XCELSIS E FALL 2026
A J A N E P. B AT T E N H O N O R S C O L L E G E P U B L I C AT I O N | B AT T E N U N I V E R S I T Y
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ith the fall, we are always excited to welcome a new cohort of honors students. This year is really special as it marks the first honors class of Batten University. We are fortunate to celebrate more firsts this year. This year the honors program is focusing on the role of research in creating change in our everyday lives. In the honors curriculum and research we are focusing on “Research for Public Good.” This approach to research seeks to move research out of the lab and into the public space, creating direct and measurable impacts in our everyday lives. Research in the honors curriculum is increasing its focus on the effects of human-driven climate change. As our region has seen a disproportionate level of changes, it is important that the university and its students step up to meet the challenge. Whether it is in the classroom, lab, or beyond campus, the students are making the best of the opportunities, This summer our students conducted research and completed successful internships with Welands Watch, the Virginia Beach Amphitheater, NASA, and local organizations all over the country. They are demonstrating the value of research opportunities beyond the campus labs and classes. This summer we were also proud to announce our first-ever Portz Fellowship winner, McKenna Howenstine. McKenna was one of six students to receive the $1,500 prestigious fellowship from the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC). McKenna will be using the fellowship to study the use of recycled, ground glass as a substrate filler for living shoreline restoration. We are incredibly proud of the passion, creativity, and resilience our students demonstrate on a daily basis. As you look through the newsletter, we hope that you will be inspired by their work as we are.
Dr. Travis Malone
LOUISA PENGILLY
First Year Survey Where are you from? I am from England and Germany, but living in Virginia Beach because of military reasons. What groups have you gotten involved in on campus so far? I have signed up to join a club that teaches about finding homelessness.
What are you looking forward to most in the BHC and at VWU? I am looking forward to gaining wonderful memories, and knowledge from the people around me. What is your favorite home cooked meal?
My favorite home cooked meal Do you know what you want to is my Grandma’s pasta recipe. major and/or minor in?
I am majoring in marketing and communications. What made you choose the JPBHC? I chose the honors college because I believe in all of its values to make the Earth a better place. I believe that it is a wonderful community that I really want to take part in.
If you could be any animal, what would you be and why? If I was an animal I think I would be a cat. Do you have any hidden talents? I am actually very good at painting.
What professional or academic experiences have prepared you for college?
Did you complete any summer I believe the job that I have jobs or volunteering? If so, worked for the past year and a explain. half has given me confidence This summer I continued and taught me how to be working at my local frozen comfortable around people. yogurt store. I also volunteered Also going to a collegiate level to go to beach clean ups and high school definitely prepped centers that helped children me for college, because I had with autism have fun while wonderful counselors that teaching them to dance. explained the best ways to succeed, and thrive the best I could during my experience.
LEO STAUB Where are you from? I am from Manahawkin New Jersey, where I have grown up the entirety of my life. I live about ten minutes away from a barrier island where I spend most of my time.
With the JPBHC, I am excited to continue the connections I already have, and create new ones. What is your favorite home cooked meal?
When I was younger my mom and What groups have you gotten involved my grandmother, my grandmother in on campus so far? being from Mexico, would make these amazing enchiladas. While I haven’t had So far on campus I have gotten them since her passing, they are one of involved in the Cross Country team. my favorite memories growing up. As the first few weeks begin to settle in, I will branch out more, but for now just school and running are my main focuses.
If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?
I would want to be a raccoon, which always gets me strange looks. I would want to be a raccoon because they are scavengers, and just really unique and I want to major in biology, focusing interesting creatures. Personally I think on the marine sciences. Growing up they get a terrible reputation for how along the ocean my whole life, it was just something extremely easy to fall in awesome they are as creatures. love with. Do you have any hidden talents? Do you know what you want to major and/or minor in?
