Karen Melis of Butler has been honored by the University of Pittsburgh for receiving a 2011-2012 Fulbright U.S. Student Grant to study in Slovakia.Melis received a bachelors of science in biological sciences in 1979 and a bachelors of science in chemical engineering in 1983 from the University of Pittsburgh.Melis was given special recognition of having one of only two research awards given for the Slovak Republic.She is living in Spisská Nova Ves, Slovakia until June 2012 while performing research on her topic: The Slovak Migration Decision-Making Process: 1870 to 1914: A Village perspective.Melis also is the group administrator for the Spis County Slovakia and Zamagurie Region Dual Geographic DNA projects.———

Nicki Thoma of Saxonburg was awarded the Rose Cologne Keystone Citizen Award by the Division of Student Affairs at Penn State University.In 2011 Thoma danced for 46 hours and helped raise the New Kensington record of $52,392, for THON, known formally as the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, which raises money to defeat pediatric cancer.As the finance chair for the campus THON committee in 2012, Thoma managed the collection of $50,467, second best in campus history.The two-year total for Thoma’s tenure bettered the combined total accumulated by the campus during the past decade.Thoma and other award winners will be recognized officially April 22 at the Student Leadership and Service Awards Ceremony at the University Park campus.Thoma is a junior business administration major with a minor in information sciences and technology at Penn State New Kensington.———

Jessie Foertsch of Butler will defend her Honors theses in Westminster’s new four-year All-College Honors Program. Foertsch’s thesis is “A Glimpse into the Mind of a Late-18th-Century American Traveler: Travel Literature Illustrates a National History and Identity.”Foertsch is a daughter of Albert and Debora Foertsch of Butler and a graduate of Knoch High School.Foertsch and

Luke Franchuk of Butler also presented their papers at the Phi Alpha Theta biennial conference Jan. 3 to 7 in Orlando, Fla.Franchuk’s paper was “Thank Allah for Oil: Saudi Arabia, Royal Succession, and Religious Tradition.”Franchuk is a son of Gary and Patrice Franchuk of Butler and a graduate of Shady Side Academy.———

Rebecca Workman of Valencia has been accepted to Ashland University for the fall semester of 2012.Rebecca is a senior at Mars Area High School.———

Shauna Ferguson of Butler competed in the eighth annual Rock the Runway student fashion competition at Kent State University March 10.