Honors Students & Alumni

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A D1 Women’s Soccer athlete for SMC, Amaya was passionate about ecology and evolutionary biology research, planning for a career in wildlife conservation genetics with a concentration in infectious disease or neuroscience. As the President of the Native American and Indigenous Student Association, Amaya worked with her executive team to bring awareness to Indigenous experiences and make room for their voices on campus. She was also a part of the Honors Program since her first year, and for her first Honors Contract, as part of her Human Sexualities psychology class with Dr. Fieto, she wrote and illustrated a children’s book about the daily life of a young girl with two moms, hoping the book could create more opportunities for children to encounter LGBTQIA+ concepts earlier in life. In her second contract, she attempted to create a working model of an atypical Shewanella Oneidensis glycine riboswitch in an independent study with Dr. Ruff. Amaya urges students to take advantage of the small community at SMC and to forge relationships with professors and classmates.

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An Integral major and Dance minor, Emily served on the Honors Student Commission for three years, including as Executive Commissioner for her junior and senior year. She had always wanted to serve on the Commission since the beginning of her Saint Mary’s journey, as she believed the Honors Program was the ideal option for students who wanted to further deepen their education. As a sophomore on the Events Commission, she loved being able to plan her own fundraisers, as well as social and service events, and as the Executive Commissioner, she was able to oversee the functions and status of the Commission as a whole. After graduation, she planned to have a long career as an attorney starting as a litigator in civil law field, such as corporate or business law. 

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A Biology major and Chemistry minor, Johnathan joined the Honors Program in his freshman year to be challenged to become more involved in campus activities and to advance his academic efforts. His first Honors Contract was on conducting research on frustrated Lewis pairs for Dr. Elizabeth Valentin as part of the 2023 Summer Research Program. The project focused on using microwave energy to make the reaction much more efficient in terms of yield, time, and energy while also providing data to better characterize the relatively newly discovered applications of frustrated Lewis pairs. This work awarded him “Runner Up” for the year’s Joseph P. McKenna Science Medal. On a normal week during the academic year, Johnathan was a stickler about attending every class, conducting research for Dr. Valentin's lab, and working as an EMT on the weekends. In his free time, he loved to read, spend time with friends, and go on hikes to explore the wonderful terrain behind campus.

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Joining the Honors Program her Sophomore year, Marie-Claire majored in both French and Art Practice and minored in Art History. After graduation, Marie-Claire planned to take part in the TAPIF Program where she would work as a Teaching Assistant in France while simultaneously developing her artistic practice. Working primarily through acrylics, printmaking, and mixed media, her creative process involved finding unconventional uses for these mediums as well as exploring their physical properties. The cyclical themes of genealogy, transmission, and erasure were the subjects of many of her works, which were on display in the Senior Art Capstone show. 

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A Psychology major (Clinical/Counseling) and Business Administration minor, Rianne completed her studies in three years after joining the Honors Program at the start of her first year to be challenged and meet people who were also academically driven. She participated in the Summer Research Program, working with Dr. McCauley on “Supporting Autistic Children and Parents in Bay Area schools,” where she surveyed nearly 200 parents, interviewing almost 20 about their experiences with their child’s education in the Bay Area and presenting her research at the Bay Area Annual Consortium at Stanford Research Park as the only undergraduate speaker. Rianne also received the Psychology Department's Frederick Whelan Award for her outstanding scholastic record as a psychology major, and made lasting connections with Psychology faculty and peers, facilitated a support group for neurodivergent students at SMC, served as the first student volunteer at SMC CAPS, and founded internship positions for future psychology students.