Several colleges and universities throughout the country have announced academic honors and degrees earned by students from Poway, Rancho Bernardo and adjacent communities.
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Two students from the Rancho Bernardo area were recently elected to hip into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. They are:
• Ethan Ellis at the United States Military Academy.
• Emily Lazernik at the University of Southern California.
Founded in 1897, Phi Kappa Phi says it is the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society. hip is by invitation only and requires nomination and approval by a chapter.
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Cassidy Matwiyoff, a senior at The University of Alabama from the Rancho Bernardo area, recently received several honors.
UA’s Student Government Association celebrated the achievements of outstanding student leaders, university faculty and staff, and community partners at its annual SGA Awards Banquet. Matwiyoff was among five who received the Advisors Choice Award.
During the university’s Tapping on the Mound ceremony during Honors Week, Matwiyoff was inducted into Mortar Board National Honor Society, Blue Key Honor Society and Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society.
Mortar Board National Honor Society selects its based on leadership, scholarship and service. It is one of the highest honors that can be granted to seniors. must display outstanding dedication to service and leadership, officials said.
Blue Key Honor Society recognizes college students for balanced and all-around excellence in scholarship, leadership and service.
Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society recognizes those students who have attained high standards in collegiate activities, to inspire others to strive for similar attainments, and to bring together students in all areas of college life: scholarship; athletics; campus or community service; social and religious activities; campus government; journalism, speech and mass media; and creative and performing arts, officials said.
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Bria Gilliam of the Rancho Bernardo area has been named to the Knox College Dean’s List of distinguished students for the 2025 Winter Term.
To be honored by the campus in Galesburg, Illinois, students had to have earned at least 2.5 credits in the term, with a GPA of 3.6 or better.
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Southern New Hampshire University has announced academic honors for several area students attending its campus in Manchester.
Anthony Alvarez of ZIP code 92127 and Nicole Tennison of Poway were named to the Spring 2025 Dean’s List. To be eligible, full-time undergraduate students had to earn a minimum GPA of 3.5 to 3.699 for the reporting term.
Eight local students were named to the President’s List. Poway residents named were Jordan Eicher, Minhchi Hoang, Robert Jahelka, Chance Lissy, Gordon McCloskey and Amber Ortega Roman. Students from ZIP code 92128 were Tyler Connell and Sandra Diaz. To be eligible, full-time undergraduate students had to earn a minimum GPA of 3.7 and above for the reporting term.
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Three local students were named to the Dean’s List at Belmont University for the spring 2025 semester. Approximately 47% of the university’s 6,912 undergraduate students qualified by earning a quality GPA of 3.5 or higher while taking at least 12 credit hours.
Those honored by the campus in Nashville, Tennessee were Sage Fikse of Poway and Christopher Hammerness and Lauren Littlejohn, both from the Rancho Bernardo area.
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Taylor Keiko Sakaguchi of Poway was among 3,591 graduates who received degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln during its May 2025 commencement exercises. Sakaguchi earned a Bachelor of Science in microbiology with high distinction from the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.
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Two from the Rancho Bernardo area were among the more than 9,000 spring 2025 graduates to receive degrees from The University of Texas at Austin during its 142nd commencement ceremonies.
Rohan Jha of ZIP code 92127 graduated with a Master of Science in computer science.
Ki On You of ZIP code 92128 graduated with a Master of Fine Arts.
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Hailey Milgazo of Poway was among the 812 students named to the Spring 2025 Dean’s List at Illinois Wesleyan University. Milgazo is a sophomore majoring in sociology and political science. To qualify at the campus in Bloomington, students had to earn a GPA of 3.5 or better during the semester.
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Cyrus Parsario of the Rancho Bernardo area was named to the Spring 2025 President’s List at Trine University in Angola, Indiana. Parsario is majoring in cybersecurity. To be honored, students had to complete a minimum of 12 hours and earn a GPA of 3.75 to 4.0.
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Two students from the Rancho Bernardo area were among the 2,222 named to the Spring 2025 Dean’s List at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. They were Allison Chackel, a psychology major, and Katherine Weede, a political science major.
To qualify, students had to earn a minimum GPA of 3.5 while attempting at least 12 credit hours. The Dean’s List is the highest academic recognition given by the school at the end of each semester.
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Emi Aguilar of Poway was among the more than 1,500 students named to the Spring 2025 Dean’s Honor Roll at Abilene Christian University. Aguilar is a senior majoring in advertising/public relations.
To qualify, students had to for 12 or more credit hours and earn a GPA of 3.6 or higher at the campus in Abilene, Texas.
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Jenna Voegtly of the Rancho Bernardo area was among the 448 students named to the Spring 2025 Dean’s List at Midway University. To be honored by the campus in Midway, Kentucky, full-time students had to earn a 3.60 semester GPA.
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Sydney Bourassa of ZIP code 92127 was among those who received degrees during Emmanuel College’s 103rd Commencement in Boston. Bourassa earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in graphic design.
Bourassa was also named to Emmanuel College’s Spring 2025 Dean’s List. To be honored, students had to earn a GPA of 3.5 or higher for a 16-credit semester.
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Henry Blom of the Rancho Bernardo area was named to the Spring 2025 Dean’s List at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio. To be honored, students had to earn a GPA of 3.5 or better.
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Lisa Dinh, a nursing major from the Rancho Bernardo area, has been named to the Spring 2025 President’s List at James Madison University. To be honored, students had to carry at least 12 graded credit hours and earn a GPA of 3.9 or above.
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Five locals were among the 2,180 named to the Spring 2025 Provost’s List at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. It is for high-achieving, part-time undergraduate students who earned a 3.5 or greater GPA and completed between 6 and 11.99 credit hours.
Those honored from Poway were Kelly Drake, Corbin Martinez and Casey Whiteley. Students making the list from the Rancho Bernardo area were Nichole Carrasco and Sanghyun Kim.
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Megan King graduated from the University of California, San Diego medical school on June 1. She was named to the National Gold Humanism Honor Society and received the J. Joseph Shelley Award for practicing in underserved communities.
King will fulfill her residency in obstetrics and gynaecology at Harbor UCLA in south Los Angeles.
King is a 2014 graduate of Rancho Bernardo High School who earned her bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Humbolt University. During the pandemic she worked a fellowship in research at Stanford University.
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Over 6,000 degrees were awarded during The University of Alabama’s spring 2025 commencement ceremonies. The graduates included two from the Rancho Bernardo area graduating from the campus in Tuscaloosa.
• Alison Byron of ZIP code 92127 received a Bachelor of Science in human environmental sciences.
• Zuhal Malikyar of ZIP code 92128 received a Master of Social Work.
