2023 COI Great Grads Spring

Cathryn Fung
B.A. Linguistics

Cathryn was nominated by her capstone professor, Francesca Cape, who says, “I first met Cathryn in my Politics of Language class in Fall 22.  She approached me to do an Honor's Contract with her for that class and we worked closely all semester on her project.  Apart from being a truly fantastic student (organized, mature, and hard-working), Cathryn is at once entirely focused and intellectually flexible.  It was an absolute privilege to work with a student who took every bit of time and energy that you put into their development and grew it into something greater and entirely their own.  I have no doubt that Cathryn will be successful in any endeavor she chooses.”

The achievements that Cathryn is most proud of are making the Dean's List in the Fall 2022 semester, and her commitment to the Honors College. She says, “the latter was challenging due to needing Honors Credits every semester, and because of it I worked with Professor Cape in the Fall 2022 semester to do an Honors Contract, which ended up being a 4000-word research essay on the Russia versus Ukraine conflict.”

During her attendance at UNT, Cathryn says she faced a challenge that many students faced as well, which was the socially restricted classes and organizations due to the pandemic. She says, “It created a much higher mental hurdle in terms of motivation. I struggled with this and my workload - between 15 and 18 hours up until this current semester - which is why I was not on the Dean's List until recently. Fortunately, with the loosened social restrictions, as well as my personal desire to finish my education strong, I have been more motivated this year.” 

Cathryn presented at this year's Scholar Day. Her topic was “Logical Fallacies in 2012-2016 Presidential Campaigns,” and she graduates as a COI Great Grad in May 2023

 

 

Joseph Jones
B.A. S. in Learning Technologies

Joseph Jones will be graduating with a BAS in Learning Technologies this spring. He has been on both the president's and dean's list. He is also an entrepreneur starting his own drone surveying company. It may seem that Joseph has it all, but this path has not always been easy. A disabled veteran having served in the United States Air Force, Joseph had a long journey to this destination.

It took him 13 years and along the way, he completed his associate's degree first, opened a start up company, and had a few events that left him homeless, sleeping in his truck at times. Joseph says, “Over this extensive amount of time, I gained so much from all my professors, counselors, and fellow students. The most important lesson that I learned is perseverance.” Sarah Kim, his advisor, says that she nominated Joseph due to this perseverance. That is what makes Joseph Jones a COI Great Grad.

 

 

 

 

Gabe Smith
B.A. Linguistics

Gabe Smith believes that information access is one of the most important keys to helping people improve their lives, so he is a big believer in providing information to students, which is why he became a Resident Assistant, President of the Elizabeth Warren Brooks Chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary and then moved on to be an Officer in the National Association of College and University Residence Halls. He remembered feeling isolated and lonely his first year as a freshman at UNT having come from a small town of 3,000. It was a bit of culture shock at first, and he wanted to find ways to acclimate.

Gabe longed for the sense of belonging that he used to have, so becoming a member of NRHH helped him overcome those feelings. He wanted to overcome his self-doubt and be part of the diverse population and mix of ideologies he found at UNT, and he learned that not everything you have to say is useful in every situation, and that sometimes just listening is the best way to learn. This helped him grow. 

Gabe is a double major in Spanish and Linguistics and an Honors College student. His goals are to work for a year and save money so that he can go for a Master in Library Science. He'd like to use the skills he developed as an RA and the belief he has in knowledge being power to help future students in the academic library find the resources they need to learn. These unique characteristics and lofty goals of helping current and future students make Gabe a COI Great Grad.