Annie: apalme05@syr.edu