Last Friday, the Division proudly celebrated the accomplishments of its graduating seniors at the annual Honors Reception, held in Memorial Union. The event, hosted by the Undergraduate Affairs Committee, brought together graduating students, their mentors, and families. 

The reception highlighted the exceptional achievements of its students, including the announcement of the winners for several prestigious departmental awards: the Outstanding Senior Research Award in Biological Sciences, the Outstanding Senior Scholar Award, the Professor Stanley Zimmering Prize in Biology, and the Blackburn-Heseman Award. These awards, made possible through the generous endowments from alumni, family, and freinds of the Division, annually recognize outstanding students for their academic excellence, independent research, and contributions to the department, university, and/or community. Each winner received a framed certificate and a monetary award. The Division emphasizes the equal prestige and honor of all these awards. 

Additionally, the department conferred Departmental Honors to 24 graduating seniors who completed a year-long research project, presented their findings publicly (including scientific publication), and maintained a high GPA. The reception also recognized graduating seniors newly inducted into the Tri Beta and Phi Beta Kappa honor societies, as well as three outstanding graduating seniors who served as invaluable biology peer advisors for the Division.  

Outstanding Senior Research Award in Biological Sciences

This year's recipients are Delaney Cannon, Kameron Hahn, and Luke Marx. This award recognizes students who have excelled as undergraduate researchers, as evidenced by presentations and/or publications, while maintaining a high level of academic achievement in rigorous STEM courses. This year’s awards are funded by the Mary Margaret McCarty Scholarship Endowment, the Clarence Clinton Crouch Outstanding Undergraduate Scholar Endowment, and the Nahm Sisters Endowment Fund. 

Outstanding Senior Scholar Award in Biological Sciences

This year's recipients are Mohammed Abu-Salah and Chloe Velcheck. This award recognizes students who have a prolonged track-record of engagement in biology-related activities beyond the classroom. The award is open to students graduating in the fall, spring, or summer semester of the current academic year. This year’s awards are funded by the John I. Hardy Outstanding Undergraduate Scholar Award Endowment, established by Thora Hardy in memory of John I. Hardy. 

Professor Stanley Zimmering Prize in Biology 

This year's recipients of the Zimmering Prize in Biology are Elliett Baca and Olivia Lesnik. Professor StanlRecognizes undergraduate or Masters students who have excelled in research, while maintaining a high level of academic achievement in STEM courses, and have been accepted into a PhD program in the life sciences. The prize is funded by the Jonathan Marc Zimmering and Stanley Zimmering Endowment.  

Blackburn-Heseman Award  

This year's recipients are Nourhan Balboula, Sophie Hof, and Keith Nyanyo. This award recognizes rising sophomores, juniors, or seniors majoring in Biological Sciences, with financial need, who have plan to pursue a career in the life sciences or medicine and have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or greater.  This award is made available by an endowment established by Dr. Jan Weaver and Dr. James Carrel in honor of Frances M. Blackburn and Wilhelmina Heseman.

Read more about these students and their accomplishments in the 2025 Honors Reception Program Booklet.

Departmental Honors

Congratulations to the following graduates who earned Departmental Honors. These students completed a research project carried out over a period of at least two semesters under the supervision of a life sciences faculty member at MU and have presented their research results at a public forum or in the form of a scientific research paper, while also maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 3.30.

• Mohammed Abu-Salah
• Katherine Bailey
• Kendall Barnes
• Jamie Baumann
• Jonathan Benson
• Victor Chen
• Sharon Fears
• Kameron Hahn
• Kathleen Harris
• Gabriela Ionita
• Gabriel Keeton
• Rucha Kelkar
• Luan Le
• Samuel Martin
• Luke Marx
• Elijah Maskrod
• Thomas Nickel
• Keith Nyanyo
• Brennan Rumpf
• Carlos Sardina
• Kareem Shaheen
• Elijah Sidiropoulos
• Joey Turner
• Leah Whitley