SCHUYLKILL HAVEN, Pa. — Penn State Schuylkill recognized the achievements of its Honors Program students during a ceremony held April 27. The annual event celebrates the exemplary academic effort and dedication required of students in the campus’ Honors Program.
Valerie Schrader, coordinator of the honors program and professor of communication, arts and sciences, delivered the opening remarks. Interim Chancellor Cory Scherer addressed attendees and offered words of encouragement to the students. The ceremony closed with remarks from Jessica Saalfield, assistant coordinator of the honors program and assistant professor of psychology.
"We're so proud of our honors students here at Penn State Schuylkill,” said Shrader and Saalfield. “They not only go above and beyond when it comes to challenging themselves with coursework; many of them also present research at conferences and publish with their honors faculty members, and they are all outstanding representatives of the University and our campus."
The Penn State Schuylkill Honors Program provides students with enriched academic experiences through honors coursework and advising, faculty-mentored research, and a wide range of extracurricular opportunities. These experiences include visits to museums and historical sites, attendance at live performances, travel opportunities and more.
Incoming first-year students with a high school GPA (grade point average) of 3.5 or higher are eligible to apply for the program. To remain in good standing, students must maintain a minimum 3.3 GPA, complete the required honors course load, and meet all additional program requirements, including adherence to the Honors Code based on the Penn State Values.
Honors courses and independent honors options are integrated into personalized academic plans, developed collaboratively by students, academic advisers, and Honors Program coordinators.
The Honors Program awardees for spring 2026 are:
Honors cord recipients
Honors cord recipients are students who are graduating with a baccalaureate degree and have also achieved the required number of honors credits for each year of membership.
- JiaYi Gong
- Ayanna Grant
- Kacey Harper
- Evelyn Louca
- Gracelyn Weismiller
- Sierra Wishnefsky
Honors Program certificates
Students are awarded certificates based on the number of honors course credits completed. Each year signifies six honors course credits earned, with some students earning certificates for multiple years. Those students who complete at least one honors course credit earn a certificate of participation.
Participation certificate
- Diamantae Hall
- Alexa McLaughlin
- Genesis Nunez
- Anastasia Rakowsky
- Yizhou Sun
First-year certificate
- Lilley Anderson
- Allie Benulis
- Matthew Bergen
- Madisyn Billingsley
- Hanna Bulles
- Victoria Cammeron
- Jacob Corby
- Siamiralis Jaime Cortes
- Dennys Espinal Rodriguez
- Ethan Faust
- Ethan Frantz
- Kacey Harper
- Madison Ike
- Kelsey Jappah
- Avagale Jones
- Teresa Klotunowitch
- Morgan Lutzkanin
- McKenna McClain
- Bill Mills
- Jenalise Muir
- Jeslyn Ntori
- Kathryn Opolsky
- Armonia Paniagua
- Veronica Plichta
- Jenna Reber
- Rayleen Rumberger
- Aleira Santai
- Aidan Stellfox
- Brianna Tassone
- Allyson Tebin
- Sarah Tiver
- Isabella Whitsel
- Emma Wollyung
Second-year certificate
- Youssef Amin
- Madisyn Billingsley
- Giavonna Bjorkman
- JiaYi Gong
- McKenna Hall
- Paige Koch
- Lily Kreiser
- Regan Kreitzer
- Morgan Lutzkanin
- JayLee Milhomme
- Jenalise Muir
- Ava Novak
- Armonia Paniagua
- Rayleen Rumberger
- Jetta Van Fleet
- Katie Wank
Third-year certificate
- Youssef Amin
- Ayanna Grant
- Paige Koch
- Lily Kreiser
- Jesenia Landaverde
- Morgan Lutzkanin
- Ashton Owens
- Jetta Van Fleet
- Gracelyn Weismiller
Fourth-year certificate
- Ayanna Grant
- Evelyn Louca
- Gracelyn Weismiller
- Sierra Wishnefsky