Wittenberg University's Honors Program is an active and engaged community of students, faculty members and alumni. Check this page often to read about their achievements and activities.
#LifeAtWitt: Bailey Smith '24 lands exciting externship with Medstar Georgetown University Hospital’s organ transplant unit
Bailey Smith, a class of 2024 nursing major from Frederick, Maryland, is spending the summer gaining hands-on experience and shadowing professionals in an organ transplant unit through Medstar Georgetown University Hospital’s Student Nurse Technician Externship program. (posted 8/17/23)
#LifeAtWitt: Mackenzie Hessick receives 2023 Cornett Creative Teaching Merit Scholarship
Mackenzie Hessick, class of 2025 from Hilliard, Ohio, has been named the 2023 recipient of The Claudia E. and Charles F. Cornett Creative Teaching Merit Scholarship, which annually recognizes a rising junior or senior education major or minor seeking teacher licensure who has a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA and exhibits creative behaviors and philosophies. (posted 6/28/23)
#LifeAtWitt: Amanda Kot ’24 earns 2023 Ping Award
Amanda Kot, class of 2024 from Mogadore, Ohio, recently received the 2023 Charles J. Ping Student Service Award sponsored by Ohio Campus Compact, a nonprofit membership organization of 40 Ohio colleges and universities, which serves to promote community service initiatives on campuses. (posted 5/22/23)
#LifeAtWitt: Daniel Bean ’24 Public Problem Solver Named Campus Compact 2023 Newman Civic Fellow
Daniel Bean, Wittenberg class of 2024, is being acknowledged as a public problem solver with a demonstrated investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities. Recently named a Campus Compact 2023 Newman Civic Fellow, Bean was presented with the award during the University’s Honors Convocation, April 14. (posted 5/23/23)
#LifeAtWitt: Wittenberg Sociology Majors Gaining Valuable Experience Through Internship With Clark County Department of Reentry
In her new position as the director of reentry for Clark County, Brooke Wagner, former associate professor of sociology and director of the criminology program at Wittenberg, is helping to develop community ties by hiring Wittenberg students to work with her in the Clark County Department of Reentry. (posted 1/6/23)
#LifeAtWitt: Caroline Marlow '23 gains professional focus through Witt in Washington Semester
Caroline Marlow ’23, history and political science double major on the pre-law track, interned with the Bramer Group, which is rooted in the defense and national Intelligence communities with keen political insight into Congress and the executive branch, and leverages it to assist public, private, and nonprofit clients. (posted 2/9/22)
#LifeAtWitt: Sydney Lamb ’23 Named Campus Compact 2022 Newman Civic Fellow
Sydney Lamb, Wittenberg class of 2023, is being acknowledged as a public problem solver. Thanks to her demonstrated investment in finding solutions for challenges facing the community, she was recently named a Campus Compact 2022 Newman Civic Fellow. She was presented with the award during the University’s Honors Convocation. (posted 6/9/22)
Through Outstanding Leadership & Community Outreach, Madalyn Marsengill ’23 Earns 2022 Ping Award
Wittenberg rising senior Madalyn Marsengill of Sylvania, Ohio, recently received the 2022 Charles J. Ping Student Service Award through Ohio Campus Compact, a nonprofit membership organization of 40 Ohio colleges and universities. She was officially recognized at this year’s Honors Convocation. (posted 6/3/22)
Shante Leslie ’22 is Recipient of Endowed Scholarship
For Shante Leslie, Wittenberg class of 2022, tapping into music is her therapy. Recent recipient of the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs’ Agnes Fowler Scholarship, Leslie plays the cello and sings in the Wittenberg Choir and the Imani Gospel Choir. Named after long-time teacher and benefactor Agnes Fowler, the scholarship provides $1,200 to a student majoring in music, strong in performance, and proficient on at least one instrument or in voice. (posted 4/21/22)
Brandy Watts Schillace '00 and Elizabeth Eshelman '06 Earn Ohio Arts Council Awards For Writing Excellence
Two Wittenberg University alumni were among 75 individuals named as recipients of the 2022 Ohio Arts Council (OAC) Individual Excellence Award. Brandy Watts Schillace, Wittenberg class of 2000, earned an award in the non-fiction category, while Elizabeth Eshelman, class of 2006, earned an award in the fiction category. (posted 3/18/22)
Erika Jackson ’22 Becomes First Wittenberg Student to Hold Regional Writing Association Office
With a lifelong love of writing and several years of experience as a Writing Center advisor, Erika Jackson '22 has become the first Wittenberg student to hold an office in a regional writing center association and formally represent undergraduate writing center advisors throughout the area. (posted 2/16/22)
Summer Job at Pro Football Hall of Fame Provides Incredible Experience for Rising Senior
