The
ENDEAVOR Newsletter of the Oklahoma City University Honors Program 2
Director’s Welcome
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Honors Student Council in 2020
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2020 Graduates
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Remembering Professor John Starkey
Pictured: Gold Star Building, home of the OCU Honors Program
SPRING TWENTY-TWENTY | 2020
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DIRECTOR’S WELCOME e could never have anticipated the kinds of changes and challenges that would face us in the spring of 2020. We began the semester mourning the passing of our beloved Dr. John Starkey, a cornerstone of the OCU Honors Program for the past 20 years and a beloved teacher and mentor to so many. By the middle of the semester, as we were beginning to turn our attention to the celebrations and recognitions for our senior class that always mark the end of the academic year, we found ourselves in a global health crisis and forced to reimagine our work together. We’ve been more reliant than ever on distance technologies to keep the lines of communication open and more active than ever on social media as we seek to highlight the remarkable achievements and the future aspirations of our graduating seniors. This newsletter is a central component of those efforts to keep Honors at OCU functioning, thriving, and moving forward. Thanks for taking the time to check in with us. We are more grateful than we can possibly express for all of our students, faculty, alumni, and friends. Karen Youmans, Ph.D. Honors Program Director Zac Zubia is the student assistant honors director and student editor of The Endeavor.
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HONORS STUDENT COUNCIL IN 2020 President: Claire Griese My name is Claire Griese, and I am a rising senior BS Dance Management major through the Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Entertainment at OCU. I am currently serving as the Honors Student Council President and hold an executive position within my affiliated Greek organization. I joined the Honors Program at OCU to challenge my academic pursuits and immerse myself in my studies inside/outside of the classroom. My favorite class thus far has been the Honors JR/SR Seminar on Race and Ethnicity taught by Professor Floreani. Through this course, I have learned the importance of being an informed citizen and have developed my own personal beliefs on society. I am looking forward to continuing my position on the Honors Student Council next year and am thankful for the opportunities that the Honors Program has provided me while at OCU! Outside of school, I am an avid sports fan and baker! You can almost always find me in the kitchen baking something on the weekends! Vice President: Blake Bulger I am a rising junior nursing major. I am involved in the Student Nurses’ Association (SNA), DAX, the Wesley Center, and the OCU student foundation on campus and I hope to work in a variety of healthcare settings and to be able to travel as a nurse after working in a specialty area. What has been your favorite Honors class so far and why? My favorite Honors class so far has been my LAS class I had as a freshman. I really enjoyed getting to read and discuss stories in an academic environment, which allows you to explore the many different perspectives around a story.
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Secretary: Grace Knight I am a rising junior vocal performance and musical theatre double major. I am a member of Gamma Phi Beta, and currently serve as the Recruitment Director, and I am also an AmBASSador for the School of Music. My goal is to one day be a professional working actor or opera singer. Why did you join the Honors Program? I joined the Honors Program to be involved in a community of people who are really committed to academics and like to share that with other people. Treasurer: Kristen Olmstead I am a rising junior vocal performance major and economics minor who has served as HSC treasurer and a peer mentor for the freshmen honors orientation. I also serve as the OCU Wesley Center’s Public Relations Intern, the Assistant Vice President of Gamma Phi Beta, and will be serving on the executive team for OPERAtions next year. I hope to get a Masters in Opera Performance and move to Germany! I would love to sing opera all over the world and eventually work as a director for a nonprofit performing arts company! What is your favorite part of the Honors Program currently? My favorite part of the Honors Program is the endless support to grow as a wellrounded person. Not only do my professors and peers push me to grow academically, but they also encourage me to become a better person!
