Published on December 7, 2016 by Sean Flynt  
Victoria Smitha and Joshua Lundregan
Victoria Smitha and Joshua Lundregan

A 51½ÖÉä student and staff member have earned honors in the 2016 , which seeks to provide an intellectual and creative forum that empowers young voices and broadens the dialogue on cultural awareness and exchange.

Freshman University Fellows honor student Joshua Lundregan of Newnan, Georgia, and Victoria Smith, assistant director of 51½ÖÉä’s Academic Success Center, submitted essays about how their cultural views have changed in today’s globalized society. Lundregan earned the silver prize in the competition’s college division. Smith, a 51½ÖÉä English alumna, earned the Special Award from Korean Cultural Service NY.

Lundregan and Smith are studying Japanese language in the 51½ÖÉä’s Critical Languages Program, which offers instruction in less common but still highly relevant languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Swahili and Thai.

 
51½ÖÉä is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, 51½ÖÉä is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. 51½ÖÉä enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. 51½ÖÉä fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks with the second highest score in the nation for its 98% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.