Knox College

High-achieving students were named to the Knox College Dean's List for the 2023 Spring Term. To be named to the Dean's List, a student must have earned at least 2.5 credits in the term, with a grade point average of 3.6 or better (on a 4.0 scale).

Knox student Cadence Eischens '24, from Stacy, Minnesota, received the U.S. Department of State's Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, which will enable her to study ecology, culture and conservation in Thailand this spring.

A number of Knox students participated in a four-week summer program that explored early Chinese immigration to the United States through a visit to and study of Angel Island, an immigration station in San Francisco Bay that was in operation from 1910-1940. Weihong Du, associate professor of Asian studies, led a group of seven students on a two-week trip to the San Francisco area this past summer with the support of a National Endowment for the Humanities-sponsored program, "Local Contexts, Global Connections: Revitalizing Immersive Cultural and Language Study at Home."

About 250 Knox College seniors received their bachelor's degrees on June 5, 2021, at Knox College's Commencement exercises.

During the 2021 Conferring of Degrees, select Knox College students were awarded College Honors for their advanced research and creative projects in specialized department fields. Projects were conducted in such areas as biology, translation, theatre, and environmental studies.

Knox College students were welcomed into the nation's oldest and most prestigious honor society, Phi Beta Kappa.

The staff of student journalists at The Knox Student (TKS) received 21 awards from the Illinois College Press Association on February 20. Among these awards were first place and second place in the prestigious in-depth/investigative reporting category and third place in general excellence. The awards were in a wide spectrum of categories, including feature story, sport photography, feature design, and podcast, and they demonstrate the diverse talents of the TKS staff.

Approximately 300 new students joined the Knox College community by enrolling for the 2020 fall term.

Three students created a new sorority focused on Black, Indigenous, and People Of Color (BIPOC) at Knox College. Madison Sparks says the idea developed from conversations involving about a half-dozen Knox students. All of them are first-generation college students, and all are BIPOC. The group decided that by founding a new Black-centered sorority at Knox, they could do more to promote Black culture and connection. The sorority plans to engage in different forms of outreach, both on and off-campus, and expects to develop relationships with other organizations, such as Allied Blacks for Liberty & Equality (A.B.L.E.), the Knox Black Alumni Network (BAN), and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Deja was recently named a winner of the 2020 Governor's Volunteer Service Award. The award recognizes volunteers and volunteer programs that have made a difference in Illinois and highlights the importance of volunteerism and community service.

Luis Mateo Liendo completed an internship during the summer of 2020 with the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame, continuing work he started earlier in the year for a Knox College arts administration class.

Soko Cheng has been awarded a competitive Gilman Scholarship, which she is using to study Southeast Asian culture and society in Thailand and reconnect with her family's roots. Cheng's parents are Cambodian refugees. "I realized that I didn't know much about their personal experiences," said Cheng. "I knew that no amount of learning about different cultures could compare to actually experiencing it." Cheng's spring semester in Thailand is supported by a $5,000 Gilman Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, the highest award amount that the program grants. She is one of many Knox students to have received the prestigious scholarship over the years, which gives students with financial need the means to study or intern abroad. In Thailand, Cheng will take classes on Thai culture, human rights, and social issues at Chiang Mai University. For a short period of time, she will stay with a family in a rural village and work with the community on a service project.

Three Knox College students attended the Diversity Abroad Global Student Leadership Summit in Boston, where they had the opportunity to network with professionals, engage in critical dialogue about their study abroad experiences, and participate in hands-on training sessions. The leadership summit is a platform that allows underrepresented students to speak about their study abroad experiences. By engaging in the forum, students also learn to leverage their international experience for the benefit of their own communities, and think about next steps in global careers.

Students in Knox College's most recent StartUp Term set out to solve all sorts of problems, such as connecting pet owners with reputable caretakers and helping prospective and current college students more easily share experiences about college life. As the students created solutions to those problems, they also learned practical lessons about entrepreneurship, teamwork, and overcoming obstacles.

Students in the Knox College Theatre Department's 2019 Repertory Theatre Term have produced two plays, "The Children's Hour" and "The Laramie Project." The immersive term -- a three-credit course -- is specifically designed so the participating students, along with faculty directors and designers, devote all their time to all aspects of producing two full-length shows.

Michelle Dudley '20 worked as a pre-engineering intern at Google.