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Each semester, ������-Dearborn honors a very select group of students with a medallion. Chosen by faculty from their respective colleges, graduates are recognized for their outstanding quality of character, vitality, intellect, integrity and academic record. Three medallions recipients are awarded per college — with one of those students receiving the top Chancellor’s Medallion.

Meet the College of Arts, Sciences, & Letters, the College of Education, Health, & Human Services recipients — including the Chancellor’s Medallion awardee, who is a CASL grad.

The awardees from the College of Engineering & Computer Sciences and the College of Business can be seen here.

Zenon Sommers is receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Bachelor of Science in Behavioral and Biological Sciences, with three minors in German, Women’s and Gender Studies and Sociology. He has earned certificates in both LGBTQ Studies and Professional Language and Cross-Cultural Competency, and is in both the Psychology and ������-Dearborn Honors Programs. During his time at the university, he has completed 167 semester hours and earned the Chancellor’s Scholarship for four years. In 2021, Zenon was selected as a ������-Dearborn Difference Maker and Honors Scholar for Psychology. He has also been on the Dean’s List for seven consecutive semesters and been named a James B. Angell Scholar for six consecutive semesters. 

Zenon has outstanding research experience. He completed his honors thesis, “Cognitive elaboration and the formation of false memories from fake news,” with Professors Pam McAuslan and Marie Waung, and presented his findings at 2021 APA and APS conventions. He also worked in Associate Professor Harmony Reppond’s Social Psychology and Economic Justice Lab on a research project related to food insecurity. Currently, Zenon is working with Associate Professor Arlo Clark-Foos to investigate cognitive processing and fake news, and with Associate Professor Robert Hymes on COVID-19 conspiracy belief measurement. He has received the Student Independent Research Grant (2021), the Undergraduate Student Research Grant (2021), and the Undergraduate Student Research Travel Grant (2019). He is also part of the Research Advisory Committee at ������-Dearborn Faculty Senate as a student representative.

Since 2019, Zenon has been a peer tutor at the Office of Academic Success and provided individual support for ESL students and students with severe disabilities. He also works in the Kochoff Foreign Language Media Lab as a German tutor and lab assistant. Moreover, Zenon has been a supplementary instruction (SI) leader since 2018 and provided 570 student hours of support to 131 different students across 163 SI sessions. 

Zenon has also contributed tremendously to the operation of the SI program during the pandemic. He almost single-handedly transformed the pre-pandemic procedure into an online format for the hiring and training of new SI leaders. Zenon has been an assistant SI supervisor, developing and leading online training for 60 SI leaders in 2020 and 80 SI leaders in 2021. As Lecturer Deborah Roundtree commented, “Without Zenon, SI wouldn’t have been able to negotiate the technological mountains they were forced to conquer throughout the pandemic.”

Outside of the classroom, Zenon has participated in a wide variety of campus and community activities. He is the co-host and producer for the Pre-Occupied podcast about careers in psychology. He has interviewed 22 professional psychologists in practice, industry and academia from Stanford University, Harvard Medical School and the University of Michigan. He is also the co-host and producer of the Nonbinary Gender: Scholarship and Experience podcast. He founded Ratio Christi as well as the Photography Club at ������-Dearborn and is the president of the German Club and the Locke and Lewis Society for the Integration of Faith and Reason. He is also a passionate volunteer for Joy2Read.

After graduation, Zenon plans to pursue a Ph.D. in psychology and a career in academia.

Tejas Athavale is receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry with a minor in Hispanic Studies, and is graduating with high distinction. Tejas has appeared on the Dean’s List every semester of his ������-Dearborn career, has received University Honors in five different terms, is a three-time James B. Angell Scholar (2020, 2021, 2022), and is a William J. Branstrom Prize recipient (2019). Tejas was chosen as the 2022 Honors Scholar in the Biochemistry program. 

Faculty who have taught Tejas across several disciplines consistently cite his academic talent, enthusiasm and propensity for serving as a peer mentor in the classroom. Professor Jorge Gonzalez del Pozo says Tejas’ energy and desire to learn positively affects the Hispanic Studies program, noting his “optimistic and productive impact” on both classes and classmates. Chemistry Professor Krisanu Bandyopadhyay describes him as belonging to the “top 1%” of students. 

Tejas has been very active in academic research with Professor Bandyopadhyay and Assistant Professor Dr. Elena Zhang, including as a 2021 SURE researcher. His project is focused on the study of the efficacy of nanoparticles used for delivery of drugs to treat traumatic brain injuries. Tejas has presented preliminary re