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The National Collegiate Honors Council has announced ������ Honors College graduate Sarah Hagglund as a 2021 Portz Scholar. Hagglund is the 10th honors student from Kent State to be named a Portz Scholar since the national competition began in 1990. 

Catie Woodward is a third-year honors student from Canton, Ohio, majoring in nursing. Though she has had many other accomplishments in her time at Kent State, Catie’s most recent success was performing undergraduate research in the nursing program.

Ryan Moranelli is an upcoming spring 2021 graduate of the Kent State Honors College. He is also a member of the 2020 induction class of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s most prestigious academic honor society, founded in 1776.

Gabriella Humes is a senior Honors College student graduating with a double-major in fashion merchandising and finance. Gabriella has been very successful at Kent State, completing an internship and three study away programs. However, one of Gabriella’s proudest accomplishments is recently completing a Senior Honors Thesis that combined both of her majors into one project. 

Michael Back is a graduating senior Honors College student, majoring in biology with a concentration in organismal biology and a minor in Spanish. Originally from Sharon Center, Ohio, Michael has been interested in ecological restoration since he was in high school. Now in the final semester of his Senior Honors Thesis, Michael used his thesis to delve deeper into his ecological interests. His thesis analyzes a new restoration technique for abandoned surface mines in Cuyahoga Valley, examining “soil bulk density and soil chemistry.”

Elizabeth Koenig is an Honors College senior from Elmore, Ohio, graduating this spring with a major in interior design and a minor in marketing. Though Elizabeth’s academic focus is design, she was inspired to complete a Senior Honors Thesis based on her original goal to become a teacher. Growing up in a family of educators, Elizabeth says, “I thought that’s what I wanted to do, too.”