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OCU Honors Program Graduates 2020
HONORS PROGRAM GRADUATES 2020 Melissa Campbell is a music theater major and graphic design minor from Cincinnati, Ohio. Melissa’s proudest moments at OCU include performing as Polly Baker in Crazy for You, Jo March in Little Women, and singing classical music during her Junior Recital. Over the summer, she hopes to perform with Kings Island Amusement Park in Cincinnati and a theatre company in New Hampshire, depending on what is possible due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. In the fall, she plans to move to New York City and begin her career of auditioning! She’d like to make a living through performance and art, whether that be through live theatre, film/TV, visual art, voice recording, or anything in between. Evan Clear is a theatre and performance major and psychology minor from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. During her time at OCU she had the opportunity to perform in productions including Hairspray (2016), Heathers (2017), Lord of the Flies (2017), The Bluest Eye (2018), and To Kill a Mockingbird (2019). She is grateful to have had the chance to travel and spend a semester abroad in Bath, England at Bath Spa University. She also served as a Career Ambassador for Career Services, and is a member of several campus organizations, including the Black Student Association and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. After graduation she plans on moving to Chicago to pursue a career in performance, and is also considering attending graduate school for drama therapy. Joshua Davis is a philosophy and political science double major from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His proudest accomplishments include the opportunity to present his paper “Confronting Thou Shalt: An Analysis and Interpretation of Nietzsche’s Metamorphoses,” at the Richard Macksey National Undergraduate Humanities Research Symposium hosted by Johns Hopkins, competing on the Ethics bowl team, and having completed two capstones in his final semester. After graduation, he is planning on moving to Chicago to pursue an MA at the University of Chicago with a focus in philosophy and religion. He was awarded a dean’s scholarship that covers half his tuition the first year. He hopes to pursue a PhD in philosophy after receiving his MA from the University of Chicago.
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Anna Delony is an economics major and mathematics minor from Fort Worth, Texas. In addition to being a CAIRS grant recipient under Dr. Grijalva, she was able to present that research at several conferences, including the 2019 National Collegiate Honors Council Conference in New Orleans. A member of the OCU Wrestling Team, she was named an All American at the Las Vegas Open at the Senior Level event. Anna received the Economics Club of Oklahoma Award and is this year’s recipient to the Honors Program Outstanding Senior Award. After graduation, Delony plans to return to OCU and pursue a Masters in Nonprofit program. Mary Margaret Dutcher is a dance management major from Edmond, Oklahoma. Mary Margaret visited Hefei, China with the OCU Doers Program where she aided in teaching English in schools as well as working as the Student Professional for the Learning Enhancement Center and dancing in the American Spirit Dance Company. After graduation, Dutcher plans to stay in OKC for a year, while teaching dance and waiting out the pandemic. Her aspirations include performing, teaching English abroad, and working in arts education in underserved communities. She is very thankful for the Honors Program and for everything she has learned from the perspectives of her professors and peers. Melissa Eldredge is a cellular and molecular biology major from Eufaula, Oklahoma. Her proudest accomplishments include winning Nationals with the OCU Women’s Golf Team, being a three-time NAIA All American, and serving as a Junior Marshall for Petree College of Arts and Sciences. After graduation, she plans to take a gap year in order to boost her medical school application. In the Spring of 2021, she will return in order to take advantage of her additional eligibility to play golf. Following her gap year, she intends to attend medical school at OU with the intention of becoming a neurologist. She hopes to travel during her year off from school but is really looking forward to getting to finish out her collegiate career.
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Ashely Mei-Hua Ellis is dance performance major from Austin, Texas. Ashley Choreographed “There’s No Business Like Show Business” for Set a Fire: Student Choreography Showcase and Friends (2019) and was the Alpha Chi Omega’s 20182019 Chair for Spring Sing (1st Place, Best in Show) and Homecoming (1st Place Spirit Structure, 3rd Place Lip Sync, 2nd Place Sweepstakes, Spirit Trophy). In addition to these activities, she has made the President’s Honor Roll 6 out of her 7 semesters. As soon as things open up again post COVID-19, she plans to continue auditioning for Cruise Ships, Theme Parks, and other performance venues! Clara Foster is a dance management major from Houston, Texas. She has served as the stage manager of the Student Choreography Show & Friends in 2019, the photo editor of Student Publications, and the Student Director of the OCU Pep Dancers. After a gap year, Clara will be attending graduate school for photography/videography and hopes to work in marketing/media production for a nonprofit arts organization.
