Every year, the University Honors Program awards students for implementing values of UHP: leadership, community service, and research & innovation. These are our 2020 winners.

2020 UHP Student Leadership Award: Thuy Vi "Vi" Nguyen, International Relations

The UHP Student Leadership Award identifies a graduating UHP student who is an emerging leader on campus or in the community. This student has demonstrated a commitment to all of the values of UHP including excellence, innovation, and personal growth, and are part of a new generation of leaders. This year's recipient is Thuy Vi "Vi" Nguyen.

Vi is currently the Academic Lead Tutor for the Bridge Program, an after school program that develops students' English Language Arts skills and offers homework tutoring. It serves low-income and low-performing students to bridge the school and home gap. As the Lead Tutor, Vi works directly with students to improve their academic skills in additions to leading a team of 7 tutors to develop their tutoring skills, foster teamwork, and assess classroom practices. She also facilitates and implements restorative justice circles to build community with the students and tutors, develops educational classroom activities, and encourages students to explore innovative ways of learning.

In addition to the role, Vi has received the Volunteer Recognition Award from the Tese Foundation in honor of her work as the Volunteer Coordinator & Head Intern. The Tese Foundation is a non-profit organization that raises funds to support education in rural Zimbabwe, including paying for students' school fees, books, and uniforms. As the Head Intern from September 2017 - November 2019, Vi led a group of interns in coordinating the Tese Foundation's fundraising events and symposiums. She also visited the Zimbabwe through this organization in July 2019, leading a project that trained school children how to sew reusable sanitary pads and informed them of sanitary health practices.

2020 UHP Student Community Service Award: Jameson Hammond, Political Science & Economics

The UHP Student Community Service Award recognizes one UHP student who has exhibited a commitment to giving back to the community during their undergraduate career. Inspired by their education and experiences, these students make themselves a resource to others in an equitable and sustainable way. This year's recipient is Jameson Hammond. 

Over the last three years, Jameson has devoted over 100 hours to serving as a Sprout Up instructor. Sprout Up is an organization that teaches children concepts in Environmental Science, Sustainability,  and the unique ecosystems that surround them, encouraging kids to think in new ways about the world around them through activities, experiments, and discussions. As a Sprout Up instructor, Jameson has traveled to local elementary schools to run  weekly interactive activities teaching students about their environmental impact and encouraging joy of learning about the planet.

Jameson has also served as a refugee resettlement intern with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Sacramento, helping many refugee families resettle into the United States. She worked directly in the field with refugees, helping them with such tasks as enrolling their children in school, scheduling medical appointments, and applying for CalFresh benefits. Jameson has also volunteered with One Sky, an organization that works with care homes in China to benefit orphans with special needs. She was able to travel to China one summer, working directly with the children and their foster parents and facilitating important discussions around adoption, Chinese identity, and self-worth.

2020 UHP Student Research and Innovation Award: Eric Thai, Political Science

The UHP Student Research and Innovation Award recognizes one graduating UHP student who has demonstrated a commitment to academic rigor, creativity, learning, and exploration through a research or creative project. This student took the initiative to address and attempt to resolve an issue in an existing field of study or community. This year's recipient is Eric Thai.

Eric's senior honors thesis explored how international trade relationships can help incentivize developing states to improve labor rights practices. Going above and beyond existing research, Eric theorized directly about the importance of trade in improving labor rights practices and tested that argument empirically. Under the guidance of the Department of Political Science's Dr. Heather Elko McKibben, Eric's senior thesis was accepted to the Midwest Political Science Association's annual conference in Chicago, IL. 

Eric will be pursuing a Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of California, San Diego next year, and aspires to become a professor of Political Science.