THE OUTSTANDING SENIOR SCHOLARS CELEBRATION
April 15, 2021, 4:00 p.m. (virtual and by invitation only)
The Florida State University Honors Program is proud to announce that 34 graduating Honors students have achieved the distinction of Outstanding Senior Scholar for the Spring 2021 term. These students have met the University Honors graduation requirements, successfully defended an Honors in the Major undergraduate thesis project, and will graduate Summa Cum Laude from FSU with a 3.9 or higher GPA. Congratulations to you all! We look forward to keeping in touch with you in the future.
CONGRATULATIONS TO FSU'S AND HONORS EXPERIENCE PROGRAM'S THREE STUDENTS, WHO RECEIVED THE BARRY GOLDWATER SCHOLARSHIP
April 8, 2021
[FSU News] The Honors Program would like to congratulate three of its outstanding Honors students, Trystan Loustau (Presidential Scholar), Jessica Moser, and Kylee Hillman on receiving the Barry Goldwater Undergraduate Scholarship. The three Honors Experience students were featured on April 8, 2021 in an FSU News article, which describes the scholarship as "a prestigious national award that annually recognizes the brightest mathematics, science and engineering college sophomores and juniors." [FSU News]
“To have three Goldwater Scholars is not only a testament to the merit and resiliency of our applicants but the outstanding resources and faculty mentors at FSU who are invested in the success of their students." “My hope is this unprecedented achievement will continue to inspire the undergraduate STEM community and showcase what Florida State students are capable of achieving inside and outside of the classroom.”- Jesse Wieland, Office of National Fellowships.
GIOVANNA GARCIA NAMED FSU STUDENT STAR
April 5, 2021
Major: International Affairs and Political Science
Graduation: Spring 2021
[FSU News] The Honors Program would like to congratulate Giovanna Garcia for being named FSU's Student Star for April 2021. Giovanna is a Presidential Scholar, Honors and Honors in the Major student, who has studied International Affairs and Political Science while at FSU. She will graduate this spring and plans to take a gap year to teach English in Spain. After her gap year, she hopes to attend law school, studying international human rights law.
“FSU has taught me to invest my time in things that I am passionate about, and that makes me feel fulfilled,” she said. “Take the opportunities as they come to you. I credit FSU for a lot of the opportunities that I have had as most of my involvement has been through Florida State.” - Giovanna Garcia, FSU News Article
MICHAEL COLLINS NAMED FSU STUDENT STAR
March 3, 2021
Major: Biological Science
Graduation: Spring 2021
[FSU News] Congratulations to Honors student, Michael Collins, for being named FSU Student Star for March 2021. "Collins has been fortunate to experience a breadth of opportunities since arriving at Florida State. He became a member of the Honors Program in fall 2017, achieved the Dean’s List for four semesters and President’s List for one semester." He has served as a University Ambassador, a Freshman Interest Group Leader, and has volunteered with the Big Event, an organization that "partners with TCC and FAMU students in volunteering around the Tallahassee community."
'I was encouraged through everything I did,” Collins said. “I was always pushed to achieve everything I could and more.'
"When Collins graduates in April 2021, he plans to pursue a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration with hopes of educating others who want to go into the same career field and learning more about how one personal experience can shape others."
THE FLORIDA COLLEGIATE HONORS COUNCIL ANNUAL CONFERENCE
FSU Honors Student Winners
February 12-13, 2021
Three Florida State University Honors students received awards for their paper submissions in the category of Documented Research or Critical Thinking. Ollie LeClerc and Alison Roush were awarded in the Freshman/Sophomore section, and Allison Laudadio was awarded in the Junior/Senior category. This is Allison Laudadio's second year winning an award at the conference. Winning contestants were invited to present an overview of their papers at the annual Florida Collegiate Honors Council Conference, which was hosted virtually the weekend of February 12-13, 2021 via Zoom.
Read more about our three outstanding Honors students, their research paper overviews, and their reflections on their work and the conference experience.
