2026 CJC Honors Event
2026 CJC Annual Honors Event
On April 24th, 2026, the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology held its Annual Honors Event in Palm Court.
Graduating CJC majors, PSCJ minors, and CJC Master’s students gathered with our department faculty, staff, friends, and family, to celebrate their upcoming graduation. We further honored those students receiving departmental awards, graduating officers of the Criminal Justice Organization, and new inductees into the Alpha Phi Sigma Honor Society.
Attendees were welcomed to the event with programs, swag bags, and joyful reunions with faculty instructors of their current and past courses.
CJC Chairperson, Dr. Chris Donner, started our program with a heartfelt graduation speech, underscoring the importance of finding the person you want to be in the world. He especially found inspiration in Bryan Stevenson’s book Just Mercy. As graduating students in the field of Criminal Justice and Criminology, he encouraged them to gain proximity to places and populations disproportionately burdened by injustice. He challenged them to embrace being uncomfortable and to remain hopeful that progress can be realized, even in times of great strife and uncertainty.
"At the heart of Loyola’s mission is to prepare our students to become men and women for others. So, regardless of the career you end up in, how will you become a person for others?" Dr. Chris Donner, 2026 CJC Honors Event
Dr. Dave Olson continued by welcoming and introducing the Bensinger family, who joined us for the reception. Dr. Gad Bensinger was a faculty member in Loyola’s Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology for over 30 years. He joined the department shortly after its creation and worked tirelessly to establish its reputation as a true social science discipline. He was instrumental in creating and leading our CJC graduate program, as well as bettering the Criminal Justice system in Cook County at large. Dr. Bensinger’s family continues to attend our Honors Event annually to support and congratulate our graduating students and award winners.
Drs. Maribeth Rezey and Zhandarka Kurti continued our program with the presentation of our undergraduate, GPA-based awards. Firstly, our Dr. Paul Mundy Award was awarded to three students, representing the highest overall cumulative GPAs in their CJC graduating class. The Dr. Dean Charles W. Hart Award was then presented to those students with a GPA of 3.7 or above. These awardees received a certificate and honors cord to be worn at their upcoming graduation.
Dr. Elizabeth Webster then recognized graduating officers of the Criminal Justice Organization, a CJC student organization, of which she is the faculty advisor. She noted the important work that CJO does to allow students to gain the kind of proximity that Dr. Donner highlighted in his speech.
Dr. Webster and Dr. Stalans then announced the winners of the Gad and Ana Bensinger Undergraduate Essay Contest.
This award recognizes undergraduate students who share Gad's commitment to social justice in understanding criminology and criminal justice issues. Students are selected for the award based on their submitted essays addressing social justice issues. This year, the award was co-presented by Ana Bensinger, who honored the winners with personalized books based on the research topics of their papers. Below, Ana is seen posing with the 2026 winners, Kiyara Dahane and Emily Vela, respectively.
Dr. Damon Petrich, faculty advisor for the department’s chapter of the Alpha Phi Sigma Honor Society, then welcomed the 2026 APS inductees, cheered on by graduating APS officers Emily Morgan and Abigail Pedersen.
Finally, Dr. Rezey, the Graduate Program Director of the CJC Master’s program, finished our awards ceremony by honoring the winner of the Gad Bensinger Award for Graduate Excellence: Mia Simone.
Our reception continued with food, conversation, and families taking photos with their graduates on the beautiful Palm Court balcony, looking out over our Lake Shore Campus.
We were glad to be able to gather with our graduates and award winners, their friends, and family to celebrate their great accomplishments!
Please see our 2026 CJC Graduates and Awards page for a full list of our graduates and award winners.
CJC Chairperson, Dr. Chris Donner, started our program with a heartfelt graduation speech, underscoring the importance of finding the person you want to be in the world. He especially found inspiration in Bryan Stevenson’s book Just Mercy. As graduating students in the field of Criminal Justice and Criminology, he encouraged them to gain proximity to places and populations disproportionately burdened by injustice. He challenged them to embrace being uncomfortable and to remain hopeful that progress can be realized, even in times of great strife and uncertainty.
Dr. Dave Olson continued by welcoming and introducing the Bensinger family, who joined us for the reception. Dr. Gad Bensinger was a faculty member in Loyola’s Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology for over 30 years. He joined the department shortly after its creation and worked tirelessly to establish its reputation as a true social science discipline. He was instrumental in creating and leading our CJC graduate program, as well as bettering the Criminal Justice system in Cook County at large. Dr. Bensinger’s family continues to attend our Honors Event annually to support and congratulate our graduating students and award winners.
Drs. Maribeth Rezey and Zhandarka Kurti continued our program with the presentation of our undergraduate, GPA-based awards. Firstly, our Dr. Paul Mundy Award was awarded to three students, representing the highest overall cumulative GPAs in their CJC graduating class. The Dr. Dean Charles W. Hart Award was then presented to those students with a GPA of 3.7 or above. These awardees received a certificate and honors cord to be worn at their upcoming graduation.
Dr. Elizabeth Webster then recognized graduating officers of the Criminal Justice Organization, a CJC student organization, of which she is the faculty advisor. She noted the important work that CJO does to allow students to gain the kind of proximity that Dr. Donner highlighted in his speech.
Dr. Webster and Dr. Stalans then announced the winners of the Gad and Ana Bensinger Undergraduate Essay Contest.
This award recognizes undergraduate students who share Gad's commitment to social justice in understanding criminology and criminal justice issues. Students are selected for the award based on their submitted essays addressing social justice issues. This year, the award was co-presented by Ana Bensinger, who honored the winners with personalized books based on the research topics of their papers. Below, Ana is seen posing with the 2026 winners, Kiyara Dahane and Emily Vela, respectively.
Dr. Stalans then recognized her selected winners of the Outstanding Student Award in the Psychology of Crime & Justice Minor. Four students were chosen this year, including Margaux Kenney, who is pictured below with Dr. Stalans.
Dr. Damon Petrich, faculty advisor for the department’s chapter of the Alpha Phi Sigma Honor Society, then welcomed the 2026 APS inductees, cheered on by graduating APS officers Emily Morgan and Abigail Pedersen.
Finally, Dr. Rezey, the Graduate Program Director of the CJC Master’s program, finished our awards ceremony by honoring the winner of the Gad Bensinger Award for Graduate Excellence: Mia Simone.
Our reception continued with food, conversation, and families taking photos with their graduates on the beautiful Palm Court balcony, looking out over our Lake Shore Campus.
We were glad to be able to gather with our graduates and award winners, their friends, and family to celebrate their great accomplishments!
Please see our 2026 CJC Graduates and Awards page for a full list of our graduates and award winners.