Jewell names faculty award winner
04/20/2024
Noah Mayo, an economics and Oxbridge Institutions and Policy major, has been named the Faculty Award winner at William Jewell College. Jewell’s Faculty Award is the most significant distinction offered a graduating senior. It is presented to a student who has spent at least three years at William Jewell College and has a grade point average of 3.75 or higher. It is awarded on the basis of academic achievement and exemplification of the highest ideals of a liberal arts education following an essay submission and interview process.
Mayo, of Plainfield, Illinois, studied at the University of Oxford during his junior year and was a member of the Oxford Diplomatic Society and Oxford University Boxing team. At Jewell, he holds the school record for the 600-yard dash as a member of track and field, serves on Honors Council, is a recipient of the Pritchard Humanitarian Service Award and the Boatwright Economics Leadership Scholar Award, and is a member of Pi Sigma Alpha Honor Society, Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society and Jewell’s Phi Epsilon for the top 10 percent of the senior class. Mayo plans to attend law school at Washington University and aspires to be a professor of legal theory.
The Finalists:
Cameron Huett, Excelsior Springs, will pursue a master’s degree in theology and ecology at Princeton Theological Seminary. At Jewell, he majored in music and applied critical thought and inquiry, was a Center for Faith and Culture Fellow, Choral Scholar, Pryor Leadership Fellow, Phi Gamma Delta member, Interfraternity Council president, Cardinal Host and Cardinal Blazer. He received the Pritchard Humanitarian Service Award, was named to Phi Epsilon Honor Society (the top 10 percent of the senior class) and was voted the Senior Speaker for Commencement.
Hope Peck, Liberty, will graduate with degrees in both mathematics (with honors) and English. She completed her honors thesis in mathematics on "Straightening Identities in the Onsager Algebra of sl_4” and has presented her research regionally and nationally. She has been a member of the women’s golf team, president of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, a Pryor Leadership Fellow, Black Freedom Struggle Ambassador and a volunteer intern with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City. Some of her honors include the Pritchard Humanitarian Award, Pillsbury Scholar, C.D. Geilker Award in Physics and Sigma Tau Delta English Honors Society. Following a gap year, Peck plans to attend law school and pursue a career in labor law.
Juliann Smith, St. Joseph, is a biochemistry major with an emphasis in pre-optometry. She will start her Doctor of Optometry degree in the fall at Indiana University School of Optometry. In addition to being a member of the women’s soccer team, Smith is a two-time recipient of the Frank H. Fristoe Scholarship for achievement in chemistry and a member of Mortar Board, Phi Epsilon Honor Society (top 10 percent of the senior class), Pre-Health Honors Society, American Chemical Society Student Affiliates, Alpha Gamma Delta sorority and the inaugural class of the Honors Institute in Critical Thinking.
Luke Zahnd, Kansas City North, has majors in Oxbridge Institutions and Policy, international relations, and nonprofit leadership. The Instrumental Scholar is active in many campus activities including percussive arts, Pryor Leadership Fellow, Student Senate, Standard of Conduct Review Board, Cardinal Host, Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, Mortar Board president and a Slavery, Memory, and Justice Project researcher. He received the Will Adams Scholarship as an outstanding political science major, was a Harry S. Truman Scholarship National Finalist and is a member of Phi Epsilon (top 10 percent of the senior class) and Pi Sigma Alpha and Alpha Lambda Delta honor societies. Luke was a legislative intern for U.S. Senator Roy Blunt and a Department of Government Relations Intern with the Dairy Farmers of America. In fall 2025, he will pursue a J.D. joint degree with a master’s in public policy, and during his upcoming gap year, he will participate in grassroots policymaking, including the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Young Cattleman’s Policy initiative and local movements to expand the voice of Generation Z in agricultural and rural policy.