Monmouth University Honors School student and English and Elementary Education major Mary Schuld won the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) Sloane Prize in Undergraduate Research award at the council’s 57th annual conference held in Dallas from Nov. 2-5.
Schuld presented on social emotional learning and competed against 17 students in the Education and Pedagogy category. She tied for first with her poster, “Creating and Restoring Mental Health Education Through Children’s Literature,” and is the first Monmouth student to win in any category, and just the second to win a prize at the NCHC conference.
“It is really enjoyable to share my passion with others, particularly when they are also interested in that specific topic. I was shocked but excited to win this award. I think it is encouraging that people are recognizing the importance of social emotional learning, and I am proud to have presented on something that can benefit current and future teachers, along with the success of students,” Schuld said.
Monmouth students Lyndsey Buren, Luke Collier, Ana Huertas, Cassie James, Lenien Jamir, Alexander Kalina, Dárika Lara-Rodríguez, Alexander Mykulyn, Emily Pawelek, and Madeline Woolley also presented, joining over 170 honors students from around the country, Canada, and parts of Europe.
During the conference, students networked with other honor students and faculty, celebrated the unique community created by honors education, and explored Dallas through NCHC’s signature experiential learning projects.
The NCHC conference highlights students and faculty research presentations from across the nation, while providing training and development for honors program administrators and staff. The conference theme, “Centering Community,” examined the ways that honors colleges and programs create and center communities, knowing that students are far more likely to succeed when they feel they reside in communities that value and understand them.
The National Collegiate Honors Council is a nonprofit organization of nearly 800 institutions, whose mission is to support and enhance the community of educational institutions, professionals, and students who participate in collegiate honors education around the world.