This year, the Gerald Wilson Award went to graduating senior Gabriel “Gabe” Martin, a Biology major from Fresno, CA. Gabe received the award in recognition of his academic achievements, work as a researcher, and service to the Honors College.
Dr. Skyla Herod, associate professor in the Department of Biology and Chemistry and a visiting faculty member in the Honors College, presented the award to Gabe during the Honors College graduation luncheon on Saturday, May 6. Dr. Herod has supervised Gabe for the last three years in an ongoing study of the effects of maternal depression during pregnancy on fetal mouse brain development.
“I have trained many students—undergraduate and graduate—and he is arguably one of the very best,” said Dr. Herod during the award presentation. “Not only in his technical ability, but in his dedication to arriving early to prep, staying late to clean up, and in his desire to ensure that the integrity of the scholarship was not only his best ability, but the best.”
Upon receiving the award, Gabe exhorted his fellow graduating Honors Scholars to boldly seek and proclaim truth in their various callings. “Jesus tasked us not to hide our light under a bowl, but to put it out on display for all to see, giving light to those around us,” Gabe said. “Truth: Jesus died for it—now let us live it, defend it, and be willing to suffer for it.”
The Gerald Wilson Award is given in memory of Dr. Gerald Wilson, a professor of Old Testament Studies and an outspoken advocate for Honors education at APU from 1999 until his untimely death in 2005. The award goes to one outstanding senior each year who demonstrates distinctive and original contributions in one or more of the following areas: 1) scholarship and research, 2) faith integration, and 3) service. Honorees receive a copy of Dr. Wilson’s commentary on Psalms and $500.00 to start building a professional library.