Through her summer job at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Katie Hiestand ’22 played an important behind-the-scenes role in Enshrinement Week 2021 and had an “unforgettable” experience as she helped arrange the itineraries for inductees Peyton Manning, John Lynch, and Troy Polamalu, her favorite pro football player. (posted 8/18/21)
Jack Hollinshead ’21 Receives Prestigious Community Engagement Award
Jack Hollinshead ’21 is the Wittenberg recipient of the 2021 Charles J. Ping Student Service Legacy Award in recognition of his tireless efforts to bring baseball to underprivileged inner city youth through his nonprofit My Inner Warrior Foundation. (posted 5/14/21)
Writer and Researcher Emily Nolan '21 Reflects on Wittenberg Experience
My name is Emily Nolan, and I am an English major and a journalism minor graduating this spring. As a senior this year, I often find myself reminiscing about my first experiences at Wittenberg. I find it only fitting that I begin this feature with a short narrative of my initial visit to campus. (posted 5/11/21)
Experienced Aquatic Ecology Researcher Ashley Cave '21 Accepted to Florida College of Veterinary Medicine
From a young age, Ashley Cave ‘21 has been interested in pursuing veterinary practices. She initially expressed this interest in first grade but continued to explore other career avenues. However, after a critical internship at the Columbus Zoo two years ago, Cave knew veterinary medicine was her passion and what she will now pursue at the University of Florida (UF) College of Veterinary Medicine. (posted 5/7/21)
Triple Major Braeden Bowen '21 Shares His Wittenberg Experience
Braeden Bowen '21, majoring in computer science, political science, and Russian language from Lexington, Kentucky, will graduate from Wittenberg on May 15. In this Senior Salute, he shares a few of the items that best represent his Wittenberg experience. (posted 5/6/21)
Chemistry and Music Major Nick Weissman '21 Shares His Wittenberg Experience
Nick Weissman '21, a chemistry and music double major from Kettering, Ohio, will graduate from Wittenberg on May 15. In this Senior Salute, he shares a few of the items that best represent his Wittenberg experience. (posted 5/4/21)
Kenzie Hill '20 earns national award for leadership and service
On the heels of Greek rush at Wittenberg, Kenzie Hill, Wittenberg class of 2020, exemplified how being part of a sorority benefits college students. Hill was recently presented with the national Dorothy Pierpont Shaw Leadership Award, the highest individual honor available to collegiate members of Alpha Delta Pi. (posted 3/16/21)
Evan Wuertemberger ’24 Earns This Year’s Austin E. Knowlton Memorial Scholar
Evan Wuertemberger, Wittenberg class of 2024, was recently named the recipient of the University’s Austin E. Knowlton Memorial Scholarship. Wuertemberger, a math major, is just the second recipient of the scholarship that is awarded to an incoming student with preference given to those studying mathematics. (posted 2/9/21)
Tracey Tackett ’21 Finds Inspiration Through Service and Loss to Continue Education
Tracey Tackett, owner of Sip & Dipity Paint Bar in downtown Springfield, is finishing up some business she left undone some time ago. Years ago, Tackett, a current nontraditional student at Wittenberg, was taking art, marketing, and management classes at Clark State Community College, but then life intervened for the Springfield native, and she wasn’t able to complete her degree. (posted 12/3/20)
EPA Scholarship Winner, Alyssa Ulrich '21, Discovers Purpose Through Faculty-Student Research
Wittenberg senior Alyssa Ulrich is one of 11 environmental science and engineering students to receive a scholarship to study through the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Environmental Education Fund. (posted 11/5/20)
Claire DeWeese '22 Lands Texas-Based Internship in Chemistry Field Through Faculty and Alumni Connections
One person that hasn’t been held back during this COVID-19 pandemic is Claire DeWeese, Wittenberg class of 2022. Last spring, the biology and chemistry double major from Indianapolis, Indiana, received an offer to intern with Clariant, which develops and manufactures chemical ingredients used in many consumer products. (posted 10/19/20)
FYRA Experience Proves One More Reason Students Choose Wittenberg
Courtney Buck ’22 of Delaware, Ohio, Emily Nolan ’21 of Columbus, Ohio, and Jamie Spallino ‘21 of Rocky River, Ohio, took advantage of the FYRA program, excelled in it, have been published because of it, and can now add great experiences to their resumes for future employment or graduate school. (posted 10/5/20)
Paige Wright ’22 and Emma Klemmensen ’21 Help Increase Voter Awareness During Summer Internship
With Election Day just around the corner, Wittenberg students Paige Wright, class of 2022, and Emma Klemmensen, class of 2021, both political science majors, took on an exciting summer internship despite COVID-19 with the League of Women Voters Greater Dayton Area (LWVGDA). (posted 9/7/20)
