St. Olaf celebrates academic excellence with Honors Day
In her address, Professor of Chemistry and Department Chair Mary Walczak uses a shape-sorting toy to illustrate how learning builds on foundational knowledge. Photo by Steven Garcia ’20 
Students, families, faculty, and regents attended the 2025 Honors Day convocation. Photo by Steven Garcia ’20 
Faculty members gather outside of Boe Memorial Chapel ahead of the academic procession. Photo by Steven Garcia ’20 
Professor of Chemistry and Department Chair Mary Walczak delivers the 2025 Honors Day address, “Learning in College and Beyond.” Photo by Steven Garcia ’20 
President Susan Rundell Singer welcomes the campus community and guests to the 2025 Honors Day celebration. Photo by Steven Garcia ’20 
Provost and Dean of the College Marci Sortor recognizes students for academic honors, fellowships, and national awards. Photo by Steven Garcia ’20
St. Olaf College held its annual Honors Day celebration on Friday, May 2, welcoming students, families, faculty, staff, and members of the St. Olaf Board of Regents to Boe Memorial Chapel for a convocation recognizing student excellence and community contributions.
Honors Day is a celebration of academic accomplishments, a time to express gratitude for faculty members, and an opportunity to say “thank you” to alumni and friends of the college who provide scholarships.
President Susan Rundell Singer offered a warm welcome to those gathered, followed by remarks from the Provost and Dean of the College Marci Sortor, who highlighted the achievements of students named to the dean’s list and inducted into academic honor societies. The convocation also celebrated recipients of national and international awards, including the Goldwater Scholarship, Rossing Physics Scholarship, Gaither Junior Fellowship, and the Rhodes Scholarship.
“These awards and fellowships are highly competitive,” Sortor said. “Receiving one is an indication of the high regard in which St. Olaf students are held.”
This year’s Honors Day address was delivered by Professor of Chemistry and Department Chair Mary Walczak, who spoke on the theme Learning in College and Beyond. She shared four key concepts that shape meaningful learning: motivation, goal setting, skill development, and knowledge integration.
“I took chemistry and calculus my first year in college, and I was used to getting A’s in math and science — but by mid-semester, I was getting C’s in both courses,” Walczak said, recalling her early challenges as a college student. “I ended up graduating from college summa cum laude. What happened between my rough start and graduation? I learned how to learn.”
She encouraged St. Olaf students to seek active learning strategies, set specific goals, and connect new information to what they already know — much like a toddler learning to sort shapes, a metaphor she illustrated with a play item she uses with her grandchildren.
“I like to think that mastering this shape sorting toy is preparing my grandchildren to avoid trying to put round pegs into square holes,” Walczak said. “By adding the shape sorting skills to the sapling [of knowledge] growing in their heads, they will be prepared for other important tasks — like building a Lego Millennium Falcon.”
She closed with a message of reassurance and encouragement:
“Whether you have already been challenged to adopt your studying skills in college, or if it is something to look forward to, I am confident that you can and will make the changes necessary to continue to learn in college and beyond.”
Watch the full Honors Day Convocation, including Walczak’s address, below.