{"id":257,"date":"2018-06-13T16:38:25","date_gmt":"2018-06-13T23:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nau.edu\/honors\/?page_id=257"},"modified":"2026-01-23T23:29:58","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T23:29:58","slug":"news","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/honors-college\/about\/news\/","title":{"rendered":"NAU Honors in the News"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Honors in the News<\/h1>\n<h4><!-- shortcode-drop-down-links -->\n<div class=\"shortcode-drop-down-links shortcode-drop-down-links--left\">\n    <div class=\"drop-down-links\">\n        <button class=\"drop-down-button\">Honors semi-annual newsletter (Fall 2020 through Spring 2025)<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Link Selection Closed<\/span><\/button>\n        <div class=\"drop-down-content\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/e54891624dd0\/nau-honors-college-newsletter\">Fall 2020<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/1a508fd3c45b\/spring-2021-nau-honors-college-newsletter-final-draft-5926784\">Spring 2021<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/4458f0a1f26c\/nau-honors-college-fall-2021-newsletter\">Fall 2021<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/72f84d3405ee\/nau-honors-college-fall-2021-newsletter-14136296\">Spring 2022<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/d8f4a2954ffa\/nau-honors-college-fall-2021-newsletter-15536583\">Fall 2022<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/b7c3e2c19703\/nau-honors-college-fall-2021-newsletter-15566027\">Spring 2023<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/fab817bbaf9f\/nau-honors-college-fall-2021-newsletter-15824776?e=%5BUNIQID%5D\">Fall 2023<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/ab8c329f16cd\/nau-honors-college-fall-2021-newsletter-15940544?e=cc93baf47c\">Spring 2024<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/f02ce310255e\/nau-honors-college-fall-2021-newsletter-17591810?e=cc93baf47c\">Fall 2024<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/nau\/nau-honors-college-fall-2021-newsletter-17655957?e=cc93baf47c\">Spring 2025<\/a>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <script>\n        window.onclick = function (event) {\n            if (jQuery(event.target).hasClass('drop-down-button') && !jQuery(event.target).next().hasClass('show')) {\n                jQuery('.drop-down-content').removeClass('show');\n                jQuery(event.target).next().addClass('show');\n                jQuery(event.target).find('.screen-reader-text').text('Link Selection Open');\n            }\n            else {\n                jQuery('.drop-down-content').removeClass('show');\n                jQuery('.shortcode-drop-down-links .screen-reader-text').text('Link Selection Closed');\n            }\n        }\n    <\/script>\n<\/div><\/h4>\n<!-- shortcode-button -->\n<div class=\"shortcode-button shortcode-button--center\">\n      <a class=\"main-button\" href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1YJX4a8ITq-ac4rjBuO1whyOlzFNI_jgz\/view?usp=sharing\">Follow this link for the Honors College\u2019s Weekly Newsletter for the week of January 26, 2026<\/a>\n  <\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-landscape-image wp-image-1136 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/honors-college\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/297\/safe_image-JacksFunder2020-464x260.jpg\" alt=\"Honors JacksFunder Campaign\" width=\"464\" height=\"260\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3>8\/18\/2025<\/h3>\n<p>Honors student Sierra Bostwick won the Honorable Mention Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics Essay Contest. Read more about Sierra and the scholarship she earned <a href=\"https:\/\/azdailysun.com\/news\/local\/education\/nau-student-earns-scholarship-through-elie-wiesel-prize-in-ethics-essay-contest\/article_6f5abac9-5855-48de-9cca-ea7e5e459f8a.html?utm_source=second-street&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=dailyheadlinesaug.20%2c2025&amp;emailmd5=86c52e9d669a46d825109c479d492c91&amp;emailsha1=117199721519413322521974211163211188167242254191187180&amp;emailsha256=c4dbe846b89590bfbb6b9b8d93d83642d8edb8b83faf93fcf5fd03cabfd6ac58\">in this AZ Daily Sun article<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>7\/29\/2025<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/flinn-scholars-class-2029\/\">Meet the new Flinn Scholars attending NAU in Fall 2025<\/a>, <strong>Cianna Brooks<\/strong> and <strong>Grace Smithson<\/strong>!