Graduation 2018
Honors graduates toss their caps after Commencement.
The LSU Roger Hadfield Ogden Honors College graduated 117 students at its graduation ceremony on Thursday, May 10. Fifty-seven students were awarded College Honors, one of LSU’s highest graduation distinctions. Distinguished guests First Lady of Louisiana Donna Edwards, LSU President F. King Alexander and LSU Interim Executive Vice President & Provost Stacia Haynie delivered remarks.
Ogden Honors College students were recognized with a variety of distinctions and awards. Twenty-three Ogden Honors students received the University Medal, given to LSU students graduating with the highest grade point averages. Forty-one students graduated summa cum laude; 24 students graduated magna cum laude, and 19 students graduated cum laude. Seventy-seven students completed an Honors Thesis.
Four Ogden students were recognized with the Ogden Honors College Outstanding Thesis Award:
- Eva Knapp, “Rising Above: Exploring the Use of Deployable Structures for Future Disaster Relief”
Assistant Professor Kris Palagi - Logan Istre, “The Free Trade Bugaboo: Reassessing the Role of Henry George in the Political Culture of the Late Gilded Age”
Roger Hadfield Ogden Dean Jonathan Earle
- Amanda Fontenot, “The Fate of Soil Carbon in Louisiana’s Eroding Coastal Wetlands and Potential Impact on Future Climate”
Professor John White
- (Trey) Wayne Wortmann III, “Development of a Thiol-Acrylate-based Hydrogel for Tumor Spheroid Generation in a Microfluidic Device”
Assistant Professor Adam Melvin
Two students received the Leo & Insa Abraham Outstanding Honors Senior Award:
- Michael Denham graduated summa cum laude and with College Honors, earning dual degrees in Chemical Engineering and Economics. He is the President and Founder of the LSU chapter of NAMI, National Alliance on Mental Illness. He is also senior advisor for Youth Legislature through the YMCA Youth and Government Alumni Program. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and has completed summer courses at Harvard Business School. Denham is a member of LSU’s Tiger 12 and is currently deciding among a master’s at Cambridge or a prestigious medical school such as Yale, Northwestern and Columbia. Denham wrote and defended an Honors Thesis titled “Analysis of Young Alu Elements in the Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri) Lineage for Use as Species-Indicative Molecular Markers.”
- Jackson Mierl graduated with College Honors, earning dual degrees in Biological Sciences and Philosophy. Mierl is a member of the Batzer laboratory of comparative genomics, and has pursued philosophy courses in Graz Austria. Mierl has served as a summer research assistant at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. In 2017, he was the LSU Discover Day Tiger Choice winner for his presentation on “a computational approach to genetic discovery in congenital heart disease.” He currently serves as President of Rotaract of LSU and president and founder of the LSU Outdoors Club. He has worked on the editorial staff of The Delta, LSU’s undergraduate literary journal, and he works with Michael Denham on both NAMI and Youth Legislature. Mierl wrote and defended an Honors Thesis titled “SINE Language: Communicating Platy-I Retrotransposon Propagation in Aotus Lineage.”
A large number of Ogden Honors graduating seniors plan to pursue advanced degrees in prestigious programs at University of Cambridge, Harvard University, University of California at Berkeley, The University of Amsterdam, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Emory University School of Medicine, University of Mississippi School of Medicine, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Texas State University, University of Arizona, University of Louisiana, University of Virginia and Lignan University in Guangzhou, China, Mercyhurst University, University of Georgia School of Law, University of Notre Dame Law School, Tulane University Law School, Southern Methodist University Law School, and several of our graduates will continue at LSU in the Graduate School, at the Hebert Law Center, and at our Health Sciences Centers.
A complete list of graduates is organized by academic distinction and hometown below.
