Class of 2026 seniors honored with academic, activity, and leadership awards
On the eve of their graduation, McDaniel College seniors in the Class of 2026 were honored with academic, activity, and leadership awards.
Delaney O'Conner was invested with the traditional academic regalia by President Julia Jasken.
Caitlin Pozmanter '12, Ph.D. accepting Ira G. Zepp Teaching Enhancement Grant award.
Tracey Lucas, Lecturer in Education, Education Department Chair, and Assistant Dean of Education for Graduate and Professional Studies addressed the Class of 2026 as the surprise faculty speaker.
Sarah Kreh — a Sociology major from Frederick, Maryland — received The Mary Ward Lewis Prize, while Sylvan Sialis Eichenlaub — a Marketing major from Hope, Maine — was awarded The Bates Prize. Both awards are presented to the graduating class members who have made the best records during their undergraduate course. Read more about the recipients below.
Students involved in academic and leadership organizations were also recognized. These groups included Phi Beta Kappa, College Scholars, Global Fellows, Dorsey Scholars, National Security Fellows, Omicron Delta Kappa, Trumpeters, and The EDGE Experience Program.
Finally, Lecturer in Education, Education Department Chair, and Assistant Dean of Education for Graduate and Professional Studies Tracey Lucas was announced as the surprise faculty speaker. She shared a gift that her father had given her over 20 years ago — a jar of rice and walnuts — and explained how its meaning has guided her ever since. "The walnuts represent the things that matter to you most: your relationships, your values, and your beliefs," Lucas said. "The rice represents all the little things that can bog you down: the opinions and expectations of others, decisions you will make, and potential challenges you will face." She explained that filling the jar with rice first leaves no room for the walnuts, but starting with the walnuts allows everything to fit perfectly. "If you put the things that matter first, everything else fits into place."
She encouraged the Class of 2026 to take a moment and define their "walnuts," advising them that as they enter this next phase of life, they will have the "awesome opportunity" to decide their own core values and beliefs.
"Part of me wishes I could give each of you a little jar of walnuts and rice to take with you to remind you, as you think about the person that you want to become, to keep those values, those beliefs, and those relationships front and center," Lucas said, "so that whatever you choose to pursue, ... wherever your path takes you, you stick to those values and relationships, and you allow [them] to guide you in whatever situation you find yourself in."
"If you put the things that matter first, everything else fits into place."
The Ira G. Zepp Teaching Enhancement Grant
The Ira G. Zepp Teaching Enhancement Grant was established in 1995 and endowed in 2005 by Trustee Charles E. Moore Jr. ’71, and Carol Hoerichs Moore ’70, to honor Dr. Ira G. Zepp ’52, Hon. L.H.D. ’15. The grant is to encourage a significant project designed to enhance teaching. The award favors, but is not limited to, faculty in the first decade of service at McDaniel College and is designed to demonstrate the college’s ultimate commitment to the classroom as our most important function.
Lecturer of Biology Caitlin Pozmanter ’12, Ph.D., received the 2026 Ira G. Zepp Teaching Enhancement Grant. Pozmanter joined the McDaniel faculty in 2016 and teaches courses such as Principles of Biology, Genetics, and their respective labs. Pozmanter earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology from McDaniel College and a Ph.D. in Biology from Johns Hopkins University.
Her project aims to enhance her Genetics Lab course and transform it into a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE). The grant will fund the purchase of equipment to get the CURE up and running. As an alum of the college’s Biology Department herself, Pozmanter recalls how influential her research and work as a classroom assistant for Dr. Susan Parrish was, which helped her discover her love of teaching and the possibilities of contributing to science in meaningful ways.
Pozmanter’s CURE will provide 20 to 40 new research openings for the department each academic year, providing new opportunities for students to try out different sub-disciplines in the field of biology. The new CURE will follow up on her doctoral and post-doctoral research on Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies), with a focus on studying the Tudor domain-containing protein 5-like (Tdrd5l) gene and its effects on fertility. Fruit flies share up to 80% of disease-causing genes with humans, including the human TDRD5 gene, which could lead to a greater understanding of human infertility, which affects 1 in 6 couples.
During the process, students will also learn how to collect meaningful data, publish in peer-reviewed journals, and present at national and international research conferences. The soft skills her students learn will also be applicable to any career path they pursue. Pozmanter plans to present the results from her Genetics Lab CURE during faculty showcases and national conferences.
The Mary Ward Lewis Prize and The Bates Prize
Provost Flavius Lilly presents Sarah Kreh with the Mary Ward Lewis Prize
Provost Flavius Lilly presents Sylvan Sialis Eichenlaub with the Bates Prize.
