STUDENT AWARDS
Each year the Center for Peace and Justice Education honors students who have excelled in the academic work of Peace and Justice Studies and who have made concrete contributions to a just and peaceful world.
Trinity Rogers earned the Thomas J. Mentzer Award.
Christina Tillinghast earned the Medallion Award.
Gina Ngo earned the Day | Merton Award.
Luz Escobar Zapata earned the Solidarity Award.
Lauryn Hayes earned the Day | Merton Award.
Katie Jordan earned the St. Catherine of Siena Award.
St. Catherine of Siena Research Award
The St. Catherine of Siena Undergraduate Peace and Justice Research Award is awarded annually to an undergraduate student for a research project relevant to peace and justice issues. Submitted papers will be evaluated by CPJE affiliated faculty through a process of anonymous review. A cash award will be presented to the awardee.
The top three students, including the winner, present their work on a panel with a faculty respondent to a University-wide audience.
2024 Winner: Katie Jordan, “Land and Integrated Settlements: Evaluating Uganda’s Self-Reliance Model of Refugee Settlement”
2023: Natalie Schirmacher, "The Impact of the Argentinian State in the Construction of the Mapuche Terrorist Identity: A Case Study of the Repression of the Lof Lafken Winkul Mapu"
2022: Daniel Estrada, “An Evolution of Exploitation: The Social Death of Migrant Laborers"
2021: Chloe Benson, "Subverting the Fetishization of Eurocentric Beauty Standards through African American Rhetoric"
2020: Nora Cowley, "Philadelphia’s Irish Memorial: Remembering the “Good Immigrant” after An Gorta Mór"
2019: Patrick Flynn, "Pittsburgh Public Schools Sanctuary Policy: Assessing Ambiguity"
2017: Katie Boyce, "American’s 'Youth' Go to Nazi Germany: The Movement to Boycott the 1936 Berlin Olympics and the Racial Divide in American Society"
2016: Claire Kimilu, "In the Shelter of Each Other We Will Live: Refugees in Kenya and the United States"
2014: John Catalano, "Empowerment through SNAP: From Hunger to Husbandry"
2013: Kevin Gallagher, "Ethnicity and the State: Philosophies of Memory Preservation in Rwanda"
- Students are invited to submit work completed in the preceding fall or spring semester.
- Submissions should be no less than six and no more than 20 pages.
- The submission deadline is in the beginning of the spring semester
- Papers will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Excellent writing, clear structure, and adherence to an academic citation style
- Significant use of research with sources well integrated and thoughtfully utilized
- Topic related to concerns of peace and/or justice
- Demonstration of critical thinking, insight, and creativity
- Appreciation of complexity
- Ability to effectively defend claims
- Exceptional papers will include constructive ideas in addition to identifying problems and challenges
By submitting your paper, you are agreeing to participate in the panel discussion should your paper be chosen as one of the top three. You will be notified if your paper is selected for inclusion in the panel.
Dorothy Day | Thomas Merton Award
The Dorothy Day | Thomas Merton Award is named after Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton who were two outstanding American contributors on the journey toward peace and justice. Their lives of study, writing, prayer and action have encouraged others to become involved in furthering the cause of justice and peace in the world.
This award is given to a graduating senior with a major, concentration or minor in Peace and Justice Education who has maintained academic excellence and made a significant contribution to the effort to further justice and peace during their four years at Villanova University.
2023 Recipients: Lauryn Hayes and Gina Ngo
Lauryn Hayes is a graduating senior majoring in Peace and Justice with a second major in Communication. Her academic work has been wide-ranging but has all been connected by a strong commitment to learning about and serving vulnerable populations. I had the honor of directing her senior thesis this past year which centers Black Women’s voices in healthcare by analyzing their shared birthing stories. According to Lauryn, she chose this topic for the Black women who are not heard, who are overlooked, and who are often disregarded in the healthcare system at their most vulnerable states. Lauryn does not leave her academic experiences here on campus, however.
Over the past few years, she has spoken to various groups of high schoolers pursuing higher education about her journey as a young Black woman from Brooklyn at a predominantly white institution, serving as an amazing inspiration for the young people following in her footsteps. Her service through the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority has focused on local community events that empower women to take up social action on issues from period poverty, to voting, to sexual health awareness, to housing issues awareness, and more. And in the summers, she has worked as a Community Outreach Support Services Associate providing fun, free, and enriching summer experiences for children from low-income families in New York City.
Beyond this Lauryn has also advocated for understanding identity-based struggles and community relationship building. She has participated in protests on and off campus pertaining to Black Lives Matter, environmental justice, and the Israel-Hamas War, while also somehow finding the time to deliver meals to those in need.
