2024 Honors Program Graduates
Congratulations to All the Honor's Program Graduates!
Honors Faculty Awards
- Not awarded this year
President's Scholarship
- Lilah Benckendorf
Christian Schultz
Christian Schultz is a natural-born philosopher and one who is focused on moral and existential questions. He doesn’t easily accept “settled” answers to big questions or even many smaller questions, nor does he easily accept “consensus” ideas in general. He digs into the origin of ideas and enthusiastically explores possible alternatives in both discussion and formal writing. Honestly, he is an excellent example of our desire to encourage students to be confident and voracious explorers of the intellectual marketplace, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of discussion with him.
—Matt Jones, Professor of History and Political Science
![Lacy Roberts](/_resources/assets/img/lacy-roberts-615x500.jpg)
Lacy Roberts
I am incredibly grateful for all of the opportunities Cerro Coso and the Honors program have brought to me. I got the pleasure of being an embedded tutor and an external tutor for many subjects, which taught me a variety of things and helped me grow as a student. Through the Honors program, I have been able to participate in undergraduate research as well as present in an academic environment at the HTCC conference at UCR. The experience of undergraduate research was hard work but so rewarding in the end. Throughout my time at Cerro Coso, the Honors program has widened the experiences I was able to accomplish. I would extremely recommend it to anyone who is contemplating joining. I would like to thank all of my classmates and especially my professors, who pushed me and encouraged me to be the best version of myself.
I will be transferring in the Fall of 2025.
—Lacy Roberts
Lacy Roberts is a ray of sunshine that illuminates every classroom. She's an absolute joy to have in class, always prepared, always paying attention, very hard-working, diligent, and insightful, and a huge asset for the teacher: leading study groups, working on papers in advance of their due dates, helping her classmates, all with a great smile and a sunny attitude. Congratulations, Lacy. You’re the best!
—Cliff Davis, Professor of English
![Fatima Anwar](/_resources/assets/img/fatima-anwar-615x500.jpg)
Fatima Anwar
I am so grateful to all my professors throughout my time at Cerro Coso. In these past two years, through the honors program, I have been given so many great opportunities. Partaking in undergraduate research was the most challenging yet fun project, which was rewarded immensely at the UCR HTTC Conference. I thank all my professors and peers for making this possible and wish everyone success in all that they aim to accomplish.
I plan to transfer to UC San Diego. My major is Biochemistry.
—Fatima Anwar
With a combination of skepticism, determination, and ability, Fatima Anwar approaches her studies with self-assurance that is both inspiring and impressive. She has a steadfast commitment to her goals and faces obstacles with resilience. She approaches every topic with a critical eye and challenges her peers to think critically. I have no doubt that Fatima will be successful in whatever she undertakes.
—Guck Ooi, Professor of Biology
![Alyssa Kozloski](/_resources/assets/img/alyssa-kozloski-615x500.jpg)
Alyssa Kozloski
I loved attending Cerro Coso. It provided many challenges, but I will definitely miss the experience. As a first-generation college graduate, I am glad and proud of myself that I stuck with it and persevered throughout the years. I am excited to take the next step in my education!
I am still considering options, but I would love to transfer to WSU Tri-Cities to continue pursuing a major in Biology.
—Alyssa Kozloski
Alyssa has been nothing short of extraordinary, and she exemplifies the qualities of a true scholar—intellectual curiosity, analytical rigor, and a passion for discovery. Her dedication to her studies, combined with her natural talent and determination, has earned her the distinction of graduating with honors, a testament to her exceptional academic achievements.
—Alex Gilewski, Professor of Chemistry
Sidra Javaid
My experience at Cerro Coso has been nothing but welcoming! All my professors are so kind and understanding, they made it easy to be their student. I'd also like to give a big thank you to Terri Hack for being my counselor and guiding me through the crazy and ever-changing transfer process. I wouldn't have been able to do this without everyone's support. I came to Cerro Coso without a single clue of what major or career I wanted to pursue, but now I know exactly what I need to do to get to where I want to be. It was a challenge for sure, especially since I had to stay another two years to complete my major prerequisites due to being so indecisive in the beginning, but it was worth it.
I'm transferring to UCSD as a biology major.
—Sidra Javaid
Sidra’s good nature and humor made her a pleasure to have in class. Her classmates appreciated her dependability and support. Sidra is certain to be successful in her future academic endeavors as she is intelligent, hardworking, and quick to make friends.
—Claudia Sellers, Professor of Biology
![Joseph Rabe](/_resources/assets/img/joseph-rabe-615x500.jpg)
Joseph Rabe
The honors program at Cerro Coso is an amazing opportunity to get closer to your professors and learn important skills such as research, lab design, and presentation. I am extremely thankful that I had the opportunity to go through the honors program and I am sure that the skills I learned along the way will come in handy at CSUB.
I will be transferring to CSUB majoring in Biology.
—Joseph Rabe
Joseph is an inspiration to us all. His journey to this moment has been characterized by dedication, perseverance, and a continuous pursuit of excellence. Throughout his time at Cerro Coso, he has demonstrated not only academic brilliance but also a profound commitment to his goals and aspirations. His commitment to attending and actively participating in four consecutive chemistry courses with me (two of them Honors courses) is outstanding – never once late to an 8 am class driving from Tehachapi.
—Alex Gilewski, Professor of Chemistry