Megan Fouts is a theatre design & production major with an emphasis in lighting design from Piedmont, Oklahoma. Megan has received the Region 6 Award for Excellence in Lighting Design for Lucia di Lammermoor in addition to serving as the assistant lighting designer for OKCBallet’s The Nutcracker in Colorado Springs and as the Junior Marshall for the School of Theatre. Following graduation, she plans to start a consulting business for small businesses, doing design work and creating websites. Megan also plans to continue working in lighting through programming and console training, as well design projects. Lucas Freeman is a history and political science double major and philosophy, Spanish, and interfaith studies triple minor from Commerce, Oklahoma. During his time at OCU, Lucas served as a campaign fellow with Congresswoman Kendra Horn in her 2018 campaign, attended the Interfaith Leadership Institute two times, and worked for Generation Citizen on education policy and advocacy through the Inasmuch Foundation. Following graduation, Lucas plans on taking a year off school to work and study for graduate/law school admissions exams and to research whether environmental law or environmental management/policy is a better path forward for him. He also plans to take this time to visit a few national parks. 8
Emily Haan is a dance and arts management major and business entrepreneurship minor from Owasso, Oklahoma. Emily has served as president of the Honors Student Council and President of Students of Arts Management and has received the Ann Lacy School Volunteer Award for the past two years. Emily plans to continue working at Oklahoma Contemporary and Civic Center Music Hall. She looks forward to joining Norwegian Cruise Line as a stage technician aboard Pride of America. Post ship life, Emily is aiming for a career in management or development for small dance and theater companies. Her job bucket list also includes company management, touring, and choreography. Emily is thankful for the Ann Lacy faculty and Honors faculty for empowering her to become a better academic and a better human throughout her four years at OCU. Vladislav Izda is a cell and molecular biology major and chemistry minor from Novi Sad, Serbia. Some of Vlad’s proudest accomplishments include being accepted as a research assistant at OU Health and Sciences Center/Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation joint research on Osteoarthritis under Dr. Matlock Jeffries and initiation into the Phi Kappa Phi honor society. He has held various positions within the Honors Student Council and has traveled to two National Honors Conferences, in Atlanta and Boston. Vlad is also this year’s recipient of the Honors Program Distinguished Service Award. After graduation he will continue conducting research on Osteoarthritis for OUHSC and OMRF under the tutelage of Dr. Matlock Jeffries and plans to apply soon for an MD/PhD programs across the US and hopefully start one in August 2021. Olivia Johnston is a music major, pre-med emphasis from Edmond, Oklahoma. During her time at OCU, she participated in field research with Dr. Kauffman on the Oklahoma River Otters at the OKC Zoo. She also played Principal Bassoon in OCU’s Symphony Orchestra for Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, and for the production of Lucia and Die Fledermaus. For the foreseeable future, Olivia plans to work at Warwick Animal Hospital and has applied for a research position at OU Health and Science to test human vaccines on baboons. After a brief hiatus from school, she will apply again to veterinary programs around the country.
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Sireene Khader is cell and molecular biology major and a chemistry and environmental science double minor from Edmond, Oklahoma. She served as chapter president of Alpha Phi and received the 2019 CAIRS Summer Research Grant to conduct research with Dr. Stancampiano identifying and studying wild yeasts from wild plants and insects at different field sites. After graduation, Khader plans to take a year off for work and travel and hopes to apply to Medical School in the fall in order to begin her graduate studies in the Fall of 2021.
Kathryn King is a dance performance major from Houston, Texas. Over her time at OCU, Kathryn has performed in On The Town (Spring 2018), Home for the Holidays and Broadway Revue with the American Spirit Dance Company (2016-2020), and Set a Fire-Student Choreography Show and Friends (Fall 2019). Following graduation, she plans to begin employment with Six Flags, and then hopes to move to New York City to pursue a performance career.