Over the past year, Lauryn tells us that she has purposely sought out what she calls "full circle" experiences. She has just completed directing a film for the International Social Justice Documentary course which has further sparked her passion for storytelling and social justice. It is no easy task to tell someone's story thoroughly, authentically, and with the goal of supporting their needs, but Lauryn took on this mission with complete dedication and learned through her collaboration that our struggles are global and far reaching.
On a personal note, I had the pleasure of teaching Lauryn in class and serving as the advisor for her thesis project, and so I am exceedingly proud to see her win this award, but also to see just how much you will continue to change the world for the better. I would like to end with a quotation from Lauryn. She says: “being a Communication and Peace and Justice major created a path for me that I did not expect to take but am extremely grateful because I feel globalized as a person and in tune with that the world needs from me, rather than what I feel I deserve from it.” And that’s about the best we can ask of these amazing students who grace our lives for four short years. Please join me in recognizing Ms. Lauryn Hayes for her commitment to peace and justice education and congratulate her as one of the winners of the 2024 Merton-Day Award.
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Gina Ngo will graduate from Villanova University with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology, minoring in Peace and Justice, Chinese Language, and Cultural Studies.
Gina has worked to improve lives through her leadership and advocacy in a variety of programs and initiatives, including as the founder of Villanova Refugee Empowerment. As a child of Cambodian refugees, she founded Villanova’s only service-based organization dedicated to supporting refugees in their resettlement process.
Her research projects include chronicling the events of the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia and subsequent resettlement of refugees, and Gina presented some of this work the 2023 Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development Conference.
She was selected as a mentor by the State Department and has had weekly virtual meetings with high school students from Ukraine.
She also volunteers with the Nationalities Service Center, the same organization that helped her family resettle, to assist and accompany refugees from countries around the world, such as Afghanistan and Ukraine. She has also been active with our own Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.
In addition to her advocacy and justice work, Gina has conducted research on glioblastoma and medulloblastoma at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and the University of Pennsylvania. She has been named a 2024 recipient of the Marshall Scholarship, making her the third Villanovan to receive the prestigious award and the first since 2015. The fellowship will support Gina’s intent to pursue postgraduate studies in Medical Sciences (Oncology) at the University of Cambridge and Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. After completing the two one-year programs, Gina’s anticipates furthering her education to receive an MD/PhD and practicing as a physician-scientist who will work to mitigate healthcare disparities.
Let’s congratulate Gina on being a recipient of the 2024 Dorothy Day-Thomas Merton Award!
2023: Gaby Lee and Kaitlyn Lynch
2022: Emily Galvin and Victoria Sanders
2021: Chloe Benson and Juliana Cosenza
2020: Rachael Huegerich and Colleen Sharp
2019: Julie Greenwald and Sarah Harris
2018: Danielle Bradley and Julia O'Connor
2017: Kara English
2016: Alissa Welker and Adam Vincent
2015: Kayla Cooke
2014: Noelle Mapes
2013: Caitlin Billingham and Emily Several
2012: Ellen Salmi
2011: Jen Maez
2010: Amy Richards
2009: Gail Sondermeyer
2008: Amy Knop-Narbutis
2007: Emma Stewart
2006: Diane L. Coffey
2005: Kathleen E. Krackenberger
2004: Caitlin Fouratt and Melissa Wibbens
2003: Nancy R. Steedle
2002: Teresa C. Mambu
2001: Megan A. Kasimatis and Craig E. Hickein
2000: David O. Suetholz
1999: Andrea Maresca
1998: Vincent J. Coccia
1996: Michael E. Kennedy
1995: Raj Chablani
1994: Tara Coughlin
1993: Nantiya Ruan
1992: Stephen M. Smith
1991: Steven G. Liga
1989: Gregory Tucci
1988: Ingrid M. Birnbach
1987: Michael P. McGinnis
Thomas J. Mentzer Award
Each year, Villanova University sponsors The Thomas J. Mentzer Award. The Award honors a graduating Villanova senior who has contributed significantly, through his or her service, to "expanding opportunities for the poor and marginalized." The award consists of a cash stipend and an inscribed plaque.
The award remembers Thomas J. Mentzer, a Villanova graduate of 1955, who later became a faculty member in the History Department. He was active in many of the social issues of the time, including work to oppose racial conflict and segregation. He died in an automobile accident in 1968.
2024 Recipient: Trinity Rogers
A Posse scholar, Trinity Rogers graduates with a Bachelor’s degree in Peace and Justice and a minor in Africana Studies.