<\/p>\n<h3>4\/23\/2025<\/h3>\n<p>Congratulations to Honors College student recipients of NAU&#8217;s coveted <a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/gold-axe-may-2025\/\">Gold Axe Awards on April 23, 2025.<\/a> Special congratulations to Parris Adams, Emily Delabarra, and Karli VanderMeersch as President&#8217;s Prize recipients!<\/p>\n<h3>4\/14\/2025<\/h3>\n<p>The Honors College represents NAU in the Regents&#8217; Cup Speech and Debate competition April 12 as <strong>Karli VanderMeersch<\/strong> and<strong> Courtney Hoffman<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/regents-cup-2025\/\">came in first place in the Oxford debate<\/a> for the first time in history of the competition. Honors College students <strong>Trinity Hamilton<\/strong>, <strong>Sage Kaminiski<\/strong>, and <strong>Emma Prater<\/strong> also participated in the Regents&#8217; Cup this year.<\/p>\n<h3>4\/8\/2025<\/h3>\n<p>The Honors College faculty are always engaging in unique projects such as <a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/pen-pal-project\/?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=4-8-25&amp;utm_campaign=NAUNews&amp;utm_term=internal&amp;utm_content=Pen_Pal\">this Pen Pal Project with seniors at The Peaks, a local senior living community.<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>3\/31\/2025<\/h3>\n<p>The Honors College supports our students wanting an International Experience through the<a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3R0wQAW\"> Global Citizens Project<\/a>, a collaboration between NAU&#8217;s Center for International Education, the Economic Policy Institute and Honors!<\/p>\n<h3>3\/3\/2025<\/h3>\n<p>Honors Assistant Teaching Professor <strong>Karl Krotke-Crandall<\/strong> and Honors students <strong>Korryn Penner, Rebecca Sandhu, Rowan Vance, <\/strong>and <strong>Sara Brinson<\/strong> work to preserve oral histories from Holocaust survivors. <a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/delaware-project\/\">Read about their project here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>3\/1\/2025<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Rob Wallace<\/strong>, Honors Associate Teaching Professor, has been nominated twice for the Viola Awards, once for Excellence in Education and another (as co-curator of the Interference Series) in the category of Excellence in Collaboration: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativeflagstaff.org\/viola\/2025-viola-awards\/\">https:\/\/creativeflagstaff.org\/viola\/2025-viola-awards\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>2\/4\/2025<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/humans-of-nau-lenin-salcedo\/\">Get to know <strong>Lenin Salcedo<\/strong><\/a> and learn about his inspiration to study jazz and chaos theory!<\/p>\n<h3>1\/7\/2025<\/h3>\n<p>May 2024 Honors College grad <strong>Callie Lowe<\/strong> receives prestigious <a href=\"https:\/\/azsos.gov\/news\/881\">National Association of Secretaries of State John Lewis Youth Leadership Award<\/a> ! Congratulations, Callie!<\/p>\n<h3>11\/8\/2024<\/h3>\n<p>Honors College students have great opportunities for site-based learning! <a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/hc-340\/\">Check out HON 340 Finding Place in Northern Arizona<\/a>!<\/p>\n<h3>8\/29\/2024<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3Z5nwB2\">Meet <strong>Karli VanderMeersch<\/strong><\/a>, Honors College senior, and current ASNAU student body President!<\/p>\n<h3>6\/28\/2024<\/h3>\n<p>The Honors Native American Summer Research Program concluded, with five students completing the program and their individual research projects at a luncheon on June 27. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azfamily.com\/2024\/06\/29\/indigenous-nau-students-hope-research-will-help-their-communities\/\">Read about the program here.<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>6\/10\/2024<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/click.communications.nau.edu\/?qs=63bbd481144db84bccc54e980e4648ef4995c016889b79721548b3612a558ac7d8d0793458630c32499e7dd998f4bc28afaff79cdcf6e5eefc18a57f3742f568\"><strong>Cassie<\/strong> <strong>Bonah<\/strong><\/a> recognized as an W.E.B. DuBois Emerging Scholar to assist her biomedical science research and curate a Black Fashion Show! Included in this article is announcement about an unrestricted gift to the Honors College Fund by Laura and Gary Maurer<\/p>\n<h3>5\/9\/2024<\/h3>\n<p>Congratulations, <strong>Sam Conley<\/strong>, on completing the Honors College curriculum and your NAU degree! <a href=\"https:\/\/click.communications.nau.edu\/?qs=e2938a81de71a0ccaf42ddb6b0bb1f17932a5cbb7bca31ecb2428eebc1b91f09237efbe6791a1ff70df9ba481f88f86a607c2522928b9fc1\">Read about Sam&#8217;s NAU experience here!