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VWU to Welcome Second Batten Honors College Cohort

The Batten Honors College has quickly emerged as a national niche program of the University

Batten Honors College

University News | July 20, 2018

Virginia Wesleyan University will welcome the second cohort of new scholars this fall for its highly selective Batten Honors College. Founded in 2016 with the first class enrolled in 2017, the Batten Honors College has quickly emerged as a national niche program of the University.

The newest full-tuition Batten Fellows have a collective grade point average of 4.21 on a 4.0 scale, an average SAT score of 1340, and an average ACT score of 29. Batten Fellows and Shumadine Scholars will reside in the Honors Village (IV). Sixty-three percent of these students hail from Virginia and over 60 percent indicate an interest in a science discipline at Virginia Wesleyan.

"We look forward to walking beside them in this journey, and we wish them the very best in their academic pursuits," said VWU President Scott D. Miller in a message to campus.

The Batten Honors College is gratefully named for Virginia Wesleyan Trustee Emerita Jane P. Batten and her late husband, Frank Batten, Sr. For nearly 40 years, Mrs. Batten has made Virginia Wesleyan a priority in many different ways, the latest of which is the development of the Batten Honors College.

"She has been a force for change, improvement, and empowerment, and she believes deeply that students of the highest academic ability will flourish through this innovative program," said Dr. Miller. "We are endlessly grateful for her passion for knowledge and her enduring support."

New Batten Fellows and Shumadine Scholars:

Batten Fellows
Cassidy Braithwaite           Winchester, VA
Sydney Collins                    Fredericksburg, VA
Brycen Columbus              Concord, NC
Riley Corbin                         Mechanicsville, VA
Benjamin Counsel             Perth, Western Australia
Karlee Fretz                          Green Lane, PA
Emily Geis                            Severna Park, MD
Sophia Gonzales                Virginia Beach, VA
Anitra Howard                     Riverdale, MD
Ebonie Johnson                 Richmond, VA
Teresa Jones                      Fairfax, VA
Destiny Kinka                      Virginia Beach, VA
Kacy McBride                      Virginia Beach, VA
Grant Morgan                      Norfolk, VA
Christopher Morris             Virginia Beach, VA
Katharyn Niedzwiecki        Spotsylvania, VA
Hunter Nordberg                Apex, NC
Meghan Pease                   Norfolk, VA
Emily Smith                         Forest, VA
Ryan Westpfahl                  Silver Spring, MD
Lindsay White                     Phoenixville, PA
Kathryn Yeager                   Amissville, VA
Hannah Zimmerman        Saint Leonard, MD

Shumadine Scholars
Nathalie Blake                   Charlotte, NC
Jacqueline Carmines       Chesapeake, VA
Katie Costin                       Fountain Inn, SC
Olivia Deane                      Chester, VA
Sarah Farkas                     Virginia Beach, VA
James Harrod                   Lewes, DE
Mackenzie Kerns              Gainesville, VA
Breanna Kokes                 Virginia Beach, VA
Isabel Laxton                     Reston, VA
Justin Lee                          Centreville, VA
Nathaniel Powell              Holly Springs, NC
Dalton Powers                  Chesterfield, VA
Hailey Schumacher          Flanders, NJ
Caroline Tryfiates              Fredericksburg, VA
Emily Uzzle                         Chester, VA
Kathleen VandenBerg      Chesapeake, VA