Reese Harper ‘20 Earns Fulbright Award To Teach In Taiwan
Reese Harper, Wittenberg class of 2020, is the latest recipient of a Fulbright U.S. Student Program grant. She will work as an English Teaching Assistant (ETA) in Taiwan for next year. (posted 6/25/20)
Emma Seibert ’21 Reflects on Sachsenhausen While Studying Abroad
Emma Seibert ’21 participated in the University’s Witt in Wittenberg program spring semester. Despite the COVID-19 health crisis cutting the group's time in Germany short, the experience created memories for a lifetime. (posted 6/23/20)
Rachel Corsello ’20 Writes Paper on Redlining Project Published in Journal
Rachel Corsello, Wittenberg class of 2020, has found Wittenberg’s commitment to hands-on learning to be a huge door-opener, as evidenced by her recent service-learning project in her environmental research methods course being published. (posted 5/27/20)
Grace Worley '20 Turning Passion For Art & Education Into Award-Winning Project
Most artists have an inspiration, a passion, a muse, or a hobby when it comes to creating their work for a portfolio. Senior Grace Worley, an art and education major studying to become a PK-12 art teacher in Ohio public schools, chose her students as her inspiration for a 10-piece submission she entered in the Excellence in Visual Arts competition through the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Ohio. (posted 5/12/20)
Zoe Schwartz ’20 Sees Work Accepted for National Humanities Symposium
Zoe Schwartz '20 had her paper accepted for the inaugural Richard Macksey National Undergraduate Humanities Symposium at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Schwartz, a history and German double major from Traverse City, Michigan, was slated to present her paper, which is part of her senior thesis, at the symposium in Baltimore, April 3-4, prior to the COVID-19 global health crisis. (posted 4/13/20)
Maria Miller ‘22 Passes Light During Service Immersion Trip
I knew Wittenberg was the perfect place for me when I was welcomed with open arms by the soccer team, faculty, and other members of the Wittenberg community. I am a sophomore majoring in finance with a minor in business management, from New Albany, Ohio. (posted 4/6/20)
Libby Bauman ’18 Finds adventure through Fuller Center for Housing
Fifteen states and 3,500 miles later, Libby Bauman ’18 completed her first cross-country bike ride with the Fuller Center for Housing while simultaneously raising $4,000 for the organization. The Fuller Center for Housing is a nonprofit organization that partners with individuals as well as community groups to build and recover homes for those in need of adequate housing. (posted 10/29/19)
Danny Barren ‘20 discovers new spirit and powerful stories through disaster relief
I have driven southbound many times in my life. I have family that live in Florida, so barreling down a highway noticing the weather slowly getting warmer and the trees progressively growing greener in the early days of March is something that is comfortably familiar to me. (posted 8/2/19)
University Scholars: Three Students Receive Prestigious Fulbright Awards
Wittenberg has not one, but three students joining the ranks of university scholars who have received prestigious Fulbright awards. (posted 6/4/19)
#LifeAtWitt: Rinn Ramcke '21 Completes Internship Working With Youth To Create Art At Project Jericho
Rinn Ramcke, Wittenberg class of 2021, recently completed an internship with Project Jericho, a program that provides in-depth performing and visual arts camps and workshops to make art and cultural experiences available to all youth and families in the Clark County community during the spring semester of the 2018-19 school year. (posted 5/24/19)
2019 Senior Salute: Bradley Malott
One of our 2019 Senior Salutes featured Brad Malott, a member of the graduating class of 2019. (posted 5/2/19)
#LifeAtWitt: Wittenberg Junior Named Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact
Gabrielle Szydlowski, Wittenberg class of 2020, has been named a Campus Compact 2019 Newman Civic Fellow. She will join 262 community-minded students representing the organization’s member colleges and universities from 41 states, Washington, D.C., Mexico, and Greece. (posted 4/23/19)
#LifeAtWitt: Anna Crichton ’21 Discovers Unique Opportunities to Fuel Her Passion for History
During the summer of 2018, I was given the incredible opportunity to work at the Columbia Street Cemetery Excavation, a project focused on the oldest cemetery in Springfield, Ohio. (posted 4/2/19)
#LifeAfterWitt: Ben Knochel ’18 Embodies Integrated Learning and Service in Life Pursuits
For Ben Knochel, Wittenberg class of 2018, Wittenberg offered him all the opportunities he wanted to pursue — and he did. Knochel, from Cincinnati, Ohio, graduated last May as a double major earning both a bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a concentration in statistics and another degree in German with a minor in music. Each major has allowed him to achieve his goals early in his young life. (posted 3/25/19)