<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>4\/15\/2024<\/h3>\n<p>Congratulations to\u00a0 our 11 <a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/gold-axe-may-24\/\">Honors Gold Axe recipients<\/a> as well as to Honors College grads Emma Anderson and Maria Emilia Machelor as recipients of the prestigious President&#8217;s Prize!<\/p>\n<p>Honors College senior <strong>Cassie Bonah<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/humans-of-nau-cassie-bonah\/?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=4-16-24%20edition&amp;utm_campaign=NAUNews&amp;utm_term=internal&amp;utm_content=Cassie_Bonah\">reflects on her time as a student at NAU and her Honors Capstone a<\/a>s she pursues medical school.<\/p>\n<p>Honors College student <strong>Jadyn Fisher<\/strong> selected by AZ Governor Katie Hobbs as next student regent! <a href=\"https:\/\/azdailysun.com\/news\/local\/education\/two-from-flagstaff-appointed-to-arizona-board-of-regents\/article_79e60b18-f8e3-11ee-9a38-2f4cb7798b10.html\">Find more details about Jadyn&#8217;s path to ABOR here!<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>2\/14\/2024<\/h3>\n<p>Read about May 2023 Honors College Graduate Andrea Lopez&#8217; <a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/andrea-lopez-fulbright\/\">Fulbright experience in Spain here!<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>1\/26\/2024<\/h3>\n<p>2024 marks another Grand Canyon Semester semester! <a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/honors-gcs-2024\/\">Read all about the experience.<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>12\/7\/2023<\/h3>\n<p>Three NAU Honors College students were selected to participate in the Regents&#8217; Cup, an annual speech and debate competition on March 23, 2024: Ayla Smith, Sage Kaminski, and Ryan Davis. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azregents.edu\/regents-cup-about\">Read about the Regents&#8217; Cup here.<\/a> Sage Kaminski took second place in 2023&#8217;s competition for Oxford Debate.<\/p>\n<h3>11\/15\/2024<\/h3>\n<p>Congratulations to 5 Honors College students for receiving the Gold Axe and to Beyonce Bahe as a President&#8217;s Prize recipient! <a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/gold-axe-2023\/\">Read more here!<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>9\/19\/2023<\/h3>\n<p>Michael-Anthony Rodriguez is the newest Flinn Scholar to attend NAU! <a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/2023-flinn-scholar\/?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=9-19-23%20edition&amp;utm_campaign=NAUNews&amp;utm_term=internal&amp;utm_content=Flinn_scholar\">Read about Michael-Anthony here!<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>8\/31\/2023<\/h3>\n<p>NAU and College Track are launching a cohort program at NAU\u2019s Honors College, where College Track scholars who attend NAU will have tailored support throughout their postsecondary journey. <a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/college-track\/\">Read more about NAU&#8217;s partnership with College Track.<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>7\/26\/2023<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/svabik-fulbright\/\">Honors College recent grad Andrew Svabik earns Fulbright<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>7\/11\/2023<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/udall-recipient-native-american-initiatives\/\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Rebekah McNiel<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, a member of the Honors College and the Interdisciplinary Global Program (IGP) at Northern Arizona University, has been recognized for her outstanding achievements as the 2023 recipient of the prestigious Udall Scholarship for Native American Initiatives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>5\/12\/2023<\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The NAU Honors College, Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (OURCA) and Naomi Lee, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">are proud to announce a new partnership with the Flinn Foundation to offer an <a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/expands-care-program\/\">on-campus high school summer research program<\/a> starting in Summer 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>5\/8\/2023<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/briggs-commencement\/\">Melissa Briggs<\/a> has a lot of things to do after she graduates from NAU and the Honors College.