Her excellent work as part of Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, as well as Villanova’s Association for Change and Transformation, Villanova’s Black Student Union, Villanova’s Black Pre-Law Student Association, and Amnesty International, demonstrates her commitment to the pursuit of justice and equity.
As an Idol Family Fellow, Trinity worked to recover a lost short story collection from the eighteen-nineties by Black author and activist Alice Dunbar-Nelson, and to help Philadelphia-area public school teachers to incorporate Black authors into their curriculum. This work, as well as her work as co-director of the social justice documentary film, “The Art of Resistance,” filmed in Brazil last Fall, demonstrates that for Trinity, academic work, activism, and social change are intimately connected.
Dr. Dana Lloyd comments, “I know some of Trinity’s academic work, and I know that when she’s doing research, she is committed not only to understanding new things but also to making an impact with the knowledge she’s producing.” A research paper she wrote on gender justice and Indigenous sovereignty won an honorable mention for the St. Catherine of Siena award from the Center for Peace and Justice Education. Her senior thesis, “Soul in Africa: Folklore as Structural Education in the African Diaspora,” expands on the documentary film she co-directed with Jameson Ford and reflects beautifully Trinity’s approach to education as something that happens beyond the classroom, and how academic work must be in constant conversation with one’s various communities and experience on the ground to be meaningful and to promote social justice.
Trinity is headed to law school, and we are all very proud of her and can’t wait to see the good work she is sure to continue doing.
Please join me in thanking Trinity Rogers for all her hard work and dedication to serving our communities and congratulate her as the winner of the 2024 Thomas J. Mentzer Award.
2023: Michael DiMaio
2022: Natalie Nwanekwu
2021: Madalyn Sullivan
2020: Michelle Kimura
2019: Ritesh Karsalia
2018: Zachary Ellenhorn
2017: Brendan Carchidi
2016: Rodrigo Rivera
2015: Patrick K. Williams
2014: Ariana Meltzer-Bruhn
2013: Jay Tighe
2012: Kristen Valosky
2011: Jeffrey Sved
2010: Emily Felesenthal
2009: Sarah Arscott
2008: Katrine Herrick
2007: Christine Feldmeier
2006: Jaime C. Gentile
2005: Bryan C. Rivera
2004: Matthew D. Nespoli
2003: Nancy Steedle
2002: Teresa Mambu
2001: Michael S. McGlinnis
2000: Paola Gaines
Joseph Betz Solidarity Award
The Solidarity Award is presented to a graduating senior or seniors concentrating in Peace and Justice Studies in exceptional circumstances to recognize distinctive service to the cause of justice and peace.
After 45 years of teaching at Villanova University, beloved philosophy professor Joseph Betz, PhD, retired in May 2011. Joe passed away in 2024, and we are glad to continue to honor his legacy. Dr. Betz’s knowledge of social and political issues, and his commitment to active involvement in anti-war and social justice movements in the US and around the world inspired generations of Villanova students and countless colleagues. Among his many contributions to Villanova, Dr. Betz served as the faculty adviser for Amnesty International for 30 years. He was the longest serving faculty adviser for any Amnesty chapter anywhere in the United States. Dr. Betz was the 2009 recipient of the Lawrence C. Gallen, OSA, Faculty Service Award.
In honor of his steadfast leadership in countless social justice and peace movements, and his unflinching resolve to stand against injustice wherever it is found, the Center for Peace and Justice Education renamed its "Solidarity award" for Dr. Betz. This tribute is a small acknowledgment of the tremendous impact of a man who lived his commitment to peace and justice each and every day.
2024 Recipient: Luz Escobar Zapata
Luz Escobar Zapata is graduating with a major in Peace and Justice and minors in Africana Studies and English.
Her list of commitments is a bit mind-boggling. Please note, this is a non-exhaustive list! She has tutored through COV and Ruibal, been a part of the Philly Justice Project for Women and Girls, assisted with Villanova’s Diversity Week, was a student moderator for the anti-poverty symposium. worked on a social justice documentary, served as a CASA facilitator, and was co-president of our PJ Student Ambassadors.
She has interned at CCATE in Norristown, helping to raise up Latinx immigrant voices. Luz also interned with Latinx Life which included social media strategy and involvement with a voter registration effort.
During the last four years, Luz has conducted research on a wide range of issues of justice and has often highlighted local contexts in that work. She has researched how the Clean Air Act is failing Cancer Alley Louisiana, how BIPOC low-income youth have been impacted by asbestos and lead in Philadelphia public schools, and also here in Philadelphia, she has researched decriminalization of homelessness and the police abolition movement. This past year, Luz researched Latina advocates and representation in Mexico City and Los Angeles. She also conducted work on an oral history project featuring Latina leaders in the south engaging the civil rights movement.
