Congratulations, University Honors Program & University Scholars Program Graduates!

The staff of the University Honors Program wishes to extend their congratulations to the graduating class of 2024! You’ve worked hard to achieve your goals at NC State and we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.

Special recognition goes to Andrew Otelsberg, graduating University Scholar and electrical engineering major, for speaking on behalf and in encouragement of his fellow graduates during the Senior Recognition Ceremony for Honors & Scholars Program graduates on Tuesday, Dec. 10.

He was selected as the event’s student speaker, not only for the public speaking skills he regularly exercised on behalf of the Honors Program at public school programs and university recruitment events, but because UHP staff recognize that Otelsberg approaches everything he does with the same passion: a genuine desire to lead and to help others grow.

Andrew has been an active member of the University Honors and Scholars Program since his freshman year, both as Chair for the Honors and Scholars Council and his role as an Honors Ambassador. During his last two years, he became involved in assisting with the planning and facilitation of many of the trips and activities offered specifically to upperclassmen in the program, a relatively new initiative meant to keep older students that may have already completed their program requirements engaged in the community and connected with staff in their later years.

For these reasons among others, during the UHP’s graduating senior recognition ceremony on Tuesday, December 10, Otelsberg and Sama Abou Elkheir were recognized for earning the Alex Miller Outstanding Scholar Award, which recognizes graduating Scholars Program participants who have exhibited significant commitments to the University Honors Program community and its students. Miller Award winners are students who have had a real impact on the community, and leave it better than they originally found it.

Elkheir, who was similarly involved in the Honors and Scholars Council for all four years of her program and also became an Honors Ambassador, was selected as a Miller Award recipient, in part because of her optimism, empathy, and creativity as a student leader, but also for serving as the sole student representative on the University Honors Program’s Advisory Council. The UHP Advisory Council is a group that serves as a sounding board for major UHP strategic planning and decision-making, and is full of faculty and campus partner staff from around the university.

This semester’s Miller Award recipients represent what it means to become actively engaged and involved in one’s community. It’s not surprising that the two feel very similar regarding why they believe it is important for students to whole-heartedly commit themselves to communities and activities they care about.

“I believe it is vitally important to get involved on campus, for a multitude of reasons,” Otelsberg shares. “By doing so, you get to see the sides of an operation that you may not otherwise get to see, and this can help you to further appreciate your favorite campus activities, and to grow as a person. My personal philosophy has always been that the more you put into something, the more you get out of it. The more you volunteer your time, your energy and your passion to something, the more friendships you can build, the more growth you can achieve, and the more rewarding the feeling is when you see your efforts come to fruition. Even if not with the UHP, I would encourage all undergraduates to find a community or a cause on campus that you are passionate about and seek out ways to become more involved. Not only will you help others, but you’ll help yourself too.”

Elkheir’s strikingly similar support of student engagement is as follows: “My personal philosophy is you get what you put into it. I apply this to any sort of role or position that I’ve ever had and that includes being a part of the honors program. I think it is important to always remember why you join something. For example, the reason I joined the UHP was to simply be involved at school, but soon I realized there was so much more to the program. I met my friends, my classmates, and my professors on a much more personal level and it really helped me break out of my shell and develop as a good human being. I think it’s important to always contribute what you can into a program if it really means something to you. You will find that no matter what, as long as you’re passionate, you will reap the rewards of whatever that organization or program or job has to offer.”

Another new graduate that personifies this philosophy that ‘you get out what you put in’ is Isaiah Stevens. Stevens was awarded the Richard L. Blanton Outstanding Capstone Award during the senior ceremony, which recognizes an exceptional Honors capstone project (or in Stevens’ case, two exceptional projects) and encourages the highest levels of undergraduate scholarship and research at NC State.

Stevens has worked on a total of four undergraduate research projects during his undergraduate tenure at NC State. He was independently nominated for the UHP’s Blanton Award by faculty mentors from two of his projects: by Dr. Kelly Lynn Mulvey, Department of Psychology, for “Linear modeling of STEM Identity Dynamics in Secondary Students,” and by Dr. Mette Olufsen, Department of Mathematics, for “Medical Image Analysis for Hemodynamic Comparisons in Normotensive and Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension Patients.”

Prior to attending college, Stevens planned on going to medical school to be a surgeon. Due to the applicant expectations held by many of the top medical programs, undergraduate research was something he always knew he would have to get involved with. However, participating in HON 367, “Introduction to Interdisciplinary Biomedical Teamwork,” taught by Carolyn Veale, an Assistant Director for the University Honors Program, was career-altering for Isaiah during the spring semester of his first year.

Veale recommended that qualifying students apply for the Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) Undergraduate Research Fellowship, which provides interdisciplinary research training to research-focused students from a breadth of backgrounds who have a strong interest in pursuing a Ph.D. in the Biomedical field. After being accepted to the Fellowship, Stevens was sent down a path that helped him realize new professional interests and introduced him to his various faculty mentors and research opportunities. Eventually, Isaiah switched from a major in applied mathematics and biological systems modeling to a career in mathematics education reform.

“I would strongly recommend participating in undergraduate research, and, I’d go as far as suggesting that students should start as soon as possible,” recommends Stevens. “Without my research experiences, I would not have realized that focusing on my passion rather than mere interests would drive me to become the strongest academic that I could be. It has changed my entire career trajectory for the better, and I am ever thankful for being introduced so early on.”

Stevens has applied to multiple PhD programs in mathematics education and/or Educational Psychology, with plans to begin a doctoral program in the Fall of 2025. In the meantime, he will continue working on at least two research projects with NC State faculty in the Mathematics Department and Math Education.

This December’s Miller and Blanton Award recipients represent a small fraction of the exceptional students that complete the University Honors Program and University Scholars Program every semester.

Per the requirements of the University Honors Program as they stood at the time of these students’ admittance, the following students have completed six hours of HON Seminars, six additional hours of approved advanced Honors coursework, one semester of Honors Forum, and a senior capstone project OR digital portfolio, all the while maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher:

Devi Nandita Argi
Adrian M Chan
Michelle Farley Chen
Sia Chokshi
Hunter James Epps
Kendall Paige Gallagher
Janet Isabella Green
Shaanza Haniya
Clara Grace Hawley
Nathaniel Thomas Honea
Finn Huneycutt
Sebine Vianne Jacobson
Michaela Raye Joyce
Mai Listokin
Ashleigh Nicole Matiukas
Lily Ann Palmer
Adharsh Rajagopal
Dhvani Soni
Isaiah Stevens

Per the requirements of the University Scholars Program as they stood at the time of these students’ admittance, the following students have completed 12 hours of approved advanced coursework, three semesters of Forum and a minimum of three high impact experiences, all while maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher:

Sama Mohamed Abou Elkheir
Emelia Katelyn Clark
Gabrielle Fjellman
Ansley Kate Habel
Anna Elizabeth Hill
Jordan Simone Isley
Dezi Kauer
Caimile Qiuyun Loy
Eint Yamon Myo
Andrew Otelsberg
Somya Pandey
Andrew Paul
Haley Elizabeth Pierce
Bailey Michele Reed
Xzavier Alvin Robinson-Fuentes
Taylor Sanborn
Harmony Eve Templon
Katherine M Watford
Kathryn Zavadil

UHP staff could not agree more with student speaker Andrew Otelsberg’s final wishes for his Honors and Scholars peers during the senior recognition ceremony on Dec. 10: “Remember to stay curious, seek out creativity, talk to your neighbors, embrace cliches, and welcome diversity. Best of luck to you in your next chapter, however you decide to write it.”