Graduating with College Honors (includes Upper Division Honors Distinction and defended thesis):
Abbeville, LA
Andrew David Broussard, BS Management
Kathleen Mathilde Edwards, BSME Mechanical Engineering
Basile, LA
Thea Christine Fontenot, BS Kinesiology
Baton Rouge, LA
Amy Elise Adair, BS Mathematics
Caitlyn Ruth Bender, BA History
Kathryn Rose DeLeo, BS Biochemistry
Eva Madeline Knapp, BArch Architecture
Michael Joseph Vingiello, BA Geography; BIS Interdisciplinary Studies
Covington, LA
Christopher Abadie, BS Physics; BS Mathematics
Katherine Mariae Gagliano, BAMC Mass Communication
Hannah Elizabeth Lukinovich, BA International Studies; BA French Studies
Geismar, LA
Hira Azeem Hasan, BS Biochemistry
Harahan, LA
Meagan K Morvant, BAMC Mass Communication
Harvey, LA
Diana H Chern, BS Management
Lafayette, LA
Faiz Alam, BSBE Biological Engineering
Victoria Oanh Huynh, BS Biochemistry
Margaret Madison McCarron, BS Biological Sciences
Lake Charles, LA
John Paul Marceaux, BS Physics
Luling, LA
Derek M Walker, BS Physics; BS Mathematics
Madisonville, LA
Alyssa Ashlan Hebert, BS Finance
Mandeville, LA
Grant Patrick Connolly, BS Information Systems and Decision Sciences
Michael Waitus Denham, BSCHE Chemical Engineering; BA Economics
Paulina Gonzalez-Quiroga, BSCHE Chemical Engineering; BA Philosophy
Jackson R Mierl, BS Biological Sciences
Merryville, LA
Madison Kaitlin Hopper, BS Kinesiology
Metairie, LA
Breea Noelle Gould, BA International Studies
Haley Marie Grieshaber, BA Political Science
Madison A Hannan, BS Animal Sciences
Hannah Marie Lampo, BAMC Mass Communication
Olivia Grace Leonovicz, BS Biological Sciences
Danielle Nicole Maurer, BA International Studies; BA History
Ellen Lucy Simon, BS Psychology; BS Management
Morgan City, LA
David Carson Williams, BA Philosophy
Natchitoches, LA
Megan Elizabeth Chesal, BS Physics
New Iberia, LA
Lauren Alycee De Mahy, BA Communication Disorders
Carter Louis Pesson, BS Biological Sciences; BA Anthropology
New Orleans, LA
Jane Lesley Fiegel, BA Anthropology; BA History and Political Science
Cameron Bay Lowry, BA History
James Joseph Mickler, BS Microbiology
Patterson, LA
Kloe M Liner, BSIE Industrial Engineering
Pineville, LA
Karli Paige Walleser, BAMC Mass Communication
Port Allen, LA
Margarite Lynn LaBorde, BS Physics; BS Mathematics
Saint Martinville, LA
McKenzie Rae LeMaire, BA History
Slidell, LA
Wayne Joseph Wortmann III, BSCHE Chemical Engineering
Ville Platte, LA
Jordan Lahaye, BA English
Youngsville, LA
Brandon Champagne, BS Coastal Environmental Science
Birmingham, AL
Amelia Marie Juneau, BA Anthropology
Lafayette, CA
Ross Travis Teichman, BSPE Petroleum Engineering
Southington, CT
Tia K Jones, BS Mathematics
Clearwater, FL
Christopher William James, BArch Architecture
Atlanta, GA
Taylor Elaine Pernini, BA English
Bowling Green, KY
Sydney Layne Cottingham, BS Natural Resource Ecology & Management
Flowood, MS
Sara Grace Hubacek, BS Biological Sciences
Brentwood, TN
Ruth Catherine Dunn, BS Biological Sciences
College Station, TX
Lauren Felicia Baxter, BSME Mechanical Engineering
Houston, TX
Amanda Marie Fontenot, BS Coastal Environmental Science
Bogota, Colombia
Diana Marcela Solano-Florez, BS International Trade & Finance
Graduating with Upper Division Honors Distinction (includes defended thesis):
Lafayette, LA
Trent M Andrus, BSME Mechanical Engineering
