Jack and June Richardson Scholars
Brent Brady
Brent graduated from Boise High School in Idaho with a top rank in his graduating class. He is a
Mechanical Engineering major with a superb GPA with ample leadership and service activities. He
received a glowing recommendation from Johannes Gessler, former Associate Dean, who gave him
outstanding scores in academic achievement, analytical skills, and potential for contribution. His
specific thesis topic will be identified in the fall when the department identifies several projects for a
year long group design project. His future plans include law school with an emphasis on intellectual
property.
Cara Kulbacki
Cara graduated from Golden High School in Colorado with a top rank in her graduating class. She is
a Biological Sciences major with an outstanding GPA with abundant service activities and research
experience. Her major interest is in becoming a pediatric oncologist and she will link her Honors thesis
to this topic by creating a booklet for parents of children with cancer that informs them about the disease
and its managements. Bob Richburg says she is among a handful of the best students he has taught in
Honors during the past nine years. Her proposed thesis adviser is Jennifer Taylor who recently won a
University innovative teaching award.
Kourtney McCarthy
Kourtney graduated from Frontier Academy in Greeley, Colorado with a top rank in her graduating
class. She has majors in Biomedical Sciences and Biological Sciences, a superb GPA, and lots
of service, especially with Larimer Humane Society. She received a superb recommendation from
Professor Don Mykles and he says she easily ranks in the top few percent of all students he has taught
in the past 26 years. Her proposed Honors thesis is designing a state of the art animal shelter which will
include the physical lay-out and procedures for noise and disease control, vet services, ample time for
interaction with people and so forth. Her proposed adviser is Lori Kogan who has published in the area
of animal welfare.
Christopher Nickell
Chris graduated from Fort Morgan High School in Colorado with a top rank in his graduating class. He
has majors in Chemical and Biological Engineering and Chemistry, an outstanding GPA, and a good
amount of community service. He received an outstanding recommendation form Professor Arthur
Mayeno and praises his varied research experience. His proposed Honors thesis topic is measuring
the impact of various anti-biotics on TB. His longer term plans include graduate school where he has
interests in biological materials for humans and he expects to have a career in biotechnology and/or
pharmaceuticals.
Paul and Clare Muller Scholars
Sarah Al-Najar
Sarah graduated from Rangeview High School in Aurora, Colorado with a top rank in her graduating
class. She is a Biomedical Sciences major with an excellent cumulative GPA and significant service in
Alpha Phi Omega and Public Achievement through Community Service. She received an outstanding
recommendation from Professor Irene Vernon who praises her desire to work with communities of
Her longer term plans are to go to medical school and become a pediatric oncologist or an obstetrician/
gynecologist. Her career plans also include joining Doctors without Borders.
Connor Jandreau
Connor graduated from Plateau High School in Mesa, Colorado with a top rank in his graduating
class. He has two majors, one in Wildlife and Conservation Biology and the other in Studio Art,
an outstanding GPA, and impressive service and leadership activities including heART Africa
which he founded and directs to fund education for orphaned Kenyans. Robin Reid, Director of
Collaborative Conservation, in the Warner College of Natural Resources gave him an all-around strong
recommendation. His Honors thesis topic will look at the relationship between species diversity and
habitat heterogeneity in a sub artic boreal forest near Fairbanks. His future plans include graduate
school and an eventual Ph.D. degree.
Eddy Scholars
Annie Wallin
Annie graduated from Hunter High School in Salt Lake City, Utah with a top rank in her graduating
class. She has majors in Biological Sciences and Zoology, an outstanding cumulative GPA, and she has
been very active in the Honors Student Association. Andrea Purdy, Instructor in Foreign Languages
and Literatures strongly recommended her and emphasized Annie’s love of learning and work ethic that
were apparent in two challenging upper division courses in Spanish. Annie Honors thesis will focus on
pain responses of various taxa where she will design her own ethical pain reception experiment. Her
career plans include vet school where she hopes to become an exotic animal veterinarian.
Christina Welsby
Cristina graduated from Doherty high school in Colorado Springs, Colorado with an outstanding GPA.
She has a majors in Psychology and Natural Sciences, an outstanding cumulative GPA, and a well-
rounded record of service which includes the Honors Student Association, Ram Welcome Leader,
and 30 Hour Famine (2010). Meena Balgopal, Assistant Professor in the School of Education, wrote
a glowing recommendation for Christina and praises her innovative thinking. Her thesis topic is “A
Modification of Science Curriculum for Special Needs Students of Shepardson.” Her career goal is to
become a science teacher for at-risk students in inner-city schools.
Students First Scholar
Natalie Blackmer
Natalie graduated from Lakewood High School in Lake Odessa, Michigan with an excellent GPA.
She is an Animal Science major and a Spanish minor with an outstanding cumulative GPA. She has a
very good record of involvement in community service including service projects in Lima, Peru where
she studied this past spring semester. She received an excellent recommendation from Professor Noa
Roman-Muniz. Her Honors thesis topic is a bilingual training program related to zoonotic disease
commonly found in dairy farms. The main focus is to develop a training program to educate workers on
how to prevent the transfer of animal diseases to humans. She plans on enrolling in graduate programs
in veterinary medicine and public health. She sees her work directly improving food security in
developing nations.
Gladys Eddy Scholar (administered by the UHP)
Brittany Belmarez
Kelsey Heupel
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