Jordan Knapick is a music theater and vocal performance double minor from Rockford, Illinois. Jordan has performed in six different productions during her time at OCU, with her favorite role as Cendrillon (Cinderella) in Massenet’s opera Cendrillon in Spring 2019 being the highlight of them all. She also served as the Vice President of Ritual and Fraternity Appreciation for Alpha Chi Omega and studied abroad in Galway, Ireland, where she studied the history of Irish theatre and attended the Galway International Arts Festival. As the Taos Opera Institute she was to attend in Taos, New Mexico, has been postponed due to COVID-19, she will take a gap year and work in OKC while she auditions and applies for master’s programs in vocal performance/opera. Adam LaPorte is a music theater and composition double major from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. During his time at OCU, Adam has been selected by the Bass School of Music as the 2019 Presser Scholar, premiered two original works with two different student run organizations (The Baseball Play with Out of the Box and June by the Sea with OCU Stripped.). He also played Harold Hill in OCU’s production of The Music Man in fall 2019. After graduation, Adam will be attending NYU to pursue a MFA in musical theatre composition. 10
Sarah Lubaroff is dance pedagogy major from Warrensburg, Missouri. Sarah served as the Public Relations Vice President for Gamma Phi Beta (where she over saw the planning of all of their social events, philanthropy efforts/fundraisers, and social media), as the Director of Finance for OCU’s Miracle Marathon (where she oversaw the budget and grant applications for the organization as well as working on the fundraising team), and as the student director for the Spirit of Grace Liturgical Dance company (where she choreographed pieces to spoken scripture as well as uplifting songs performed at chapel services and at local church services). Following graduation, Sarah will be moving to Omaha, Nebraska, and hopes to teach at a local dance studio while also exploring her new passion in marketing and advertising. She hopes to work with Omaha Performing Arts, a local non-profit performing arts organization that helps to bring national Broadway tours to their stages in Omaha. Andrew Maguire is a music theatre major from Franklin, Tennessee. Andrew is most proud of his senior recital where he performed an hour full of music and of playing the role of Bobby Strong in the OCU Stripped production of Urinetown. Maguire is grateful for his fraternity Kappa Sigma where he was able to build relationships outside of his major. Though his plans have altered slightly during the pandemic, he is hoping to move to New York City and audition as much as he can.
Victoria Mayhall is a political science and Spanish double major from Idabel, Oklahoma. She has had many leadership opportunities during her time at OCU, including chapter president of Alpha Chi Omega and attending the National Education for Women’s Leadership conference. In addition to this, Mayhall worked in the Student Government Association where she was able to help start an SGA initiative that provided free pads and tampons for students on campus. In the fall, she plans to begin law school where she hopes to pursue a career working in public service.
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John Metcalf is a acting major and directing minor from Memphis, Tennessee. John is proud of directing a staged reading during his sophomore year, serving as treasurer of his fraternity, and being cast as a principal role in Trojan Women. Following graduation, John plans on moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in on-camera acting in 2021.
Kayleigh Peters is a cellular and molecular biology major and Spanish minor from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. During her time at OCU, Peters was admitted to the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience at OUHSC where she did immunology research and presented a poster on her findings, published a poem in The Scarab, and has been on the President’s or Dean’s Honor Roll every semester. After graduating, Kayleigh will be applying to medical school this fall and working full time as a lab technician at the Lighthouse Medical Clinic.
George Pyle is a arts management major from Dodge City, Kansas. During his time at OCU, George has served in many capacities including as an assistant stage manager for the Student Choreography Showcase, as a production assistant for the American Spirit Dance Company, and as an executive committee member for Lambda Chi Alpha. Following graduation, George will work on the stage management team for the cirque show at King’s Dominion in Virginia.
Ellen Roth is a finance/economics, and Spanish double major from Tonkawa, Oklahoma. Some of her major accomplishment during her time at OCU include serving as the president of Alpha Chi Omega and receiving the OCU Outstanding Senior Award this year and the OCU Greek Scholar of the Year Award last year. Following graduation, Ellen plans on pursuing a career in the Wealth Management field.
