Phi Kappa Phi honors essay contest winners

Meghan Tessitore and Sarah Sparks, winners of the University's 2019 Phi Kappa Phi essay awards.

Students Meghan Tessitore and Sarah Sparks were honored with Phi Kappa Phi Undergraduate Student Scholarly Essay Awards at a campus reception on April 18.

Sponsored by the University’s chapter of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, which recognizes and promotes academic excellence in all fields of higher education.

Tessitore, a senior majoring in criminal justice and sociology earned first place for her paper, “Yes on 3: The Influence of Legislative Jargon and University Involvement on Voter Comprehension Among College Students,” written for a sociology course taught by Associate Professor Tamara Smith, Ph.D.

Second place winner was Sparks, a senior history major. Her paper, “Genocide and State Terror in Guatemala,” was authored for a history course taught by Professor Christin Cleaton-Ruiz, Ph.D.

At the reception, the students and professors were recognized and the students presented brief oral abstracts of their papers.