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VWU's Batten Honors College Welcomes Class of 2026

The new class will arrive August 19 for the traditional Matriculation Ceremony


University News | May 24, 2022

Virginia Wesleyan University's highly selective residential Batten Honors College will welcome 41 new scholars in August, according to Dr. Travis Malone, Dean of the College. 

"We are again delighted with the academic profile and diversity of this outstanding incoming class," Malone said. "The Batten Honors College is a distinctive national niche program of this University and the unique design equips them to be problem solvers who are environmentally conscious, strategic-thinking global citizens, ethically bound to bettering their community and the world."

The newest Batten Fellows hail from 11 states (California, Delaware, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin) as well as Germany and Sweden.

Founded in 2016, with the first class enrolled in fall 2017, the Batten Honors College quickly emerged as a national niche program of Virginia Wesleyan University. It is one of just 147 honors colleges in the United States. 

All 160 Batten Honors College scholars reside in the modern Honors Village on campus adjacent to the Greer Environmental Sciences Center, a hallmark facility of the program and the University. 

The program boasts of a 93 percent retention rate and 90 percent VWU graduation rate. The 2022 graduating class had a cumulative 3.7 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) and 100 percent retention rate.

Congratulations to the following new Marlins:
Emma Adams - Winterville, NC Jonas Jutz - Wuppertal, Germany
Gavin Ashe - Fort Mill, SC Elena Lichtenwalner - Harrisburg, PA
Breanne Bessette - West Valley City, UT Tyler Noll - Mechanicsburg, PA
Anna Collins - Menlo Park, CA Josh Pepper - Zuni, VA
Alen Curovic - Gothenburg, Sweden John Post - Windsor, VA
Em Dajc - Alexandria, VA Sarah Prosser - Clayton, NC
Kaza Dayton - Seaford, DE Sydney Queen - Bel Air, MD
Ashton Dodrill - Virginia Beach, VA Joy Ramsey - Culpeper, VA
Victoria Dunham-Quigley - Midlothian, VA Lily Reslink - Erie, PA
Aidan Foley - Northport, NY Sarah Richards - South Chesterfield, VA
Noah Fowler - Yorktown, VA Haley Sadler - Sherwood, MD
Alec Gordon - Annapolis, MD Megan Setlak - Cary, NC
Jasmine Gorney - Moyock, NC Leif Simons - Mukwonago, WI
Anna Greenleaf - Yorktown, VA EB Smeltzer - Roanoke, VA
Kaylee Grimstead - Virginia Beach, VA Tyler Stanczyk - Chesapeake, VA
Isabella Grosswiler - Summerville, SC Andrew Steiner - Suffolk, VA
Victoria Haneline - Reston, VA Ryleigh Taylor - Hubert, NC
Liese Hazelwood - Virginia Beach, VA Abby Villacrusis - Rockingham, VA
Jake Hofstetter - Dalton, OH Sydnee Washington - Bowie, MD
Dhamisaa Holsclaw - Manassas, VA Hannah Wright - Lynchburg, VA
Salena Jones - Goose Creek, SC  
 
The University will officially welcome the newest Batten Honors College class with the traditional Matriculation Ceremony on August 19 at 4 p.m. A pinning ceremony in recognition of the students' completion of orientation and formal induction into the program will be held on September 8 as an extension of the Founders Day celebration.