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Mallory Scheidel is an acting major from Redondo Beach, California. During her time at OCU, Scheidel has represented OCU at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing, China’s Theater Festival, performed as Cassius in OCU’s production of Julius Caesar, and served as director of harm reduction and prevention for Phi Mu. Mallory will be beginning her life and career as an artist in Los Angeles, California following graduation and the resolution of the pandemic.
Hallie Schmidt is a vocal performance major from Olympia, Washington. She has served in many roles, including SAI President (2018-19), OPERAtions Production Manager (2018-20), and the 2018 Seattle Opera Gala Soloist. Following graduation, she will be taking a gap year to apply for graduate programs in opera performance in addition to taking the year to continue lessons and coaching. She will also be covering a role in La Serva Padrona at Painted Sky Opera.
Mandy Sigale is a music in voice and theatre and performance double major from Flossmoor, Illinois. Some of her proudest accomplishments including competing with the Devised Theatre Project in Abilene Texas for KCACTF, getting a Development Internship at Porchlight Music Theatre in Chicago and producing the Festival of New Works for her theatre and performance capstone. Mandy is grateful to have been the last person at OCU to finish her double major and for learning so much. She is excited to make a difference with her art.
Carolann Stout is an acting major and a directing minor from Atlanta, Georgia. Some of her favorite OCU memories happened during her Summer Study Abroad program in London, where she took Dialects and Advanced Shakespeare with 24 other students from the School of Theatre. She was also fortunate to be able to serve as the president of OCU’s Phi Mu Chapter and attend the 2017 Honors Conference with two of her best friends. She is currently waiting to hear from several theatres’ apprentice companies and then plans to move to New York or Chicago to begin auditioning.
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Darcy Tipps is a biomedical science major from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Some of her accomplishments include serving as the vice president of finance for Alpha Chi Omega, sitting on the TriBeta executive board as historian and social media chair, and participating in the collection and data entry for Dr. Kauffman’s Orangutan study. Following graduation, she will be applying to Physicians Assistant schools and pursue a career in pediatric healthcare. She would like to thank Dr. Youmans for giving her the bravery to become a better writer and for helping her in any way that she could!
Zoe Travers is a mass communications major and digital film and media, philosophy, and Spanish triple minor from Edmond, Oklahoma. In her time at OCU, she worked for a few different media sources including the music/media start-up OkSessions, where she wrote about local musicians and music news. Travers also worked at NPR station KOSU radio and received a first-place award from the Arkansas-Oklahoma Associated Press Broadcasters. During the fall semester of her senior year, she was lucky enough to do a semester abroad at Edge Hill University. Once the state of things becomes more manageable, she plans to move to Denver, Colorado, to pursue digital storytelling. Austin Watkins is an arts management major and business entrepreneurship minor from Shreveport, Louisiana. Watkins has served in many ways, including being a choreographer for the Ann Lacy School of Dance and Entertainment’s annual Student Choreography Showcase and Friends, being a New Student Orientation Leader, and being a dancer with the American Spirit Dance Company. This upcoming fall, he will be enrolled at the University College Dublin in Ireland and will receive his Master’s in Arts Management and Cultural Policy.
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Emily Wollenberg is an acting major and broadcast journalism minor from Clarksville, Arkansas. Wollenberg has served as editor-in-chief of the OCU newspaper, as the chapter president of Gamma Phi Beta, and has been named the outstanding sophomore and junior of the year at the OCU Campus Leadership Awards. Some of her most significant moments in her college career have been studying abroad! She studied abroad in the United Kingdom for two months taking an advanced Shakespeare course and a London Theatre course. She also did a culture exchange program in Taiwan for two weeks teaching English and American culture to Taiwanese students. Following graduation, she plans to move back to Oklahoma City and pursue employment in broadcast and multimedia journalism along with auditioning for theatre, film, and commercials with her agency, The Tabb Agency. She then plans to move to Chicago to further her career in acting and multimedia journalism. Carly Youngberg is an English major from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. During her time at OCU, she became a court appointed special advocate for children, studied abroad in Ireland and Northern Ireland and has been awarded the Dean Nellie Melton Scholarship. She is looking forward to starting a career in higher education upon graduation.