<\/p>\n<h3>4\/11\/2023<\/h3>\n<p>Congratulations to Analise Thomas, President&#8217;s Prize recipient, and <a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/gold-axe-may-2023\/\">12 other Honors College student award recipients!<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>2\/21\/2023<\/h3>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/garcia-family-honors-program\/\">new partnership between NAU\u2019s Honors College and the Garcia Family Foundation<\/a> will allow underserved students in need to earn the education they deserve.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>12\/06\/2022<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Soon to be Honors grad, Madi Kimball, gains valuable experience through her NAU Externship Program. <a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/lumberjacks-thrive\/\">Read more about her experience here<\/a>!<\/p>\n<h3><strong>11\/29\/2022<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Valerie Pietrczak, who graduates in December, has kept busy during her time at NAU. Learn more about Valerie&#8217;s time at NAU and in Honors, including her three internships, <a href=\"http:\/\/click.email.nau.edu\/?qs=6b924c004dba063d15fcc827da8efce90d8d3330b5c86e2037a5755bf3e558d8dcc4d5d02c3382d6a9960981bd0cd313cdf9b18aa76b6cc1\">here<\/a>!<\/p>\n<h3>11\/15\/2022<\/h3>\n<p>Four <a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/gold-axe-fall-22\/\">Honors students<\/a> (Cailey Engelberg, Tiffany-May McCremens, Valerie Pietrczak, and Noa Stotts were named Gold Axe recipients at this Fall&#8217;s ceremony on November 15!<\/p>\n<h3>8\/30\/2022<\/h3>\n<p>Olivia Konig wins Cobell Scholarship and is set to embark on numerous other adventures! Read about Olivia&#8217;s goings on <a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/konig-cobell-scholarship\/\">here<\/a>:<\/p>\n<h3>6\/20\/2022<\/h3>\n<p>Beyonce Bahe is recipient of winner of the prestigious Udall Undergraduate Scholarship. Read more about Beyonce and her accomplishments <a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/udall-scholarship-bahe\/\">here<\/a>!<\/p>\n<h3>5\/4\/2022<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/azdailysun.com\/news\/local\/education\/nau-graduate-spotlight-breezy-brock-set-to-start-veterinary-medical-school\/article_00c2323e-ca64-11ec-a7de-f3bbc1e41c07.html\">Breezy Brock<\/a> will be graduating from NAU&#8217;s Honors College this weekend with a bachelor&#8217;s in microbiology. In the fall, she&#8217;ll be starting school again on the other side of the country.<\/p>\n<h3>5\/3\/2022<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/azdailysun.com\/news\/local\/education\/nau-grad-spotlight-royer-wants-to-keep-pushing-the-line-after-studying-criminology-and-criminal\/article_eefec1b6-cb12-11ec-ada9-2fc743a17b0a.html\">Abby Royer<\/a> will be graduating from Northern Arizona University&#8217;s Honors College this weekend with a bachelor&#8217;s in criminology and criminal justice (CCJ), and after pushing herself into new experiences throughout college, she&#8217;ll be trying to go further by serving in the Peace Corps.<\/p>\n<h3>4\/13\/2022<\/h3>\n<p>President&#8217;s Prize recipients, Gold Axe Award winners, Distinguished Seniors <a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/2022-gold-axe\/\">recognized at ceremony<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>12\/6\/2021<\/h3>\n<p>At the age of 13, NAU Honors student <a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/graduate-trevor-tuttle\/\"><strong>Trevor Tuttle<\/strong> <\/a>sat at a campfire at the base of the Superstition Mountains, listening intently to the lore of the Lost Dutchman Mine\u2019s legendary cache of gold.<\/p>\n<h3>11\/17\/2021<\/h3>\n<p class=\"entry-title\">President\u2019s Prize recipients, Gold Axe Award winners, Distinguished Seniors<a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/gold-axe-fall-2021\/\"> recognized at ceremony.<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>4\/29\/2021<\/h3>\n<p>Honors College graduate <a href=\"https:\/\/azdailysun.com\/news\/local\/for-nau-grad-lela-beer-biomedical-science-is-best-learned-on-the-front-lines\/article_86486664-f40c-58f8-a7a8-0abe8bab334f.