School of Graduate Studies

Excellence

Distinguished Thesis Award 2022Kayla Stielow image standiing

Kayla Stielow, M.A. Public History, SCSU 2022 Distinguished Thesis Award recipient for her thesis Huskies Go to War: St. Cloud State During the World War II Era, Chair, Dr. Robert Galler. 

Kayla Stielow’s thesis was nominated by the department of History which noted, “Stielow's thesis makes great contributions to the fields of public history, local history, and American social history…The thesis uses student produced artifacts such as newspapers and yearbooks to add student voices to institutional history. Perhaps most significantly, this three-chapter thesis highlights the links between traditional historical research and the emerging field of public history. Stielow shows her academic skills of uncovering sources, making connections between sources, and constructing narratives that bring pieces together.”

Kayla shared the following about her career and her experiences at St. Cloud State.

“As an educator and public historian my career is focused on serving my community through history education and public service. As the Lindbergh House and Partnership Sites Manager at the Minnesota Historical Society I have the privilege of leading the team at the Charles Lindbergh House and Museum, as well as coordinating with historic sites across the state that operate as a part of the Minnesota Historical Society's network of historic sites that are currently under the management of a variety of local cultural and community organizations. Both of my degrees are from St. Cloud State, graduating in 2014 with my Bachelor of Science in Secondary Social Studies Education, and later in 2022 with my Master of Arts in Public History. This education has allowed me to work in my chosen field of museums and historic sites for the last six years, as well as previously in education and social services. 

Completing a thesis project allowed me to develop my academic writing skills, receive ongoing professional feedback related to the field and work that I do, as well as have the opportunity to produce work that contributes to the fields of public history, applied pedagogy, and academic history.”

The nominated theses are reviewed each year by the Graduate Faculty Committee of the St. Cloud State Faculty Association. More information on the SCSU Distinguished Thesis Award is available on the Culminating Projects website

Excellence in Leadership Awards

Congratulations to our graduate student recipients of the 2024 Department of Campus Involvement Excellence in Leadership Awards!

  • Afolarera Onitiju,  College Counseling and Student Development, College of Health & Wellness Professions, Lagos, Nigeria
  • Carissa Natalia Baconguis,  English, College of Liberal Arts, Laguna, Philippines
  • Caroline Stringer,  Social Work, College of Health & Wellness Professions, St. Cloud, MN
  • Cassidy Ng, College Counseling and Student Development, College of Health & Wellness Professions, Klang, Malaysia
  • Chelsie Chang, College Counseling & Student Development, College of Health & Wellness Professions, St. Paul, MN
  • Claudia Carolina Burgos Zuniga, Gerontology, College of Health & Wellness Professions, Masaya, Nicaragua
  • Larissa Marques Luz dos Santos, Information Assurance, Herberger Business School, Recife, Brazil
  • Mehreen Naz, Strategic Media Communications, College of Liberal Arts, Pakistan
  • Priyanka Akula, Information Assurance, College of Science & Engineering, Nalgonda, India
  • Sara McKeever, Education Administration & Leadership, College of Education & Learning Design, St. Cloud, MN

Huskies Showcase

Congratulations to our graduate award recipients and graduate student finalists for the 2022 Huskies Showcase! Thank you to the students and faculty mentors for their participation. 

Best Graduate Oral Presentation: Leng Yang, Biology, Evaluation of Pro- and Anti-epileptic Activities of Three Herbal Extracts in the Planaria, Dugesia Dorotocephala

Best Graduate Poster Presentation: Abdul Khan, Information Assurance, A tool to detect likelihood of scam in a vacation website

Best Graduate Reflection on Our Husky Compact: Kaylynn Kearns, Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Analysis of Career Findings from SCSU Data out of National Alumni Career Mobility Survey

Graduate Finalists:

  • Joynab Mohammed, Information Assurance, Taxonomy of Smart Vehicle Security
  • JJessica Vanderwerf, Claudia Burgos Zuniga, and Maria Kroeber, Gerontology, Age-Friendly Universities
  • Jennifer Sonterre, Brianna Pace, Shelby Pointer, and Brian Neumeiser, History, History of Genocide: Understanding Genocide Through a Transdisciplinary Lens
  • Souleymane Kassoum, Educational Administration, Teachers' perceptions of academic optimism in a private middle school in Niamey, Niger

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