What made you choose the JPBHC? I chose the JPBHC because it was an opportunity to travel and meet new people. While it is a major jump from New Jersey, it is still fascinating to me how different and similar areas can be. Did you complete any summer jobs or volunteering? If so, explain. I worked as a lifeguard with Ship Bottom Beach Patrol, being a third year lifeguard. Within my patrol, at the point that I am, I am seen as a senior guard, always being assigned the same street which means a lot. What are you looking forward to most in the JPBHC and at Batten University? I’m looking forward to meeting new people, and continuing in my running career.
Not really, I don’t have any interesting hidden talents personally. The only thing you could possibly include is surfing, but that is far from hidden after a conversation with me. What professional or academic experiences have prepared you for college? Throughout my high school career, I have been preparing for college, whether that was AP classes, or working in the real world in retail and first responding services (lifeguards being first responders in New Jersey). I am really excited to begin my college journey, but I already feel prepared to take on this next step.
2026 JPBHC 2026 JPBHC Freshman Orientation Freshman Orientation
2026 JPBHC 2026 JPBHC Matriculation Matriculation
This past summer, I had the pleasure of interning at Cole Environmental Services Inc. on Long Island. In this role, I managed email correspondences, phone calls, and project materials between clients and contractors, architects, consultants, and governmental bodies. I learned the permitting processes for the town and village ordinances, county, New York State, and national state departments. While most of my work was in the office filing documents, filling out applications, onboarding new clients, and keeping up with permitting application processes, I also worked in the field.
Marlins at Work Tudor Vlad
Multiple times, I had the opportunity to attend site visits to clients’ homes and businesses to see firsthand what environmental permits were necessary for the proposed work on their properties. In cases where clients wanted to replace their bulkhead on a saltwater body, there were typically five governing bodies involved from the town to national level, so I learned how each of those intersected with one another, the steps and materials necessary for each permit, how expensive and exhaustive the process is, and frankly, how easy it is for the average citizen to accidentally and unintentionally break the law if they do not know how each process works. Through these visits, I learned to document sites using ground level and drone photography, create towns – and New York State – compliant native planted buffers, and how to remove invasive species safely and effectively to help local flora and fauna thrive. Overall, this multi-faceted experience helped me learn how to communicate in a professional setting, how environmental permitting processes work on Long Island and New York, and as an unexpected bonus, how to identify native and invasive species on Long Island. I cannot wait to bring these skills in the new school year, Virginia, and beyond.
Jocelyn Kaelin
The Jane P. Batten Honors College actively promotes taking classroom theory and applying it in complex, real world environments. This summer, business and psychology major and Men’s Tennis captain Tudor Vlad traveled to New York to spend his summer training elite clientele. Coaching these high-profile individuals required more than just fixing a backhand hit; it required exemplary professional service, adaptability, and attention to detail. “One of the most important lessons I learned is that perception is reality. Regardless of how I feel on any given day, my service has to be excellent with every client, whether it is the first hour or the last hour of the day. It is also important to always be on time and to have a plan for everything you do. To relate that to business, I believe that showing up and consistently putting in a little extra effort will help me throughout my career”. Aligning with the BHC’s emphasis on critical thinking and problem solving, the shift from competitive collegiate play to coaching forced Vlad to acclimate quickly and analyze each player’s learning styles. “Playing and teaching are two completely different things. Every person I teach has different needs and different learning styles, so it is more about adapting to their needs than playing for myself. I also understand the game at a deeper level, while some of the children I taught needed a much simpler explanation of it. People also have different attention spans, so you still have to be entertaining while trying to teach them something. It takes a lot of adaptation to the person you are teaching, and to understanding their needs and their personality”. Vlad didn’t just learn on his own accord this summer, he also gained powerful lessons from these highachieving individuals. "The most unexpected thing I learned is the importance of working hard and consistently putting in effort to achieve something," Vlad reflected. "All of the highly successful people I worked with built their careers by working hundreds of hours. Nothing is given to you in life; you have to go out and take it every day". Beyond his on court coaching, Vlad utilized his academic learnings to spot business potential, opening a tennis and entertainment country club back to his home country of Romania. "This internship helped me realize how much growth potential there is in the tennis industry, not only as a coach but also as a director or manager," Vlad noted. "It opened up career opportunities in my mind and made me think more seriously about the path I want to pursue". Balancing a hectic student-athlete life through time-management and organization, Vlad plans to keep tennis as a pivotal part of his life. "I would love to transition into the tennis business, open my own club, or work with athletes. I am trying to think of entrepreneurial ways to maximize the value I can get out of my tennis background".
