{"id":15818,"date":"2026-04-06T10:46:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T14:46:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/?p=15818"},"modified":"2026-07-13T20:44:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T00:44:22","slug":"a-grand-occasion-more-than-1000-students-recognized-at-73rd-honors-convocation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/a-grand-occasion-more-than-1000-students-recognized-at-73rd-honors-convocation\/","title":{"rendered":"A grand occasion: More than 1,000 students recognized at 73rd Honors Convocation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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From left: Award of Excellence winners Sarah Rawlinson (School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences), Kayla Wilkerson (School of Education, Social Sciences, and the Arts), Gilbert Pinkett (School of Business, Engineering, Applied Sciences, Technology and Tourism Management), and Destiny Emuze (School of Pharmacy & Health Professions), were recognized during the 73rd Honors Convocation at the Ella Fitzgerald Center for the Performing Arts on April 2. (Joey Gardner Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore held its 73rd<\/sup> Honors Convocation at the Ella Fitzgerald Center for the Performing Arts on April 2, recognizing the academic accomplishments of students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event highlighted more than 1,000 students \u2013 including first-year students, sophomores, juniors, seniors, and recent graduates \u2013 who received dean\u2019s list (3.5 GPA or higher), departmental distinction (3.7 GPA or higher), departmental honors, and \u201cAwards of Excellence\u201d from their respective schools during the spring and fall of 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour consistency in your academics is a true mark of excellence,\u201d UMES President Heidi M. Anderson<\/strong> said. \u201cExcellence produces more than outcomes and results. It shapes your character. We encourage you to continue to safeguard your character and embrace challenges with the same focus and purpose that you have already demonstrated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event\u2019s keynote speaker, 2020 UMES graduate Dr. Yasmine Roye<\/strong>, is a research scientist at the Arkansas Children\u2019s Hospital and Research Institute. During her speech, Roye discussed the importance of being the author of your own journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got to tell your own story. Don\u2019t let anyone write it for you,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen it\u2019s all said and done, I want you to remember the nitty-gritty details of all your hard work. You have truly earned it and no one can take that away from you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each of the four undergraduate schools recognized top students as Awards of Excellence winners: junior Gilbert Pinkett<\/strong> (School of Business, Engineering, Applied Sciences, Technology and Tourism Management), senior Destiny Emuze<\/strong> (School of Pharmacy & Health Professions), senior Kayla Wilkerson<\/strong> (School of Education, Social Sciences, and the Arts), and junior Sarah Rawlinson<\/strong> (School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences).<\/p>\n\n\n

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2020 UMES graduate Dr. Yasmine Roye, a research scientist at the Arkansas Children\u2019s Hospital and Research Institute, was the keynote speaker during the 73rd Honors Convocation held on April 2 at the Ella Fitzgerald Center for the Performing Arts. (Joey Gardner Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The quartet of students were selected based on criteria such as demonstrated leadership abilities; outstanding academic performance; effective communication skills with fellow students and faculty; the potential for continued scholarly work; and evidence of overcoming physical or personal obstacles to earn a degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pinkett, a mechanical engineering major, said he was \u201cleft speechless\u201d by the honor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are times when a lot of the things you do behind the scenes can sometimes go unrecognized,\u201d he said. \u201cBut when that moment comes that you finally get recognized, it shows that you have to be patient and wait.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rawlinson, an environmental science major, initially didn\u2019t have plans to come to the event. When she decided to come, she planned on sitting in the back of the auditorium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was told to sit in the front. It wasn’t until I was on stage and they told me to stay, that I realized I would be receiving both awards,\u201d she said. \u201cI thought that this award was given to the person with the highest GPA in the department. But I am really active and have my hands in a lot of things, and I see a lot of the people who chose me for this award on a day-to-day basis, so that may have played a role in that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilkerson, an art education major, said representing the School of Education, Social Sciences, and the Arts (SESA) as the awardee meant a lot to her, especially receiving the award from SESA Dean Christopher Harrington and Fine Arts chair Brad Hudson. Both Harrington and Hudson were her instructors in fine arts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was very much a surprise to get this award,\u201d she said. \u201cIf I had to guess why I was selected, it was because of my work with not only the art department but also working with members of the education department. I\u2019m constantly interacting with them and assisting when I can, which was likely a huge reason.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emuze, a rehabilitation psychology major, said when he first received the email to attend the event, he had a bit of skepticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI attended the event last year and realized what it entails, so it feels great to be recognized for my academic performance,\u201d he said. \u201cThe faculty in my department has been really supportive all around, so to be acknowledged like this is something I\u2019m very appreciative of.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore held its 73rd Honors Convocation at the Ella Fitzgerald Center for the Performing Arts on April 2, recognizing the academic accomplishments of students. The event highlighted more than 1,000 students \u2013 including first-year students, sophomores, juniors, seniors, and recent graduates \u2013 who received dean\u2019s list (3.5 GPA or higher),…Read more A grand occasion: More than 1,000 students recognized at 73rd Honors Convocation<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1559,"featured_media":15821,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","wds_primary_category":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[103],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-15818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1559"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15818"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=15818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}