Time and again, Luz has found ways to use her voice in the service of justice solidarity. She has advocated on Capitol Hill for environmental justice and increasing Latina representation from Louisiana. She has served on the Board of the Student Run Emergency Housing Unit of Philadlephia. Related to that, she worked to reestablish a chapter of the organization at Villanova , engaged in anti-gentrification community work, and helped with the development of a new shelter in the Upper Darby community.
This past year Luz has been a Fellow with Poder Latinx. In that role she created six national civic engagement events addressing immigration, environmental justice, and health policy issues and engaged in conversation during a White House briefing on National Latina Civic Engagement Day.
Her extensive activism and advocacy work has been recognized in quite notable ways. Luz received the Peace and Justice Transformative Leaders Fellowship in 2022 from the Consortium of North American Peace Programs, was named a Faith and Politics John Lewis Scholar in 2023, and a 2023-2024 Obama-Cheeky Scholar for Public Service from the Obama Foundation.
Today we add to her recognitions the Joseph Betz Solidarity Award. This award, presented in exceptional circumstances, is clearly going to an exceptional person. Congratulations, Luz!
2023: Cathy Nguyen
2022: n/a
2021: Kaylan Purisima
2020: Morgan Micari
2019: Yvonne Nguyen
2018: Mackenzie Niness
2017: Jordan Trinh
2016: Jane Richter
2015: Nora Doherty
2014: Siobhan Cooney
2014: Carolyn Rau
2013: Marissa Pardue
2012: Lauren Adderly
2012: Caitlin Ingraham
2011: Caitlin Greene
Justice in Business Award
The Justice in Business Award is no longer active as the designated funds for the honor have been fully utilized. We congratulate all previous recipients as well as current students who continue to pursue justice through their engagement with business.
2020: Yeralmi Valladares
2019: Nicole Anderson
2018: Shayla Frederick
2017: Jonathan Pizzutti
2016: Nicholas Carney
2015: Kelly Gabriel
2014: John Catalano
Gustavo Gutierrez Medallion of Academic Excellence in Peace and Justice Studies
The Medallion Awards are conferred each year by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to graduating Seniors who have excelled in their study during their undergraduate years at Villanova. The medallion award for a Major in Peace and Justice is named in honor of Gustavo Gutierrez, a Dominican priest and a prophetic intellectual widely regarded as the of the founder of Liberation Theology.
2024 Recipient: Christina Tillinghast
Christina Tillinghast is an exemplary student and human being. With a double major in Peace and Justice and Biology, her wide-ranging intellectual talents are impossible to miss. Christina generously and productively engages with her classmate and is always ready to discuss the most controversial and academically-challenging questions. Christina’s academic work reflects how personal questions of justice are to her, most notably in her excellent thesis project, “Engaging with Sources of Health Knowledge and Practice amongst Filipina Health Care Providers in the United States.” While studying abroad in Glasgow, she engaged in a field project which engaged with communities on the margins of the city and from that began volunteering with The Food Train, an organization that went grocery shopping for older adults and provided door-to-door deliveries. She was selected as a Philadelphia Area Social Justice Intern and served at Romero Center Ministries in Camden, NJ – her work there inspired an excellent research project on reparations for slavery and anti-Black discrimination in the US – noting the potential for transformative, community-built power.
Christina has generously given of her talents of mind and heart to a number of organizations while here at Villanova. She tutored with RUIBAL, served as the program Co-Leader, and this year has been part of the COV Core. She has been a leader of Catholic Relief Services and helped to organize a Student Activist Convening. She has volunteered with the Center for Hope Hospice and completed an internship with CHOP to research screening tools for children at risk for neurocognitive deficits. She is everywhere! You might find her riding an ambulance with Villanova EMS, running in Philadelphia with the Back on My Feet organization, or screening patients for various social determinants of health at the Esperanza Health Center.
Christina brings her whole self into the classroom and beyond it, combining her sharp intellect with a powerful dedication to make the world a more just and peaceful place. The Villanova community has been profoundly enriched by Christina’s presence. She will be missed but we are eager for the work she will do as she pursues a justice-oriented career in health, addressing disparities in access to health care and health outcomes.
Congratulations, Christina!
2023: Maddie Cerulli
2022: Alli Baroni
2021: Lily Bui
2020: Leah Waltrip
2019: Kalin Schultz