Making the Most of Her College Experience: Wittenberg University Writer/Tutor Excels in Field and On Campus
Jennifer Ryan, class of 2019, might just be one of the busiest seniors on Wittenberg’s campus. The English major from Upper Burrell, Pennsylvania, has certainly squeezed everything she can into her four years of college, from being involved in a wide array of activities to working three on-campus jobs, including statistician in the Athletics Department, Writing Center advisor, and student worker in the English department, where she manages a LinkedIn page and the Witty English blog. (posted 10/24/18)
Going Beyond The Surface: Benco Award Winner Studies in Ireland
Danielle Hurley, class of 2019, chose to attend Wittenberg because of its archaeology program. She is now turning the extensive opportunities into action as she participates in the Ferrycarrig excavation in Ireland this month. (posted 07/3/18)
"One Incredible Moment After Another": Sierra Sanchez '19 Opens Up About Her Study Abroad Journey in Germany
Sierra Sanchez ‘19 is an English major and Spanish minor who studied abroad in Germany during the spring semester of her sophomore year through Wittenberg's Witt in Wittenberg program. She chose this study abroad program to experience other cultures, further open herself to the world and challenge herself to improve her German. (posted 6/11/18)
Learning And Impacting Others In The World: Kim Estenson '19 Reflects On Her Semester In Lesotho
The summer of Kim Estenson's sophomore year, she studied in Lesotho in order to have a broader awareness of the world. Now that she has lived away from my own home for a month, she says she has a deeper understanding of the United States. She chose the trip because the idea of serving others abroad excited her, especially children. "However, I had not expected the work to be as rewarding and humbling as it was." (posted 5/24/2018)
Living The Dream: Erin Hord '17 Pursues Passion with Pacific Whale Foundation
Erin Hord, Wittenberg class of 2017, is living the dream every day in Maui, Hawaii, as a naturalist for the Pacific Whale Foundation, thanks to the numerous opportunities she had as a student at the university. (posted 05/16/18)
Student Spotlight: Isabella Herman
It is the business department’s pleasure to introduce Isabella Herman. Isabella is a junior accounting and history double major with a double minor in business and French. Isabella is currently studying abroad in Rennes, France. (posted 03/28/17)
Senior Salute 2014 - Martin Lukk
“This place will be what you make of it, but if you're willing to put in the love and labor, you'll find that it can be something really special.” (posted 5/9/2014)
Gourmet for the Bo Me (Bow-May)
“Just as a heads up: there will most likely not be a blog post until Monday night. This is because we are trekking into the great mountains of Ramabanta for adventure and relaxation. Do not fear, we will return safely and tell of our great time in the fresh air.” (posted 6/26/2014)
Four Wittenberg Students Attended Propel Ohio
“Inspiring and empowering undergraduate students to grow into civic leaders in Ohio was the goal of Propel Ohio, a collegiate leadership summit for which four Wittenberg students were selected to attend and represent the university.” (posted 11/18/2015)
Empty Bowls
“Aimed at combating hunger in the local community, the 23rd annual Empty Bowls fundraiser will take place from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 16.” (posted 3/7/2017)
Stephanie Glass
“Since 2009, Wittenberg students have played a critical role in preparing dogs for service to others in partnership with Xenia, Ohio-based 4 Paws For Ability.” (posted 2/2/2017)
Relay For Life
“Every dollar counts in the fight against cancer, and members of Alpha Phi Omega, a newer service fraternity on campus, are helping the American Cancer Society save lives by organizing a Relay For Life for the second-straight year at Wittenberg University.” (posted 3/18/2017)
Student Spotlight: Camila Quinones
“Educating the mind to understand and educating the heart to care are just a few concepts Wittenberg students take with them upon graduation.” (posted 1/8/2016)
Writing Center
“The Wittenberg Writing Center is not only a place for students to come and experiment and revise their writing.”
Top Choice
“With the Gates Foundation's promise of a full scholarship for four years, Vanessa Orduna had her pick of any college in the nation. She chose Wittenberg University.” (posted 12/12/2016)
Hands-On Research
“Demonstrating the power of student-faculty collaborative research, Garrhett Via ’15 from Geneva, Ohio, was awarded the James Manner Award Scholarship for Best Undergraduate Poster at the 2015 Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy (Pittcon), the world’s largest annual premier conference for laboratory science, held March 8-12 in New Orleans.” (posted 3/31/2015)