Hillsdale College Honors Master’s Graduate Sarah Onken With Finn Memorial Award
Continuing doctoral student receives third annual academic honor
Hillsdale, Mich. – Hillsdale College congratulates graduate student Sarah Onken on being honored with the Judith Finn Memorial Exemplary Master’s Graduate Award.
“Sarah’s done extraordinary work in pursuit of her master’s degree here at Hillsdale,” said Ronald Pestritto, the graduate school’s dean. “We’re proud to see the graduate school recognize that commitment to excellence by awarding Sarah this prestigious honor.”
The Judith Finn Memorial Award was established by Finn’s husband Michael Finn and family following her passing in 2015. Finn earned a master’s degree in political science from Michigan State University, but, as noted by her family, “would have much preferred a degree from Hillsdale College had its graduate school been established 50 years earlier.” In honor of Finn’s legacy of civic engagement and scholarly work, the award is presented each Spring convocation to one Hillsdale graduate selected by a committee from Hillsdale’s Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship based on quality of thesis, exam performance and overall graduate program performance.
“In addition to her consistent excellence in classroom performance—which will be of no surprise to anyone at Hillsdale since we had Sarah here as an undergraduate—Sarah has already shown remarkable potential as a scholar in her short time in the program,” said Pestritto. “I have seen her interact impressively at academic conferences with established scholars, who are surprised to learn that she is a graduate student.”
Onken completed her bachelor’s degree in politics and math at Hillsdale College in 2016 before beginning graduate coursework in the Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship, where she is continuing on toward a doctoral degree in politics.