Tudor Vlad
Study Abroad
Ava Gerstemeier Last spring, I studied abroad at Graz University of Technology in Graz, Austria. It’s hard to prepare for something that’s so unknown like studying abroad. I was going across the ocean for 4 months away from my family and friends–everything that I’ve known my whole life. I would remind myself that it’ll all work out when I arrive and I’ll take everything as it comes. Some small preparations I took to feel better about my trip were freshening up my German, looking at a map of the area, and taking a look at transportation to my school from my housing accommodation. My experience was something I will never forget. The city was so beautiful and I had a very close friend, whom I now consider my best friend, that explored the city and the world with me every chance we got. We had a routine of visiting Martin Auer, our favorite cafe near our school and housing, almost every day and ordering a pistachio croissant with a latte. We also loved late night visits to the Schlossberg tower. The biggest highlights of my study abroad would be exploring the world with my closest friend. We explored Italy, Austria, Morocco, Greece, France, Denmark, Ireland, Scotland, and Hungary together. We took every opportunity we could, ranging from a hot air balloon in Budapest to a quad ride in the Sahara Desert at 6:00 am. I’ll never forget our trip to Paris, France, when we sat and stared at the Eiffel tower for hours reminiscing about our Paris-themed rooms when we were little. Never had I felt more grateful for my trips and experiences than in that moment. This experience gave me so many life lessons, a new best friend, and memories that will last a lifetime.
Last semester, I studied abroad in Urbino, a small city I had never heard of in the Marche region of Italy. I had no idea what I was walking into, other than a few pictures from a quick Google search, and that the city held the national art gallery for the region. I prepared myself as much as I thought I needed, which included gathering tips and tricks from my friends who had studied abroad before me, and a daily Duolingo lesson in Italian. Was adjusting difficult? Absolutely. However, would I do it again? In a heartbeat. Despite every challenge I faced, being placed in Urbino was one of the greatest things to ever happen to me. I met countless incredible people, traveled all over Italy, took a trip to London, learned to order at a restaurant fully in Italian without breaking a sweat, and so much more. One of the greatest things about Italy, and most of Europe for that matter, is that everywhere you look – every building, every shop, every skyline – is an absolute work of art. In Europe, each building has something intricate to make it more unique. Being able to not just travel there, but also fully immerse myself in the culture, was beyond amazing. One of the most unforgettable experiences I had was when I decided to take an impromptu weekend trip to a town called Cinque Terre. I’m a very extroverted person, so I typically enjoy going on trips with other people, and I had never taken a solo trip before. It was not only one of the most beautiful towns I visited, but also deciding to take that trip was an incredible confidence booster! All of the material things aside, one of the greatest things about studying abroad is how much you learn about yourself. Personally, I had to learn how to adapt to situations quickly, be okay with being by myself sometimes, and most importantly, stand up for myself even when things got hard. Being able to study abroad through the JPBHC was the absolute chance of a lifetime, and I am beyond grateful for the opportunity.
Adriana Paci
During my sophomore year at Batten University, I was lucky enough to study abroad in Milan, Italy at Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. Throughout my time abroad, I was able to visit 10 countries and many different regions of Italy. As cliche as it sounds, studying abroad was truly the best decision I have ever made and the memories I made will stay with me forever. To prepare for the trip, I talked to many other students who had studied abroad in the past so I could try to get an understanding of what I was to expect. For me, packing was the hardest part. It’s hard to pack clothes for six months in a suitcase! Luckily enough, one of my friends from Batten University had studied in Milan the semester before me so I was able to get plenty of tips for what to bring! During my studies in Milan, I was taking five courses, ranging from topics about international relations to food and drinking culture in Italy. One of my favorite parts about studying abroad is being able to be taught by professors from around the world. Since I am a political science major, different global perspectives in these types of classes made it all the more interesting. One of my biggest concerns was the language barrier. I knew absolutely no Italian and I was concerned I wouldn’t be able to communicate. But, it was fortunate that my specific school also offered a two week program before the semester where we would be taught basic Italian phrases. Our final “exam” was ordering a latte and croissant at our local cafe. My biggest takeaway from the trip was to push yourself out of your comfort zone! Living in another country will always seem scary at first but it is truly so rewarding. It will leave you with the most unique experiences that you would not be able to get if you hadn’t been brave enough to go.
Claudia Szmyd
AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS The Portz Interdisciplinary Fellowship seeks to support “creative and innovative endeavors that cross boundaries” pursued by Honors students across the United States by way of funding cross disciplinary research. Through the exceptional guidance and support from Dr. Travis Malone, Dr. Maynard Schaus, and Dr. Elizabeth Malcolm, I am fortunate to be one of six fellowship recipients nation-wide, enabling me to conduct the research I have sought after throughout university. The Jane P. Batten Honors College has been instrumental in guiding me toward opportunities that have prepared me for this upcoming experience, including studying sustainability in Austria, interning at a recycling company in Washington, DC and researching institutional sustainability under Dr. Elizabeth Malcolm. From fall to spring, I will be observing the effects of recycled glass sand inclusion in wetland grass substrate (growth medium) and determining whether municipal glass waste has a place in wetland restoration in Hampton Roads. Working past research pioneered by teams at Tulane University, I hope to create the basis for a justification of further glass recycling in the 757 area to help offset our wetland loss and landfilling issues! I am more than grateful for the National Collegiate Honors Council and the Portz Fellowship program for supporting projects that could change the landscape of sustainability in an entire region and I am incredibly proud to represent the Jane P. Batten Honors College on a national level. Read more about my project on the National Collegiate Honors Council website! My project page: 2026 Portz Interdisciplinary Fellowship Recipient Howenstine
McKenna Howenstine
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Since graduating from Batten University, I have focused on growing as both a professional and a community leader. After earning my MBA at Batten University, I joined TowneBank’s Management Training Program, where I built a strong foundation in relationship banking, leadership, and client service. Today, I serve as a Commercial Relationship & Loan Specialist, helping businesses achieve their goals while continuing to grow within the financial industry. One of the things I value most about working for TowneBank is its commitment to strengthening the communities it serves. I am proud to be part of an organization that not only gives back, but also encourages and empowers its employees to become actively involved in causes that matter to them. That culture closely reflects the values of servant leadership and civic engagement I developed through the Batten Honors College. Those values have inspired my involvement with the United Way Young Philanthropists and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, as well as my service on the Batten University Alumni Council. I was also recently appointed Treasurer of the Board of Directors for Tidewater Collegiate Academy, whose commitment to education, leadership, and developing future changemakers strongly aligns with those same principles. Personally, one of my most meaningful milestones since graduation was marrying my husband, Andrew Taylor, in June 2026. As fellow BHC and MBA graduates, we share a deep appreciation for the relationships and opportunities that began at Batten University. The BHC has truly shaped how I approach my career, leadership, and service, and I am grateful to carry those values forward in both my professional and community involvement.
Melina Cabral BA ’23, MBA ’24
2026 Ryan Research Symposium
Batten Professor Awards While the 2026 Commencement served to congratulate and send off Virginia Wesleyan’s 2026 class it also honored several distinguished professors for their outstanding dedication and commitment to their studies and the university. Provost and Vice President Deidre Gonsalves-Jackson awarded Gavin Pate, associate professor of English, the Samuel Nelson Gray Distinguished Teaching Award. Dr. Elizabeth Malcolm, professor of ocean and atmospheric sciences, was presented with the Birdsong Service and Community Engagement Award. The United Methodist Church General Board of Higher Education and Ministry 2026 Exemplary Teacher Award was received by Dr. Rebecca Hooker, an associate professor of English. During the Jane P. Batten Honors College Capstone Ceremony, Dr. William McConnell, professor of education, was awarded the Frank and Jane P. Batten Distinguished Scholar Award to recognize outstanding teaching and scholarly achievement within the Jane P. Batten Honors College.