[Photo of Allison Laudadio]
ERIN MURPHY NAMED FSU STUDENT STAR
February 3, 2021
Major: Computer Engineering
Graduation: Spring 2023
[FSU News] The Honors Program would like to congratulate Erin Murphy for being named FSU's Student Star for February 2021. Erin is an Honors student and the first student-athlete to be selected as a Presidential Scholar. She has volunteered extensively while at FSU through the FSU beach volleyball team and Presidential Scholars with Big Brothers, Big Sisters, the FSU Office of Accessibility Services, the homeless shelter and a local area middle school, serving as a sports coach. She has participated in the Undergraduate Research Program and was awarded an IDEA Grant toward her research last summer.
“I am so grateful to Florida State University for all the opportunities I’ve been a part of because it’s honestly been so much better than I could have ever imagined – and I imagined it would be pretty great. ”-Erin Murphy, FSU News
"Murphy plans to use FSU’s 4+1 program to start taking electrical engineering graduate coursework while she completes her computer engineering undergraduate degree. She hopes to use all five years of her NCAA eligibility and earn her master’s degree while still playing for FSU’s beach volleyball team." -FSU News
FALL 2020 HONORS GRADUATES AND VIRTUAL MEDALLION CEREMONY
The University Honors Program is proud to announce that this fall, 77 students will graduate with honors distinction. 55 students completed the University Honors Program, 18 students completed the Honors in the Major Program, 1 student earned Dual Honors by completing both the University Honors and Honors in the Major Programs, and 3 students earned Outstanding Senior Scholar status by completing both honors programs and graduating with a GPA of 3.9 or above.
The Honors Medallion Ceremony will go live on Thursday, December 10, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. EST on the honors website. We invite graduates and loved ones to enjoy the presentation together! University Librarian, Bridgett Birmingham, will address the students and speak to their accomplishments. The ceremony will also include messages from Dr. Annette Schwabe, Director of the Honors Program; Dr. Sally McRorie, Provost; and Dr. Joe O'Shea, Dean of Undergraduate Studies.
May the perseverance and resilience you have demonstrated during these trying times spur you on to greater opportunities and successes in your future! We hope that you will stay connected with us!
Read more about the Fall 2020 Outstanding Senior Scholars.
View the Honors Medallion Ceremony, the ceremony program and list of graduates.
FSU AWARDS 77 HONORS MEDALLIONS TO FALL GRADUATES
December 10, 2020
[FSU News] "Florida State University awarded honors medallions to 77 high-achieving graduates during a virtual ceremony on Thursday, Dec. 10, [2021].
The FSU Honors Program supports the efforts and talents of the university’s most intellectually curious students who have the potential, dedication and drive for creating change.
The virtual ceremony included remarks by Provost Sally McRorie; Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Assistant Provost, Joe O’Shea; Annette Schwabe, associate dean of Undergraduate Studies and director of the FSU Honors Program; and Bridgett Birmingham, Diversity and Inclusion Librarian for FSU Libraries."
[Article written by Amy Farnum-Patronis; photo credit: Andrew Myers, Undergraduate Studies]
GRACE ROBBINS NAMED FSU STUDENT STAR
December 8, 2020
Major: Classical Archaeology Minors: Museum Studies and Anthropology
Graduation: Spring 2022
[FSU News] The Honors Program is happy to announce that Grace Robbins was named an FSU Student Star for December 2020. Grace is a Presidential Scholar and Honors student. She has been involved with the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program, as well as one of FSU's excavation projects in Tuscany, Italy, which was funded by her Presidential Scholarship. "That [her research] has led to an IDEA Grant and an internship with the FSU Office of Digital Research (DRS) through the InternFSU program to experiment with 3D technologies and enhance interaction with archeological data and scholarship in different media."
“I felt like the Presidential Scholars and honors communities gave me a place to thrive without feeling overwhelmed or lost in the crowd,” she said. “I never felt like I couldn’t explore what I wanted to." - Grace Robbins, FSU News
DIANA CONRAD NAMED FSU STUDENT STAR
November 4, 2020
Major: Chemistry
Graduation: Spring 2021
[FSU News] The Honors Program congratulates Diana Conrad, who was named FSU's Student Star for the month of November. Diana is an Honors student and Honors in the Major student, studying inorganic chemistry. During her time at FSU, Diana volunteered extensively with the Food Recovery Network, part of FSU's Sustainable Campus chapter and now heads up the program. Diana plans to pursue a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry and one day become a professor at a university.
