Kudos! Achievements for Early Fall 2026

52 Hamilton students receive awards at Convocation 

Hamilton opened its 215th academic year with a Convocation ceremony on Aug. 26. Fifty-two students received achievement awards, and members of the Class of 2030 signed the College’s Honor Code.

2026 Convocation Award Recipients

Students present chemistry research, take home awards

Lucas Constantine ’27 received one of 12 organic chemistry summer research grants from the American Chemical Society (ACD), division of organic chemistry, for his work with the Masonic Medical Research Group in collaboration with Chemistry Professor Max Majireck. Constantine’s research was sponsored by Pfizer.

In July, Constantine presented his research on molecular probes for fluorescence-guided stent placement at the Stanford Cardiovascular Research Symposium, winning one of six Pre-Doctoral Research Poster Presentation awards for undergraduate and graduate students. Rejoice Muleya ’27 also won a Stanford Poster award for her summer research in cardiology at Stanford, and Aksel Reid ’27 presented his research.

In August, Constantine and Reid shared their research at the ACD Fall National Convention in Chicago. The following month, Constantine joined other research fellows at Pfizer Research and Development headquarters in Groton, Conn., to present research and tour Pfizer’s drug-development labs.

Havelka ’28 credited for work on cemetery map 

Curatorial Studies initiative intern Connor Havelka ’28 spent the summer putting the final touches on an ArcGIS story map of the Hamilton College Cemetery. He compiled biographical information for the cemetery search section and causes of death statistical data. Intern Ella Strasser ’26 created the initial design. The story map contains a history of the cemetery, notable figures buried there, a searchable and filterable map with biographical information on all the cemetery residents, and a statistical analysis of their causes of death. 

Student researchers co-author opinion piece 

Levitt Center researchers Nicolas Wyndham ’28, Ton Somnug ’27, Elizabeth Jordan ’27, and Ash Srinivas ’28 co-authored an essay published in the Rome Daily Sentinel in July. Utica Region can benefit from new federal housing legislation focuses on their work studying housing affordability in the Utica area this summer. The authors focused on lead abatement strategies, absentee landlords, urban renewal efforts, and how these influence the economic mobility outcomes of neighborhoods. 

Schirmer ’28 named to philosophy graduate and undergraduate consortium

PLATO, an organization dedicated to expanding philosophy education for K-12 students, has selected Zander Schirmer ’28 as a member of its graduate and undergraduate consortium. Schirmer works for Book XI, a journal dedicated to literary philosophy, and as a teacher in the Freedom School program in Columbus, Ohio. 

Brihn ’26 and Sloane ’26 present research at philosophy teachers conference 

Gabrielle Brihn ’26 and Ashylia Sloane ’26 presented their research at the 26th Biennial Workshop-Conference of theat Eastern Michigan University in July. Supported by a grant from the American Philosophical Association, the students spent the spring working through the AAPT 1976-2016 archive. The archive, temporarily housed in the philosophy building at Hamilton, was organized by Russell Marcus, the Christian A. Johnson Professor of Teaching Excellence, with help from College Archivist Jeremy Katz.

In their presentation, “Telling Our Story: Reflections on 50 years of AAPT archives,” Brihn and Sloane highlighted three themes in the AAPT’s historical work: trust and community building; integrating technology into philosophy classes; and interdisciplinarity. Russell introduced their presentation and framed the work for the audience. 

Higgins ’27 publishes in Narrative Inquiry

An article authored by Senior Fellow Carter Higgins ’27 was published in the peer-reviewed journal Narrative Inquiry, which is “devoted to providing a forum for theoretical, empirical, and methodological work on narrative.”

Growing out of earlier coursework with Assistant Professor of Anthropology Spencer Chen, “Rethinking coherence through contradiction” examines how narrative coherence is achieved in conversational storytelling when speakers confront morally and emotionally ambivalent experiences. 

“Professor Chen provided thoughtful feedback at each stage of developing the article, helping me refine both the argument and the writing, and encouraged me to continue pursuing the project as it developed beyond the course,” Higgins said. “I’m also grateful to Sidney Wertimer Excellence in Advising and Mentoring Professor of Anthropology Chaise LaDousa, who read and commented on an earlier draft of the manuscript.”

126 spring athletes earn academic honors 

A total of 126 Hamilton student-athletes were named to the 2026 NESCAC Spring All-Academic Team. To be honored, an individual must have reached sophomore academic standing and be in good standing in their sport with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.50 or equivalent on a 4.0 scale.

Eight student athletes were named to the NESCAC Spring All-Sportsmanship Team as well. 

Men’s and women’s lacrosse athletes attend NCAA Career in Sports Forum

Hamilton women’s lacrosse goalkeeper Eliza Schwarz ’27 and men’s lacrosse midfielder Charlie Rooney ’27 were selected to attend the NCAA Career in Sports Forum held at NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis from May 27 to May 30.

More than 150 student-athletes interested in staying in sports in their professional careers went to the 2025 event. The Career in Sports Forum educated participants on the intersection of personal strengths and career opportunities.