The 2026 Ryan Research Symposium featured a diverse set of innovative, practical solutions to local and global issues through a variety of interdisciplinary studies. HON 480 senior seminar students were tasked with developing a research proposal and addressing one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, fundamental groundwork of the Jane P. Batten Honors College. Creating practical, yet effective solutions, students look to solve both local and global environmental issues. Tyler Noll, the 2026 Ryan Environmental Prize for Excellence in Research and a 2026 Environmental Studies graduate, presented his work: Implementing a Campus Composting Program Framework to Advance Sustainability at VWU & Beyond. Basing his solution off concrete evidence and precedence of other universities, he presented a practical solution to the detrimental issue of waste buildup in the Virginia Beach area and the world. Stephanie Clark ‘26, double majoring in International Studies and Hispanic Studies, showcased her project Thinking Bee: Restoring Native Pollinator Habitats at Virginia Wesleyan University. Jasmine Gorney ‘26 presented her work regarding environmental justice in Thermal Inequality: Urban Heat Islands, Historical Injustice, and a Community Toolkit for Climate Resilience in Portsmouth, Virginia. Both were awarded Finalist Prizes. Lily Reslink ‘26, a Media and Communication major, received the Marlin Award for Sustainability Advocacy for her presentation, Break the Shopping Hail to Dumpster Cycle: Reducing Waste at Move-Out through the Power of Campus Community to address the issue of unnecessary, cyclical waste that occurs on campus during move out. Reslink fully implemented her idea through the creation of Marlin Move-Out program in hopes to reduce the waste produced here at Batten University during yearly move-outs. The 2026 Ryan Symposium offered a wide spectrum of creative solutions within each student’s preference of study to problems that we not only face in our area, but the world as well. This event demonstrates the critical thinking skills and creativity fostered within the Batten Honors College.
EVENTS As we begin the 2026-2027 school year, we graciously reflect on a memorable spring semester and the events that came with it. From sharing academic prestige through the Ryan Symposium to having some fun at the local Norfolk Tides games, we are excited to continue the opportunities this fall! Beyond academic events, the Batten Honors College took a trip to Harbor Park to enjoy the warmer weather at a Norfolk Tides baseball game. Organizing more recreational events like these allow students to unwind from academic stresses while spending time with friends and peers and supporting the community in our area. Held in February and March, the traditional Batten Honors College competition welcomed prospective students from all sets of backgrounds to campus. Candidates participated in one on one faculty meetings, roundtable discussions, and collaborative critical thinking exercises designed to evaluate each individual’s ability to problem solving, leadership capabilities and environmental stewardship. These competitions are not only a great opportunity for prospective Batten students to have an authentic experience but for existing Honors students to meet with their potential peers. The spring semester concluded with the Jane P. Batten Honors College Commencement Ceremony, celebrating the journey and accomplishments of the graduating class of 2026. Formally recognized for the completion of their capstone project, maintaining high academic standards throughout the rigorous academic workload that the Batten Honors College provides and demonstrates leadership and environmental stewardship throughout their time on campus. This ceremony also marked the last class of Virginia Wesleyan University as we transfer to Batten University this academic year. This cohort had a diverse set of majors and minors and post graduate plans into their professional careers or continuing their education through graduate programs. This spring’s Ryan Symposium showcased a variety of scholarly research in each Batten Honors College senior’s interest and area of study. Presenting independent research and solutions to a not only local, but global environmental problem. Tyler Noll, the 2026 Ryan Environmental Prize for Excellence in Research winner and Environmental Studies major presented his work Implementing a Campus Composting Program Framework to Advance Sustainability at VWU & Beyond.
jane p. batten honor s college of BATTEN UNIVERSITY
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