Mizzou Honors College

The MedOpp Advising Office team had a unique opportunity last week to tour the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Dentistry and learn more about the school. They even learned the proper way to drill a tooth!

The MedOpp Advising Office works with students and alumni of the University of Missouri, offering workshops, one-on-one advising, and online resources that complement the individual’s academic and scholarly achievements in preparation for application to professional programs. Interested in working with the team? Learn more at medopp.missouri.edu.

Congratulations to Sam von Gillern, an affiliate faculty in the Honors College, on his Fulbright award!

🌍 From Columbia to Chile, Dr. Sam von Gillern is taking his passion for education, language and cross-cultural connection global as a Fulbright Scholar! His work will explore how AI can support meaningful, ethical learning for students worldwide. Congratulations, Dr. von Gillern!
Learn more: https://cehd.missouri.edu/2026/06/fulbright-scholar-sam-von-gillern-to-advance-global-learning-and-ai-literacy/

We are thrilled to welcome high school students from across the state for the Missouri Scholars Academy!

Founded in 1985, the Missouri Scholars Academy is a three-week residential program for 330 of Missouri’s academically gifted students who are ready to begin their junior year of high school. The Academy is held each June on the Mizzou campus and administered by the Honors College.

Dean Catherine Rymph welcomed students to campus, and MSA co-directors Doug Valentine and Steve Keller shared their excitement for the weeks ahead. Students also heard from welcome speaker Fares Akremi, a Mizzou alumnus who earned degrees in geography and political science, along with the Honors College Certificate. We are excited to welcome these outstanding students to the Mizzou community and wish them an inspiring and memorable Academy experience.

Applications are currently open for several ASH Scholars undergraduate research teams!

The Honors College, the MU Office of Undergraduate Research and the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy support teams of undergraduate research students in the arts, social sciences or humanities (ASH) disciplines, who collaboratively work as members of a faculty-led research or design team.

Students do not have to be part of the Honors College to be an ASH Scholar. ASH Scholars are awarded a scholarship of $3,000 for the academic year.

Learn more about the program and which teams are accepting applications: https://honors.missouri.edu/scholarships-aid/ash-scholars/.

Meet the 2026-27 Honors College Student Council Executive Board!

The Honors College Student Council is a student group responsible for planning social, academic, service and professional development events for Honors students. They do incredible work, including planning Geek Week and the Honors College’s involvement in Homecoming each year.

· Lara DePauw, president
· Fae Knudsen, vice president of communications
· Isaac Faust, vice president of finances
· Nourhan Balboula, vice president of membership
· Landon Ely, social committee co-chair
· Ava Waggoner, social committee co-chair
· Ava Jacquot, service committee co-chair
· Kampbel Jame, service committee co-chair
· Hannah Clevenger, student development committee co-chair
· Hannah Kroupa, student development committee co-chair
· Ember Amann, major events committee co-chair
· Tanishka Ashili, major events committee co-chair

For Carolyn Orbann, anthropology has always been about people — their stories, their cultures, the systems they build and the ways they care for one another across time.

That curiosity has carried her from childhood years spent overseas in Kenya and South Africa to archaeological work in Joshua Tree National Park, and eventually to classrooms and research laboratories at the University of Missouri, where she now mentors Tigers exploring questions about health, policy and human behavior.

This spring, Orbann, a teaching professor in the Mizzou College of Health Sciences and affiliate faculty in the Honors College, was named the Honors College Outstanding Faculty Award recipient and spoke yesterday at the Honors commencement ceremony.

Learn more about her academic efforts across the campus: https://honors.missouri.edu/news/2026/05/connecting-health-history-and-humanity/.

Congratulations, Honors College graduates! You’ve accomplished so much during your time as a Tiger, and it was a joy to celebrate you all this afternoon. Well done!

An updated radiopharmaceutical chemistry textbook will be published this spring, detailing the latest advancements and clinical successes in the field. When Nora Pryor gets her copy, she already knows which page she’ll flip to first.

Among the discussions of emerging cancer treatments and diagnostic technologies will be a chapter Pryor helped write as an undergraduate student at the University of Missouri.

“I’m going to see the pages of the textbook and be like, ‘I wrote that,’” Pryor said. “That is going to be crazy.”

For Pryor, the moment represents more than just a publication credit. It is the culmination of four years spent building a research career she never imagined for herself before arriving at Mizzou – one that led from freshman-year lab work to unique internships, cancer research and, soon, graduate school at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

“I never thought I was going to be a scientist,” said Pryor, who will graduate this May with degrees in chemistry and French, as well as the Honors College Certificate. “I took a chemistry course in high school because it was required, and I ended up really liking it. It was the first time that I had ever taken a science class and really enjoyed it. I decided to try a higher-level chemistry course and realized I still really enjoyed it. I figured I would begin my college career as a chemistry major with the thought that I would change my major down the road, but I never did.”

Pryor was recently named the 2026 Honors College Outstanding Senior and will speak during the Honors commencement ceremony: https://honors.missouri.edu/news/2026/05/from-first-year-fellow-to-future-scientist/.

Mizzou College of Arts & Science
Marching Mizzou

Photos by Chris Wang

From leadership and service to hands-on learning and scholarship, Mathew Kimaku made the most of every opportunity during his time at the University of Missouri.

Along with pursuing the Honors College Certificate, Kimaku served on the Alumni Association Student Board, worked as a student ambassador for the College of Health Sciences, cared for patients at MU Health Care’s University Hospital and led as vice president of Omicron Delta Kappa.

Kimaku will graduate this weekend with degrees in health science and nutrition & exercise physiology — and leave a legacy of service, engagement and support for future Tigers.

“As a freshman, it seemed like there were a billion different ways to get involved, and that’s something special that you might not get at smaller schools,” he said. “Applying to be on AASB as a freshman took courage because there were so many interviews where you really put yourself out there. Looking back on it now, I’m happy that I wasn’t afraid of failure. I had so many great mentors at Mizzou pouring into me with support, including those in the Honors College encouraging me to pursue scholarship opportunities. Now I try to be the biggest cheerleader for others.”

Learn more about Kimaku’s time at Mizzou: https://showme.missouri.edu/2026/graduating-honors-college-student-exemplifies-service-first-leadership-at-mizzou/.

Mizzou College of Health Sciences
Mizzou College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources

From first visiting the University of Missouri as a prospective Stamps Scholar to reporting in Brussels for POLITICO Europe and working in nearly every corner of the Missouri School of Journalism, senior Lilley Halloran is leaving with far more than a college degree.

Halloran, a Mizzou Stamps Scholar (Stamps Scholars) who will graduate with degrees in constitutional democracy and journalism, as well as the Honors College Certificate, said she quickly realized during her Stamps Scholarship interview weekend that Mizzou, and especially the Honors College, could offer opportunities beyond the classroom.

“Getting to meet faculty from so many different schools, especially in the Honors College and the J-School, really sealed the deal for me,” Halloran said. “It showed me there’s so much potential at Mizzou and especially through the Honors College.”

That sense of opportunity continued throughout Halloran’s college experience. Constantly surrounded by ambitious peers in her Honors courses, Halloran noted she was pushed to think more critically, ask deeper questions and grow more confident in both herself and her approach to journalism.

Read more about her Mizzou journey: https://honors.missouri.edu/news/2026/05/lilley-halloran-leaves-mizzou-with-global-journalism-experience-and-passion-for-public-radio/.

Story by Riley Palshaw

Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy