Scholars of Excellence Celebration honors exemplary students for fall 2025

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Office of Scholars Programs at Penn State held its fifth Scholars of Excellence Celebration on Feb. 16, recognizing students who achieved exceptional GPAs during the fall 2025 semester. Held each semester on a Monday morning in the HUB, the celebration brought together honorees, OSP staff, and academic partners from colleges across the University.

“When 174 scholars rise to the level of excellence in a single semester and 74% of our cohort earns between a 3.0 and 4.0 GPA, that tells a powerful story about what is possible in community,” says OSP Senior Director Morgan H. Okello. “Our scholars are disciplined, driven and deeply committed to their goals. We are proud of who they are becoming and how they strengthen this community through their excellence.”

Since launching in 2023, the celebration has conferred a total of 844 awards for semester achievement, including a notable high of 188 recognitions in Spring 2025. The event highlighted the academic accomplishments of scholars across five programs: Bunton-Waller Fellows and Merits, Lenfest Scholars, Milton Hershey Scholars, Maguire Scholars and Commonwealth Scholars. The Office of Scholars Programs, under the leadership of the Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity, provides mentorship, academic coaching, and structured support to help students thrive academically and professionally. The office supports approximately 600 students annually across University Park and select Commonwealth Campuses.

Among the student speakers was Ulises Henriquez, a Bunton-Waller Fellow and nuclear engineering major from San Salvador, El Salvador, who will serve as the student marshal for the Nuclear Engineering program for the Class of 2026. Norma Sannon, a Commonwealth Scholar and Bunton-Waller Merit recipient in the College of the Liberal Arts, pursuing a master's degree in international affairs and a bachelor's in global and international studies, with a minor in civic and community engagement, also spoke. Sannon hails from Haiti and Philadelphia.

"Each time I attend the Scholars of Excellence breakfast, I’m reminded of the community that has supported me from day one," said Anhjay Brown, a senior in the College of Information Sciences and Technology and the inaugural student speaker. "Seeing the scholars I started with — and those I’ve met along the way — motivates me to keep moving forward. It reminds me that I’m not alone in my journey."

The celebration fostered a collegial environment in which scholars connected across academic colleges, class years, and scholarship programs, and it provided informal opportunities for students and staff to acknowledge the community’s collective achievement.

The Office of Scholars Programs is led by Senior Director Morgan H. Okello, Director of Program Development Melissa Landrau Vega, and Director of Academic Engagement Joseph Appel. Student-facing staff include two academic coaches, three graduate assistants, three program assistants who live in the first-year Educational Equity Living Learning Community and are available to students day and night, and two Herr Clinic interns who provide mental health services.

The celebration originated within the Office of Scholars Programs as a way to recognize scholars who consistently met and exceeded scholarship expectations while encouraging peers to aspire to the list. Director of Academic Engagement Joseph Appel proposed the idea to Senior Director Morgan H. Okello, who supported making the recognition and breakfast a standing tradition each semester.

“Our team spends a great deal of time developing interventions for students who are struggling academically, yet the majority of our scholars are excelling,” said Appel. “We wanted to start an initiative that lets those students know we see them, too, and we honor their success.”

The first celebration honored Fall 2023 scholars, and last year OSP dedicated an Excellence Wall in its suite to display honorees’ names, updated each term.

The program featured brief remarks from OSP and Educational Equity representatives, reflections from two student speakers on the Penn State Value of excellence, and the presentation of certificates before breakfast and conversation. Student speakers prepared their own remarks; they were invited to share what excellence means to them, how they place that value in their lives and studies, how it influences the way they work toward their goals, and any part of their journey they wished to share.