2018 Honorees

Student Honoree - Margaret Kathryn LaFountain ‘18

• Margaret Kathryn is a senior who will graduate with majors in Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies.
• Last summer, she taught creative writing to teenagers as a Jean Donovan Fellow. Since then she has worked as an intern for the US Department of Commerce.
• She chose the book The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay Gay as her selected read.

Student Group Honoree - SCU Women’s Tennis Team

• The Broncos Women’s Tennis Team plays in Division 1 of the NCAA. The team balances academics, athletics, and service to their community.
• The team started a pen pal program with a local charter school with the aim of being good role models to increase students' literacy skills and lessen the achievement gap.
• The poster features members holding their favorite books, including You’re Only Old Once! by Dr. Seuss, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, and The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides.

Faculty Honoree - Tim J. Myers

• Tim is a senior lecturer in the English department, and has taught at Santa Clara since 2001. He is a writer, songwriter, and storyteller. His children’s books have won recognition from the New York Times, NPR, and the Smithsonian, and he has published over 130 poems.
• His first-year writing courses encourage SCU students to raise the bar in their expectations for themselves and others.
• Tim chose the books The Telling by Ursula LeGuin and Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak as his selected reads.

Staff Honoree - Matthew Peters ‘15

• Matthew is an Assistant Director of Chapters & Groups in the Alumni Relations office, and is a Santa Clara graduate himself.
• He earned a master’s degree in education at University of Portland and taught at an under-resourced school for two years before returning to Santa Clara as a staff member.
• His early struggles with dyslexia pushed him to find his passion to help children who have difficulties with reading.
• Matthew chose the book The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg as his selected read.

Alumni Honoree - Dr. Melina Johnson '01, M.A. ‘03

• Dr. Johnson graduated from SCU in 2001 with a B.A. in English and in 2003 with an M.A. in Interdisciplinary Education. She later earned a Doctor of Education from University of San Francisco.
• She has taught at the SCU School of Education since 2011, and works as an independent educational consultant.
• She cares deeply for the SCU community and is a member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors and the president of the Black Alumni Group.
• She shares her love of reading with her daughter on their weekly trips to the public library.
• Dr. Johnson chose The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou by Maya Angelou as her selected read.