Knox College

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.

Emilie Barrett '20 came to college with a vague idea of some activities she enjoyed. With the guidance of professors and staff, she has transformed that idea first into a passion, then a career goal, and now a plan complete with achievable steps, mentors, and resources. Her latest step on that path is an internship with the archives in the Knox Seymour Library, where Barrett is cataloging a massive collection of documents with signatures from famous people throughout history. "Sharon basically built the internship for me," Barrett said, referring to Sharon Clayton, associate librarian at Seymour Library. "I've always loved history and organization," said Barrett, who is a history major and classics minor. "Back home, my friends and I would go to museums, just to look at cool old stuff for fun. When I first came to Knox, I thought that I wanted to go into museum studies, because I thought it involved me sitting in an archive going through pieces of paper and objects and describing them. That's not a fun image for a lot of people, but it is for me."

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.

Sarah Henderson '20 received an award from the German Academic Exchange Service, known by its German acronym DAAD, to spend the 2018-19 academic year in Berlin. During her time abroad she will continue her education in political science, complete an internship, and sharpen her language skills.

Max Jones '20 conducted an original research project as a McNair Scholar, under the tutelage of Dr. Esther Penick. He put marketing claims to the test by studying the effects of popular health supplements on rats' memory.

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.

Over 300 new students joined the Knox College community by enrolling for the 2019 fall term.

In addition to taking several medical classes, Jocelyn Perez '19 shadowed physicians and gained experience at hospital work in Argentina.

Jonathan helped children with developmental disabilities at a neurobehavioral clinic internship.

Samuel interned at the Weill Cornell Medical College, where he gained real-world experience in computational genetics.

Neha Motwani '20 completed an internship and classes at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Thirty Knox students were selected for the Business Intensive Seminar, which took place May 29-June 1 on the Knox campus. Most participants had just completed their first or second year of college. The Business Intensive Seminar was facilitated by Jim Foley '78, director of the Turner Center for Entrepreneurship at Bradley University. He has led the seminar each year since 2017. Some of his colleagues from Bradley also pitched in for various parts of the four-day event, which included sessions on business fundamentals, ethical business decisions, emotional intelligence and communication, entrepreneurship, innovation, and marketing. Students agreed the Business Intensive Seminar was a memorable educational opportunity that will benefit them now and in the future.

Ravi Ibrado '20 took classes, shadowed doctors, and participated in health clinics during his internship at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Recent graduates and current students from Knox College helped youngsters learn cool dance moves, develop computer games, create ceramics, conduct scientific experiments, and participate in other activities at the Knox College for Kids summer enrichment program.

As a McNair Scholar, Katana Smith '20 studied the literary voices of underrepresented groups. She presented her work at the McNair Conference in New York, and her paper on the subject will be published in the 2019 Knox College McNair Journal.

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

Two Knox students were selected for the Faculty Scholarship Prize, which is the highest honor that Knox faculty members give to a student. It is awarded to seniors who have exhibited exceptional academic ability while participating significantly in extracurricular activities.

Alyssa Stetkevych received the Elbridge Pierce Prize, which is awarded to the senior who has made the greatest scholastic improvement since the end of the first year at Knox.

Three recent Knox College graduates have been chosen as recipients of prestigious Fulbright awards for international research and teaching. Lindsay Smith '19, Eunice Shek '18, and Sofia Gillespie '18 are studying and teaching abroad through the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Program. The program places recipients in primary and secondary schools or universities overseas to foster mutual understanding between the United States and partner nations, share knowledge across communities, and improve lives around the world.

Eleven Knox students in the Class of 2019 received College Honors credit for their Honors theses.

Each year, another round of Knox McNair Scholars spends a summer conducting original research projects. They work together and with the program coordinators to hone their research, presentation, and writing skills so that by July they can present their research at the National McNair Conference in Buffalo, NY. In Spring 2019, each student will have a paper published in the Knox McNair Journal.

One of eleven McNair scholars this year to conduct an original research project, Duke created and statistically validated a psychological measure. The project culminated in a presentation at a national conference in Buffalo, New York, and Tricia's paper on her research will appear in the 2019 Knox McNair Journal.

The McNair Scholar spoke with Salvadoran Americans about the continuing, violent effects of Cold War politics. She compiled her research into a presentation, which she gave at the McNair Conference in New York, and a paper, which will be published in the 2019 edition of the Knox McNair Journal.

High-achieving students were named to the Knox College Dean's List for the 2019 Winter Term.

Dea interned with the Augusta Police Department to better understand what it would be like to be a psychologist working in law enforcement.

The Knox Student brought home 25 journalism awards from this year's Illinois College Press Association conference, smashing through the record set last year when Knox College's student-run newspaper won 19.

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.

Building on their fall term classroom studies, a dozen Knox College students spent nearly three weeks traveling in southern China and deeply exploring the region's culture, landscapes, and arts. The 19-day trip took place during Knox's winter break.

Touring galleries and museums, working intensively at New York Studio School, and networking with Knox alumni were just some of the things eight art students did during winter break through the Knox in New York program. The short-term immersive experience, taught by Associate Professor of Art Tony Gant and Professor of Art Lynette Lombard, combines an art history course and studio work with a two-week travel component to New York City. After the trip, students come back to Knox to create artwork inspired by their experiences.

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