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Andrew Fialka holding his graphic history book and smiling for a photo.

April 24, 2025

Bringing History to Life

Story and photos by Logan Jackson As Andrew Fialka’s junior year at Mizzou was coming to a close, he was struggling to come up with an engaging honors thesis idea to finish out his history degree. A chance encounter after the Mizzou men’s basketball captured the Big 12 tournament title sparked not only a thesis idea, but a decade-long passion. “I was out celebrating – like so many of my peers were – and I happened to run into Joseph Beilein, was who a teaching assistant in history and had become a really good friend,” said Fialka,…

Sherri Ulbrich talking to her students.

April 22, 2025

An Active Affiliate Faculty

Story and photos by Logan Jackson Sherri Ulbrich has built a career caring for others as a registered nurse and educating the next generation of nurses as an associate teaching professor at the University of Missouri. While she didn’t envision a career in nursing or teaching, an adolescent Ulbrich wouldn’t be as surprised that she found success in those fields. “It’s really interesting to look back at specific moments that didn’t have a deep meaning at the time, but they did set the stage for the future,” Ulbrich said. “I was introduced to nursing care when I…

Chris Josey and Catherine Rymph smiling and posing for a picture.

April 16, 2025

Recognizing Outstanding Achievements

Story and photos by Logan Jackson Multiple students pursuing the Honors Certificate were recognized for their outstanding achievements over the past year during the recent Honors College Spring Awards ceremony. The annual event features multiple scholarships and awards for Tigers across campus. The Honors College also gave an award to an outstanding faculty member, Chris Josey, and an exceptional campus partner, Ashely Mitchell. The celebration was held on Tuesday, April 15, at the State Historical Society of Missouri. Outstanding Faculty Award Each year, the Honors College recognizes faculty who have made a substantial and lasting…

McKenna Riddle headshot

April 13, 2025

A Perfect Partnership

Story by Logan Jackson For the past decade, the Unbound Book Festival has welcomed world-class authors to mid-Missouri to discuss their books, their work and their life. The goal of the festival is to bring together participants to inspire a life-long love of books and reading.  The Mizzou Honors College has partnered with the festival for several years, including offering a 1-credit hour course – “Unbound: Reading Without Limits” – which allows Honors students to dive deeper into a variety of writing styles, including books written by the keynote speaker. During the…

Erin Reynolds smiling and posing for a photo while holding an award.

April 9, 2025

Making the Most of Her Time as a Tiger

Story by Logan Jackson Students who attend the Missouri Scholars Academy (MSA) interact with nearly all corners of the University of Missouri campus. They flex their intellectual muscles in academic buildings, enjoy games on the quad and create friendships in the Mark Twin Residence Hall. Erin Reynolds attended the Academy in 2019. The experience served as her first introduction to Mizzou, and when the time came for her to choose a university a couple years later, the familiarity with Mizzou won out. “I honestly wanted to attend a university out of state,” Reynolds said. “I did…

Headshots of Rachel Mueller and Colton Sharp

April 6, 2025

Mizzou Undergraduate, Alum Awarded Critical Language Scholarship

Each year, the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) – which is granted by the U.S. Department of the State – allows students from across the country to spend up to 10 weeks abroad, where they study one of 12 critical languages. This year, two of those students will be University of Missouri Tigers. Junior Rachel Mueller and alum Colton Sharp were selected for the award and both will study Korean. Mizzou also had six alternates, including an alternate for the CLS Spark.

Headshots of Carissa Bersche, Miles Farmer and Rachel Weber

April 3, 2025

Three Mizzou Students Earn Goldwater Scholarships

Three University of Missouri undergraduate students have received the Goldwater Scholarship, one of the most prestigious national scholarships in natural sciences, engineering and mathematics in the United States. Juniors Carissa Bersche (biochemistry), Miles Farmer (computer science and mathematics) and Rachel Weber (biochemistry) are among the 441 recipients, coming from a pool of more than 5,000 college sophomores and juniors. All three students are pursuing the Honors Certificate at Mizzou.

A group of individuals smiling and posing for a picture.

March 29, 2025

Marc Canellas has Built a Career Advocating for Others

Story by Logan Jackson Like his peers, Marc Canellas spent his final year at the University of Missouri balancing academics, applications and social activities, as well as preparing for the next phase of his personal journey. He somehow also found the time to co-create an entire professional conference centered on politics and science. Canellas spent the summer between his junior and senior year interning in Washington, D.C., with SAE International as part of the WISE (Washington Internships for Students of Engineering) program. His work during that internship fueled an already strong passion that Canellas had for science…

An individual smiling while walking, with another individual clapping in the background.

March 13, 2025

MU Excels Celebrates Fellowship Mentors, Applicants

University of Missouri students pursue a variety of nationally competitive grants, scholarships and fellowships throughout the academic year – but they don’t do so alone. In addition to their faculty mentors, the Mizzou Office of Global and National Fellowships aids students during the application journey as they navigate the various requirements, all the while exploring their interests, building their skills, articulating their goals and developing lasting mentor relationships.

Josh Donaldson headshot

March 12, 2025

A Heart for Helping Others

When Josh Donaldson was recently named a finalist for the Truman Scholarship, he said he was flooded with a variety of emotions, including feelings of excitement and gratitude. Donaldson added that he couldn’t help but reflect on a specific conversation he had with the University of Missouri Office of Global and National Fellowships as a freshman.