As the Class of 2025 graduates crossed the stage at the University of Mary Washington’s Commencement to the applause of faculty, staff, family and friends, seven students received top-of-class honors.
Graduates Bonnie Butler, Kathleen Conner, Thomas Held, Austin Moore, Jessica Oberlies, Kelsey Payne and Maria Werner earned the Colgate W. Darden Jr. Award for Academic Achievement for completing their degrees with the highest grade-point average in the undergraduate program. All seven – the greatest number of grads earning this achievement in recent history – finished with a perfect 4.0 GPA, graduating summa cum laude, the highest academic distinction, and earning additional honors through their programs.
Bonnie E. Butler: Biological sciences major and practical ethics minor from Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
A major in biomedical sciences with a minor in practical ethics, Bonnie Butler is also a student in UMW’s pre-medical program. An aspiring physician, she’ll attend The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences after she graduates, a pathway planned for many years through the early selection agreement with the UMW Honors Program.
She’s already had an impact on healthcare around the world as president of the Global Medical Brigades, which she has called one of the most rewarding experiences of her life. She organized this year’s efforts to travel to Panama for a mobile clinic, and she has presented her research on mytonic dystrophy at professional conferences, including an award at the Virginia Academy of Science annual meeting. She also volunteers with Mary Washington Healthcare and the Moss Free Clinic.
In coming to Mary Washington from Chagrin Falls, Ohio, Butler earned the Helen G. and Justin J. Piscopo Alvey Scholarship as well as the Rebecca Culbertson Stuart Memorial Scholarship. Her faculty advisor noted how she watched Butler “thrive and build on academic successes in high school to seek out challenges, seeing her curiosity deepened, her drive sharpened.” Butler graduates with departmental honors in biomedical sciences and University Honors and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Mortar Board.
Kathleen E. Conner: English and art history double-major from Sterling, Virginia.
In addition to majors in English and art history, Kathleen Conner has been named the outstanding major in English this year, graduating with departmental honors. She is extremely passionate about her fields of study, challenging herself intellectually each time she shapes an assignment.
Her first-year seminar advisor noted how she has a truly curious mind, revealing that “The first time I read a paper written by her, I was blown away, and nothing I read after that was any less spectacular.”
Conner has held internships with the UMW Galleries, UMW Special Collections and Archives, and with the Trowbridge Museum in Bath, England. Following graduation, she plans to pursue a position in archival, library or museum work – a strong combination of her majors. No doubt her professionalism, as well as the spectacular critical and creative thinking skills, again cited by her faculty, will take her far, from her hometown of Sterling, Virginia, and beyond the classrooms at Mary Washington.
Thomas E. Held: Computer science and philosophy double-major from Annandale, Virginia.
On top of majoring in computer science and philosophy, Thomas Held is graduating with departmental honors in philosophy. He joined the Mary Washington community from Annandale, Virginia, and quickly found a home for his problem-solving abilities in both of his majors, with faculty citing his articulation of solution designs and, in particular, his creative solutions for class projects.
Those solutions earned him, along with a team of UMW students, a first-place finish at the ACM Mid-Atlantic Regional Programming Contest, as well as a first place for Best Statistical Method at the American Statistical Association (ASA) DataFest. He also completed research entitled, “The Chinese Room and Creating Consciousness: How Recent Strides in AI Technology Revitalize a Classic Debate,” merging his majors in an effective articulation.
As one faculty member noted, “he is calm, intentional and has the knowledge of graduate students,” while being an undergrad. Held’s interests include reading, writing, programming and the study of foreign languages, which also led to study abroad trips while at Mary Washington. He’s recently picked up web development and plans to pursue a career in programming.
Austin Moore: Mathematics and applied physics double-major from Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Austin Moore hails from Fredericksburg and double majors in mathematics and applied physics. He not only excelled through his challenging coursework but also in collaborating with others, a significant component of his studies. As one faculty member commented, “He is very sociable, deeply inquisitive and very dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge,” and another noted how he “quickly finds common ground with a variety of students to work together toward finishing a goal.”
One of Moore’s goals was undergraduate research in fluid dynamics, and after only a short period of time, he was able to run and interpret simulations with an application to green energy via wind farm efficiency. He presented this work at UMW’s Research & Creativity Symposium, and he will do so again at the Virginia Academy of Science later in May. He has been inducted into the physics honor society Sigma Pi Sigma and Phi Beta Kappa.
And as he continues to pursue advanced physics research and work, his faculty commend how his excellence is only surpassed by his generosity.
Jessica F. Oberlies: Environmental science and Spanish double-major from Greensboro, North Carolina.
In addition to majors in environmental science and Spanish, Jessica Oberlies competes on UMW’s cross country and track and field teams and has been named to the C2C All-Academic team and the UMW Athletic Honor roll. She has filled her springs and summers with life-changing experiences, from travel to Kiritimati Island during the Summer Science Institute to collect samples of ancient corals for research on climate change to studying abroad in Bilbao, Spain and travel to Guatemala, helping to serve as an interpreter between members of the local community and UMW students throughout the trip. Most recently, she ventured to Bonaire, off the coast of Venezuela, where she and fellow students explored local reefs and marine life.
Oberlies’ faculty count on her as a research partner and note her dedication and determination, stating, “She is the kind of student that we all hope to have in our classes and major in our area of study. She is one of the most hard-working, disciplined, and determined students I have had the pleasure of working with. But perhaps most of all, her kindness, positive attitude, and respect – for both her peers and her professors – is what stands out most to me about her. Regardless of the class, she leads by example, helping to set the tone as well as the bar of expectations among her classmates.”
Coming to Mary Washington from Greensboro, North Carolina, Oberlies is a member of the Honors Program and graduates with University Honors, as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and ready to explore and make an impact on the world. She will be implementing her scientific knowledge, field experiences and international adventures as a coastal resource volunteer with the Peace Corps in the Philippines, starting in July.
Kelsey E. Payne: Music and computer science double-major from King George, Virginia.
Hailing from nearby King George, Kelsey Payne has been a member of the UMW Philharmonic since the ninth grade, along with her siblings, and was the youngest person to join the orchestra. She has been the concertmaster of the UMW Philharmonic during her entire time at Mary Washington; winning prizes in the Philharmonic’s concerto competition in all three years that it has been offered – twice on violin, once on piano.
At Mary Washington, Payne has pursued majors in music and computer science, and she graduates with honors in music performance and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She also earned the Ernest C. Ackermann Excellence in Computer Science Award and the Anne and Sidney Hamer Music Award. Her faculty note her fearlessness, saying, “She will tackle the most demanding musical challenges, and has sought out (and won) places at very competitive musical workshops and festivals around the country…. It is confidence, a sense of duty, even – a stewardship of the prodigious talents she has cultivated from a very young age.”
Following graduation, Payne will attend one of the most renowned music programs in the world, the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, to attain a Master of Music degree in Violin Performance.
Maria C. Werner: Elementary education major from Centereach, New York.
Maria Werner found the University of Mary Washington from Centereach, New York, and has made an impact in our classrooms and in area schools. She graduates with University Honors and a major in elementary education and has been inducted in Phi Beta Kappa.
She served as the City as Text program coordinator for the Honors Program, mentored new students, coordinated service trips as a COAR Council Leader, and planned events as director of programming for the Washington Guides. As part of her capstone in the Honors Program, Werner wrote a children’s book. She also taught in Fredericksburg City Public Schools, where she plans to begin her career as an elementary school teacher after graduation.
This is perfect according to her faculty, who state, “We need more elementary school teachers like Maria who strive to ensure students have a voice and are concerned about the mental health of their students.”
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