New Orleans, LA
Rachel L Croy, BA French Studies; BS Coastal Environmental Science
Vernell D Dunams, BFA Studio Art
Sarah Campbell Gamard, BAMC Mass Communication
Shreveport, LA
Madeline Nicole Walker, BS Psychology
Carly M Wayt, BIS Interdisciplinary Studies
Graduating with Thesis Honors:
Baton Rouge, LA
Anna Beth Madden, BS Psychology
Gonzales, LA
Heidi Halina Nowakowski, BS Chemistry
Kenner, LA
Emily A Hickman, BS Marketing
New Iberia, LA
Breigh Nicole Sonnier, BS Biological Sciences
Prairieville, LA
Omar Zade Kana, BS Biochemistry
Shreveport, LA
Clarissa Elise Bruns, BSCE Civil Engineering; BA French Studies
John Oliver Selloriquez, BS Biological Sciences
Madison Elaine Wayt, BS Geology
Slidell, LA
William Jeffrey Long Jr, BA Anthropology
Sunshine, LA
Madeline R LeBlanc, BS Coastal Environmental Science
Youngsville, LA
Logan Stagg Istre, BA History
Omaha, NE
Zoe Roxanne Wilhelm, BS Nutrition & Food Sciences
Jackson, TN
Leah Sanders, BSPE Petroleum Engineering
League City, TX
Sabrina Magdalena Valdes, BS Microbiology
Graduating as members in Good Standing of the Ogden Honors College:
Baton Rouge, LA
Aranya Ahmed, BSCHE Chemical Engineering
David Spencer Flanders Jr, BArch Architecture
Saher Fatima Khan, BA English
Brittany Lashae Marshall, BA English
Jesse Paul Mayeaux, BS Biological Sciences
Cindy Phuongthie Nguyen, BS Biological Sciences; BA Sociology
Jesus David Pineda, BS Biochemistry
McKenzie Windham, BSBE Biological Engineering
Carencro, LA
Michael Austin Dalman, BA Political Science
Alix Elizabeth Perry, BS Accounting
Denham Springs, LA
Katherine Yvonne Wilson, BFA Studio Art
Des Allemands, LA
Haley Anne Morgan, BS Biochemistry
Eunice, LA
Manjot Singh, BS Biochemistry
Greenwell Springs, LA
Kayla McKenzie Chustz, BS Psychology
Lafayette, LA
Kyle David Eastin, BS Computer Science
Alexandra Leigh Gjertson, BA Political Science
Mary Katherine Loos, BA Political Science
Abigail Susan Provost, BA Political Science
Lake Charles, LA
Amani Hannah Husein, BA Political Science and French Studies
Livingston, LA
Jacob Allen McCon, BA Political Science
Livonia, LA
Brennan George Buxton, BS Biochemistry
Lutcher, LA
Audrey Elizabeth Martin, BA English and Sociology
Madisonville, LA
Sara Jessica Breaux, BA International Studies and Political Science
Mandeville, LA
Hannah Waleed Haddad, BS Nutrition & Food Sciences
Metairie, LA
Jacob Andre Blais, BA Philosophy; BA Political Science
Monroe, LA
Ashleigh Brooke Adams, BA English
Prairieville, LA
James Boott Munro, BAMC Mass Communication
Michelle Renee Poole, BS Biological Sciences
Sorrento, LA
McKenzie Dianne McClain, BAMC Mass Communication
Sulphur, LA
Hannah Bethany Hansen, BS Biochemistry
White Castle, LA
Giuliano Edward Campesi, BSCHE Chemical Engineering
Youngsville, LA
Peyton Taylor Leathem-Boe, BS Computer Science
Zachary, LA
Jacqueline Elise Odom, BA Political Science; BA History
Birmingham, AL
Brittany Rose Jordan, BS Finance
Alpharetta, GA
Niara Faith Collins, BA English
Ellicott City, MD
Hailey Allyson Buller, BS Biological Sciences
Madison, MS
Mary Caroline Bonin, BA English
Huntersville, NC
Taylor M Marcus, BS Psychology; BS Biological Sciences
Dyersberg, TN
Kelsey Lee Sanders, BA History
Muskego, WI
Margaret Kathryn Jachimiec, BS Microbiology
Contact Jacqueline DeRobertis
Ogden Honors College
225-578-0083
