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The most prestigious academic honor that Miami bestows on its current students is the Provost’s Student Academic Achievement Award. This year, eight Miami students have been honored with this Award – including six who are members of the Honors & Scholars community. Each recipient receives a $1000 scholarship and public recognition at Miami’s Opening Convocation Ceremony. The following Honors & Scholars students have received these Awards in 2006:
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Mikaela Adams , from Cincinnati, is so talented that she has pursued majors in three disciplines —history, anthropology and French—and has compiled a distinguished academic record in each field. She attributes her success to Miami’s “truly dedicated faculty members who are willing to work closely with their students to promote and sponsor undergraduate research.” Mikaela is passionate about the histories and cultures of Europe, Africa, North and South America as well as about how various cultures have interacted to create the modern world. This past summer, she enjoyed her role as a facilitator of overnight presentations for visiting school groups at the Cincinnati Museum Center. Her dream is to study history or historical archaeology in a strong graduate program.
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A third-generation Miami student from Barrington, Illinois, Matt Cunningham is a University Honors student and a marketing and finance major with a minor in entrepreneurship. One of his most fulfilling undergraduate experiences occurred when he studied in Luxembourg. He has served in internships at Procter & Gamble, Oscar Dog Corporation, and G. Whiz. As President of Pi Sigma Epsilon, Matt has been able to apply his classroom knowledge to real world projects for Fortune 500 companies. He comments: “Pi Sigma Epsilon not only provides me the opportunity to prepare myself for life after graduation, but it serves as a real world training ground to develop leadership and business skills for the future. The projects that we do with companies and the experiences we have are unrivaled.” After graduating from Miami next spring, Matt hopes to move to Chicago to pursue a career in financial consulting or venture capitalism and eventually to receive his MBA. |
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A native of Loveland, Ohio, James Doolittle entered the University Honors Program during his first year at Miami and has posted a remarkable record of achievements. A psychology major and statistical methods minor, he has conducted research with Dr. Rose Marie Ward (Physical Education, Health and Sport Studies) on standardized testing, student motivation and health behavior. James attributes his success to close mentoring from faculty members: “My advisers, as well as many of the faculty I have encountered, push students to exceed even their own personal academic and professional expectations.” This year, he hopes to present his research at a national conference and to apply for doctoral programs in school psychology. |
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Although Marni Goldberg, a native of Buffalo Grove, Illinois, received admission offers from several prestigious colleges and universities, she selected Miami and the Harrison Scholars Program because she felt that she would have more opportunities to serve in major leadership roles on the Oxford campus. Her dream was realized this year when she became the editor-in-chief of the Miami Student. She writes: “Since coming to Miami, working on the Miami Student has been my most valuable and challenging learning experience…[B]eing the editor of the Student has redefined for me the meaning of teamwork, dedication, leadership and the importance of going beyond the ordinary to reach for the extraordinary.” A double political science-journalism major, Marni has pursued her love of politics and the media both in the classroom and beyond. She participated in Miami’s Inside Washington Program during the summer of 2005, and this past summer, Marni was awarded a coveted reporting internship at the ChicagoTribune’s Washington Bureau. While working there, she penned several articles that were published nationwide. |
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Although still an undergraduate, Chris Shoemaker has already compiled a record of research and scholarship which would make even a seasoned professor proud. A member of the University Honors Program and a microbiology major from West Chester, Ohio, Chris has spent almost two years conducting research on pathogens with Professor Luis Actis (Department of Microbiology) — an endeavor which helped him to land the prestigious Beckman Scholarship in 2005. Chris has already presented his research findings at national and international academic conferences in Florida and California. He notes: “The education I have received outside the classroom at Miami has been instrumental to my overall education and has greatly enhanced my learning in a way that formal classroom training alone could not have accomplished.” After graduating from Miami in spring 2007, he hopes to pursue a Ph.D. or dual Ph.D/M.D. with the ultimate goal of a career in medical research. |
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Although he is a local resident of Oxford, Ohio, David Wicks has traveled far and wide while in the Honors & Scholars Program at Miami. An architecture major and Harrison Scholar, David has studied extensively in Asia (see photo of him with children in Shanghai). In recalling that experience, David mused: “Sitting on top of an active volcano north of Tokyo, I played guitar back and forth with a Japanese architecture student. A tent we made from fabric and materials found on the mountain shaded us from the afternoon sun. We called it our suzushi house, and I spent a day there perfectly at ease.” During his first three years at Miami, he served on the Executive Board of the American Institute of Architecture Students and was a member of Miami’s Glee Club, a local a cappella group, and the Global Rhythms World Music Ensemble. After he graduates next spring, he hopes to continue producing creative work in the public realm. His dream is to study under a master carpenter, Edo san, on the island of Awaji in Japan and then to travel west throughout much of Asia before pursuing an MFA in a top architecture program. “Whatever happens,” David notes, “I want to be able to instill a sense of excitement in other people about the amazing things going on in the world around us.” |
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