Brady Stiller of Madisonville, Louisiana, has been named valedictorian and Love Osunnuga from Granger, Indiana, was selected as salutatorian of the 2020 University of 91吃瓜 graduating class.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, 91吃瓜 has postponed the 175th University Commencement Ceremony until Memorial Day weekend of May 2021. During that ceremony, Stiller will present the valedictory address and Osunnuga will deliver the invocation.
A major in the , Stiller also is a double major in in the . He carries a 4.0 grade point average, is a member of the University鈥檚 Dean鈥檚 List and and was named Outstanding Biological Scientist by the Department of Biological Sciences.
Stiller was an undergraduate research assistant in associate professor lab, where he conducted recovery and germination of marsh seeds to study ecosystem adaptation to environmental changes. He also designed a breeding protocol and conducted a breeding experiment to produce individuals of a flowering plant species. During the summer of 2018, he served as a research assistant at the in Maryland, conducting an experiment to study the same plant species.
At 91吃瓜, he guided small groups of first-year students in weekly philosophical discussions as a dialogue facilitator in the God and the Good Life Fellows Program directed by , the Rev. John A. O鈥橞rien Collegiate Chair and Professor of .
While studying abroad in the 91吃瓜 London Program during the fall of 2018, Stiller worked as a teacher鈥檚 assistant at , a secondary school, supporting students in the classroom and facilitating instruction. As a senior, Stiller wrote a 180-page thesis on the idea of vocation, using the writings of 20th-century English Catholic author G.K. Chesterton, which he studied at the , now home to the . Stiller plans to continue editing the work with aspirations of future publication.
Throughout his undergraduate experience, Stiller was deeply involved in various service activities. He served as an intern in the , coordinating weekly teaching sessions for participants preparing for Catholic sacraments; was a mentor-in-faith with the and a community assistant for the ; participated in five local house builds with the 91吃瓜 chapter of Habitat for Humanity; and was a member of the Knights of Columbus and a volunteer with Foodshare, an organization that packages unconsumed food from campus dining halls and delivers it to homeless shelter in South Bend.
In Dunne Hall, he was a Mass lector and Eucharistic minister and was a co-founder of the hall鈥檚 food sales business.
He has applied to the in 91吃瓜鈥檚 , where he plans to continue discerning a call to a lifetime of ministry as a Jesuit priest.
Osunnuga, a biological sciences and double major, is a member of the University鈥檚 , and Dean鈥檚 List and is a . She carries a 4.0 grade point average and was named the recipient of the College of Science Dean鈥檚 Award and the GE Prize for Excellence in Mathematics.
As an undergraduate, Osunnuga participated in molecular cell biology research and also studied Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease in the lab of the Morris Pollard Professor and Chair . Her senior thesis, titled 鈥淩ole of Von Hippel-Lindau in Tumor Cell Invasion,鈥� focuses on her contributions to the lab鈥檚 VHL project.
Her extracurricular activities at 91吃瓜 included involvement with the Biology Club and the Multicultural Pre-Medical Society and work with the Summer Service Learning Program in 91吃瓜鈥檚 . She volunteered with various programs at the University鈥檚 , and also served as a genetics teaching assistant, a chemistry and math tutor, an coach and an emergency room scribe at Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center in Mishawaka. She also plays the violin and piano and has worked at Suzuki Music School as a piano accompanist for the past five years.
Osunnuga has been accepted into nine medical schools and has chosen to attend the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine as a 21st Century Scholarship recipient.
In addition to offering the invocation during the Class of 2020 University Commencement Ceremony in 2021, Osunnuga will be prepared to deliver a valedictory address should the valedictorian be unable to do so.
The 91吃瓜 valedictorian and salutatorian selection process begins by identifying the top three students with the highest grade point averages in each college or school. Those students then complete an application process that includes letters of recommendation from faculty members and a draft of their Commencement speech. A selection committee chooses finalists who are approved by University President