Ally Zahringer is a music major with a minor in theatre from Moline, Illinois. During her time at OCU she served as vice president of membership recruitment for Alpha Phi, received the Outstanding Junior Award, and completed her Senior Recital. Following graduation, she intends to move to Nashville in June to pursue a career in song writing and/or music events. She is very thankful for the opportunity to have been a part of the Honors Program and thoroughly enjoyed every class she took and the experiences she had. This program has helped her step outside of her comfort zone both inside and outside the classroom.
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DR. JOHN STARKEY
Professor, Poet, Peace Advocate BY ZAC ZUBIA
Kind, Intelligent, Passionate, Brilliant, Peaceful, Truthful, Loving, Invested, Studious, Precise, Sincere, Sensitive, Wise, Compassionate, Fatherly. These are all words used by students to describe Dr. Starkey. Dr. Starkey served as an Honors faculty member for the past 20 years, dedicating his life to challenging students in their pursuit of higher education. His love of the craft of seeking after knowledge defined his teaching style and his demeanor as a person. As recent OCU Honors alumna Emily Haan put it, “Dr. Starkey always emphasized empathy 16  Photos by Nash Carey
for others throughout his teaching.� One of his defining features as a professor was integrating his own anecdotes, from his training as a Catholic Jesuit to his later beliefs as a Quaker, to make the concepts of the class more comprehendible. Yet, perhaps his most signature trait was his feedback on essays, from the painting of his green G2 point 7 pen on page to a full page of commentary typed in single space formatting. Dr. Starkey loved his students and the perspectives they brought. Still, this is not the full picture. A man of habit, Dr. Starkey frequented Old School Bagel on 23rd Street. He would gather there at 7am on Saturday mornings in the upper part of the coffee shop and grade papers, read, or just sit. He would often engage in conversations with students that he ran into with topics ranging from school to personal theologies and philosophies on life. Lucas Freeman, recent graduate, shared a memory, saying, “One day I stayed for 17
an hour on accident when he was telling me about when he taught high school.” and how even a simple conversation, “was always worth it.” Aside from teaching and sharing memories, Dr. Starkey was fascinated with trees. He loved to talk about the weather or the blooming of a particular tree in spring. And reflecting on his insights into horticulture, the resemblance can be seen between him and the strong trees that he so dearly loved. Both provide joy and comfort in their presence and both continue to grow despite the season of life. Both spread their roots, sharing their wisdom and peacefulness to all that come into contact with them. But above all, a tree is a solid and firm observer of the world that carries its stoic self into defending and providing shelter to those opposed by society, much like Dr. Starkey. As Dr. Youmans put it, “John Starkey gave his whole life, his full soul, and his deep intellect to teaching, mentoring, and loving his students. No faculty member has been more integral to the functioning and thriving of the OCU Honors Program over the past 20 years than Dr. Starkey. He has shaped the lives of so many of us in indelible ways, and OCU and the Honors program will never be the same without him.” Dr. Starkey taught many classes from World Religions and the Honors LAS: Mythic Journeys to Peace and Nonviolence and Philosophy of Religion. Many students credit Dr. Starkey as a mentor in their lives as he helped
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rising senior Zoe Dongas plan a walkout her freshmen year in response to the Parkland Massacre or how he guided students to find their paths in college or even how former students would poke in to his office to see what he was up to. Dr. John Starkey was an avid listener to all and as Sarah Schulz put it, “he is still very very missed.” But his legacy lives on in the memories that we, as OCU and as the OCU Honors Program, have of him and his time both on campus and in our lives. As one of his favorite authors Ernest Hemingway put it, “It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end.” Zac Zubia is student assistant honors director and editor of The Endeavor. Special thanks to Zoe Dongas, Olivia Click, Emily Haan, Sarah Schulz, Lucas Freeman, and Hannah Hamel for sharing memories about Dr. Starkey.
“John Starkey gave his whole life, his full soul, and his deep intellect to teaching, mentoring, and loving his students.”
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