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawMwAjxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHpTJkf6arwEot2gx16xyeuL8MTOig30iRxNv81E13dCd6Vo62TuRBAHrwyNv_aem_v2WQc4dt3Vxrqng6GfFBSA#tracking-source=home-top-story\/?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=shareArticleButton&amp;utm_campaign=shareArticleButton\"><strong>Lela Beer<\/strong> shares her undergraduate story<\/a> with the <em>Arizona Daily SUn<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h3>3\/2\/2021<\/h3>\n<p>NAU students passing between their afternoon classes might find a moment of serenity tucked between the pair of Social and Behavioral Sciences buildings.<\/p>\n<p>On a warmer day, the divide is filled with bees and singing birds who also wish to exist among the lush vegetation of the university\u2019s largest urban garden. But on Tuesday, the cool winter air, which had already snatched the color from the leaves, kept visitors away. Read more here! \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/azdailysun.com\/news\/local\/nau-student-gardener-grows-support-for-sustainable-future\/article_7c010be8-3d1c-5bb0-9d42-01f0eef369ff.html?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=facebook_Arizona_Daily_Sun&amp;fbclid=IwAR3NUWiwMuOWyNxAJ_aYDEY2c-v-kiZoKePZyLfooaG7cS9Dt8KC0pexuf4\">Honors student <strong>Sydney Rittershaus<\/strong> is doing great things<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>11\/27\/2020<\/h3>\n<p>As several COVID-19 vaccines near Food and Drug Administration approval, Northern Arizona University graduate <strong>Skylar Weber<\/strong> is personally cheering on the Pfizer and BioNTech candidate, which she has been studying closely since early this year.<\/p>\n<p>When Weber\u2019s planned internship at the University of Konstanz in Germany fell through as a result of the pandemic, the German and biomedical sciences major, who graduated this weekend, instead created a bachelor\u2019s thesis on the novel coronavirus itself.<\/p>\n<p>Starting this summer, Weber, who plans to become a physician, spent more than 540 hours researching coronaviruses and SARS-CoV-2 using German and American scientific journals and newspapers, while also following the progress in the development of vaccine candidate BNT162, created by European immunotherapy company BioNTech. Read more! <a href=\"https:\/\/azdailysun.com\/news\/local\/vaccine-candidates-and-cultural-response-a-premed-student-s-view-of-covid-19\/article_75de4067-f135-502a-ba5d-11402ad06adc.html?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=facebook&amp;utm_campaign=user-share&amp;fbclid=IwAR2d9ZExxOdHk8QFfmkBH7Ga72ma0p8LcEMSVdFRdSUh86GjTYB0QY2WO7M\">We are proud of Skylar Weber and her research on Covid 19<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>11\/20\/2020<\/h3>\n<p style=\"line-height: 20.4pt;background: white;margin: 0in 0in 15.0pt 0in\"><span style=\"color: #222222\">When first-generation college student <strong>Denise Ocampo<\/strong>, 21, was preparing to attend Northern Arizona University, she first thought she would study business, taking after her parents who are small business owners in Ocampo\u2019s hometown of Maui, Hawaii.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"line-height: 20.4pt;background: white;margin: 0in 0in 15.0pt 0in\"><span style=\"color: #222222\">Following her unexpected success in a high school biology class, though, she altered course and instead headed toward the medical field, a decision further validated by her experiences while at NAU that earned her a President\u2019s Prize, the highest award for NAU undergrads.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"line-height: 20.4pt;background: white;margin: 0in 0in 15.0pt 0in\"><span style=\"color: #222222\">\u201cMy life philosophy is everybody has something to teach and everybody has something to learn. So when there\u2019s always something you constantly have to be learning and just a constant flow of information, I really like that because I feel like things are always changing and innovating in medicine, so you\u2019re never going to know everything,\u201d Ocampo said. Read more about Denise here: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/azdailysun.com\/news\/local\/nau-grad-denise-ocampo-aims-to-continue-learning-through-medical-career\/article_3c4af8b2-281e-524a-ad39-3a009f15bbcb.html?