College of Information Science Faculty Recognize Top Spring 2024 Graduates with Student Excellence Awards
Spring 2024 College of Information Science student award winners with Associate Dean Diana Daly (center), following Convocation on May 10, 2024. Photo by Michael Chansley Photography.
From interning on tribal and community archival projects to founding tech startups, from managing junior developers to serving as course section leads, the Spring 2024 graduating students of the College of Information Science demonstrated excellence across their academic and extracurricular endeavors in their time at the University of Arizona.
So selecting the winners of the Spring 2024 student awards across the college’s five bachelor’s degrees and three master’s degrees was no easy task for College of Information Science faculty. The success of students wasn’t a given, either, as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs Diana Daly notes: “These students have navigated a pandemic and their schooling turned upside down. Yet they still learned to thrive academically and creatively.”
This semester, the College of Information Science honored six undergraduate and three graduate students. The bachelor’s awardees—representing the Bachelor of Science in Information Science and Bachelor of Arts in Information Science and eSociety—are:
Bailie Wynbelt, BSIS ’24
Outstanding Senior Award
Convocation Undergraduate Student Speaker
Ricardo Martinez, BSIS ’24
Excellence in Research Award
Edidiong Ekpoh, BSIS ’24
Leadership and Community Engagement Award
Chase Hult, BSIS ’24
Leadership and Community Engagement Award
Linda Bojorquez-Lopez, BA ISES ’24
Student Success and Merit Award
Ciera Zamora, BA ISES ’24
Student Success and Merit Award
For students in the Master of Science in Data Science, Master of Science in Information Science and Master of Arts in Library and Information Science, the challenges rose beyond the pandemic and, in many cases, their impact has been felt beyond their own field of study. “These students have navigated complex information landscapes, pushing the boundaries of knowledge and making exceptional contributions well beyond their own disciplines,” says Assistant Professor Cristian Román-Palacios.
The master’s awardees are:
Sophia Kingsley, MLIS ’24
Outstanding Master’s Student Award
Nour Khalid Gordillo, MSDS ’24
Outstanding Graduate Student Award
Convocation Graduate Student Speaker
Abraham Venegas, MLIS ’24
Outstanding Graduate Student Award
More than 50 Class of 2024 undergraduate and graduate students across degrees were also honored for their academic achievements by being named to the Dean’s List of Distinguished Scholars.
“At a time when the world desperately needs information scholars, practitioners and policymakers, I am so proud and excited to see the incredible things these students will accomplish,” says Assistant Professor of Practice Jennifer Rochelle.
Congratulations to the award winners, distinguished scholars and all graduates of the U of A College of Information Science, who were celebrated in the Spring 2024 College of Information Science Convocation (view the recorded livestream).
Meet a few of our other outstanding students, or support College of Information Science students through scholarships.