“I’ve learned so much about how to be a good teacher, about how to be there for your students,” she said. “FSU showed me the kind of person I want to be and the kind of teacher I want to be for the students of the future.”
2020 NCHC FREDDYE T. DAVY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP AWARD WINNER
Sneha Kapil, FSU Presidential Scholar and Honors Experience Program student, was awarded the National Collegiate Honors Council's Freddye T. Davy Scholarship Award in September 2020. She was one of only four recipients to receive this prestigious award nationally. The award comes with a monetary scholarship, as well as paid registration fees to the National Collegiate Honors Council's (NCHC) 2020 virtual conference. The Honors Program could not be more proud of Sneha and her continued contributions to the honors community and beyond!
SUMMER 2020 HONORS GRADUATES
On behalf of the University Honors Program and the Florida State University community, we would like to congratulate the Summer 2020 Honors graduating class! The Honors Medallion Ceremony took place virtually on Thursday, July 30, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. via Zoom. This summer, we had 16 students graduate with Honors, 6 students with Honors in the Major, 2 students with Dual Honors (with Honors and Honors in the Major) and 3 Outstanding Senior Scholars (with Honors, Honors in the Major and a Summa Cum Laude GPA status of 3.9 or above). The ceremony included messages from Dr. Annette Schwabe, Director of the Honors Program; Dr. Sally McRorie, Provost; Dr. Joe O'Shea, Dean of Undergraduate Studies; and Amy Haggard, Assistant Director of Alumni & Student Engagement.
We wish you great success on your life's journey and hope that you will stay connected with us!
View the ceremony program and list of graduates HERE.
Honors Experience Program Student Research Featured in New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Blog Posts
May 29, 2020
Fourteen FSU Honors Experience Program (HEP) students, under the guidance of HEP faculty member, Dr. Arianne Johnson Quinn, and Dr. Doug Reside, curator of the Billy Rose Theatre Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, participated in a collaborative research project on three largely unknown musical theatre works from American history.
"The goals for this project were simple: to support undergraduate student research and allow them to develop the necessary skills to perform independent original research on musical theatre using digital archival sources, and to work collaboratively as they begin taking steps towards publication and further research." -Dr. Arianne Johnson Quinn, FSU Honors Experience Program
SPRING 2020 HONORS GRADUATES
The University Honors Program and faculty of Florida State University recognized the hard work and dedication of the graduating Honors students on Thursday, April 30, 2020 in a virtual ceremony. The ceremony included messages from Dr. Annette Schwabe, Director of the Honors Program; President John Thrasher; Dr. Sally McRorie, Provost; Dr. Karen Laughlin, Dean of Undergraduate Studies; and Dr. David Kirby, Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of English.
View the ceremony program and list of graduates HERE.

HONORS IN THE MAJOR THESIS WORK
Faculty-Student Mentorship Profiles
Each year, upper division students from disciplines across campus participate in an undergraduate thesis project. It provides the student an opportunity to look deeper into an area of interest and work with faculty members, who assist with direction and guidance throughout the process.
Read more about the experiences of students and faculty who participated in the Honors in the Major (HITM) thesis program HERE.
[Featured Student: Serena Bradshaw, African-American Studies]
RECORD NUMBER OF HONORS GRADUATES!
The FSU Honors Spring Class of 2020 was featured in the FSU News on May 7, 2020. This semester, FSU awarded a record number of Honors Medallions to the Spring 2020 Graduates!
"Florida State University awarded honors medallions to 383 high-achieving graduates — the university’s largest class to date — during a virtual ceremony on Thursday, April 30."
Read the article in its entirety HERE.
[Photo credit: Andrew Myers, FSU Undergraduate Studies]

2020 FLORIDA COLLEGIATE HONORS COUNCIL ANNUAL CONFERENCE - AWARD WINNERS
Congratulations to Allison Laudadio, Atilla Sulker, Roland Spillman and Elizabeth Steidley for their awards in fiction/poetry and freshman writing at the the 2020 Florida Collegiate Honors Council's (FCHC) Annual Conference, which took place during the weekend of February 7-9, 2020 at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida!
Read more about the conference and the attendees.