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=facebook_Arizona_Daily_Sun&amp;fbclid=IwAR3KvN_7sYpKSvzAqQ2l8SKb3rnNgn9arfwWEOjR3pO7YZFv3NoMq3u-l7I\">Honors student Denise Ocampo is a President\u2019s Prize Winner<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>11\/20\/2020<\/h3>\n<p>When 22-year-old <strong>Nicole Bratsch\u2019s<\/strong> study abroad program in Chile was cut short in March as COVID-19 cases spiked internationally, the Northern Arizona University senior returned home \u2014 and went straight to work on the front lines of the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>From April through August, Bratsch was the COVID-19 data manager at Whiteriver Indian Hospital, located on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation about half an hour\u2019s drive south of her family home in Pinetop.<\/p>\n<p>In this role, she helped with COVID-19 contact tracing efforts, gathering and organizing patient data, giving twice daily reports on the situation to the contact tracing team, while also occasionally doing field work alongside hospital staff and trained community members. Together they located individuals who had potentially been exposed to a positive COVID-19 patient, gathered information about people they were in contact with themselves, took nasal swabs and brought the samples back to the lab for testing. <a href=\"https:\/\/azdailysun.com\/news\/local\/nau-grad-nicole-bratsch-seeks-medical-career-with-indian-health-services\/article_3db7da6b-979c-5808-b535-1bc95147257e.html?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=facebook_Arizona_Daily_Sun&amp;fbclid=IwAR17QI26SLuacJw_IsxQp-43lhDsbJR-Klc2sMjG7UbXp9eIjeSgEBcj6Ws\">Nicole Bratsch shares her experience with Indian Health Services<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>11\/14\/2020<\/h3>\n<p style=\"line-height: 20.4pt;background: white;margin: 0in 0in 15.0pt 0in\"><span style=\"color: #222222\">Having a Big is much like having a friend at school \u2014 except they can drive, says Chris Barrera, 9, a participant in Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flagstaff\u2019s community-based mentoring program.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"line-height: 20.4pt;background: white;margin: 0in 0in 15.0pt 0in\"><span style=\"color: #222222\">The local charitable organization operates on the idea that every child needs such support. Since it was established in 1967, it has been connecting children ages 6 through 18 with adults who can act not just as mentors but also as friends to these young community members as they progress through life\u2019s challenges, including, most recently, a global pandemic. Read more about <strong>Hannah Gish<\/strong> here: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/azdailysun.com\/news\/local\/bigs-continue-supporting-local-kids-even-during-a-pandemic\/article_913e6974-b263-5bb5-a867-12d66511d3fb.html?fbclid=IwAR1MackN3QWTI_8ETxpiIougNfcFwyazfJD9xX7H6_w6IopIKvLG07qgh34\">Honors student Hannah Gish is making BIG impacts<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Honors in the News &nbsp; 8\/18\/2025 Honors student Sierra Bostwick won the Honorable Mention Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics Essay Contest. Read more about Sierra and the scholarship she earned in this AZ Daily Sun article 7\/29\/2025 Meet the new Flinn Scholars attending NAU in Fall 2025, Cianna Brooks and Grace Smithson! 4\/23\/2025 Congratulations to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":316,"featured_media":787,"parent":580,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","ring_central_script_selection":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-257","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/honors-college\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/honors-college\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/honors-college\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/honors-college\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/316"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/honors-college\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257"}],"version-history":[{"count":52,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/honors-college\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1830,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/honors-college\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/257\/revisions\/1830"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/honors-college\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/580"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/honors-college\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/honors-college\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}