Arts & Sciences students earn campus awards
Maxwell Virus Wins Helen Hansen Outstanding Graduate Award
UNO awards two scholarships each year to graduate students who have demonstrated excellence in academic performance. With a focus in human health in biology, Maxwell Virus has been studying the world’s most common human brain parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. His research has focused on developing and testing combination drug treatments to alleviate chronic parasitic infection. He also instructs biology courses at the undergraduate level, introducing topics and lab techniques to help students develop a well-rounded understanding of biology. He has a genuine fascination with life itself, branching into realms of health, human behavior, language, and philosophy.
Natalie Mostek Earns Outstanding Student Athlete Award
Natalie A. Mostek graduated in May 2019 with a BS in chemistry with a concentration in medicinal chemistry. She is a member of UNO’s softball team, received the Muscle Mav award in 2018, and was named UNO’s Strength and Conditioning Female Athlete of the Year. Her volunteer service includes Mighty Mavs, Girls inc., and Habitat for Humanity. Her pharmaceutical research at UNMC’s College of Pharmacy focuses on synthesizing compounds for opioid alternatives and novel drugs for malaria and Zika virus prevention.
Outstanding Service Learning Award Goes to Bradley Carlson
Bradley Carlson graduated in May 2019 with a BS in biology. He is currently working at Hitchcock Nature Center’s Insect Club at Glacier Creek to survey the insect populations there, and teaches undergraduates how to identify them. He plans on studying at either the University of Nebraska-Lincoln or the University of Florida to earn his MS and Ph.D. in entomology. He enjoys volunteering at Henry Doorly Zoo and walking dogs at the Midlands Humane Society.
Miriam Hamilton receives Elton Carter Award
Political Science alum Miriam Hamilton, was recently awarded UNO’s Elton S. Carter Award for Excellence in a Master’s Thesis .
“Miriam’s thesis asks if democracies are more welcoming of refugees than non-democracies, and if so, why? She discovered that while democracies appear less open to recognizing refugees from stable countries, they are more receptive to those fleeing war. For autocracies she hypothesized that the flexible labor markets in autocracies may let them see refugee-seekers fleeing human rights abuse as low-cost to admit, while those fleeing war might seem riskier to accept,” explains Jody Neathery-Castro, Political Chair. “It was a creative and well-written piece of research!”