Teachers and parents remind young students that perfection is impossible, but seven University of Mary Washington graduates reached perfection.
All seven graduated with perfect 4.0 grade point averages (GPAs), the most students to do so in the recent history of UMW.
Kathleen E. Conner, Thomas E. Held, Austin Moore and Kelsey E. Payne are from Virginia. Bonnie Butler is from Ohio, Jessica F. Oberlies is from Greensboro, N.C. and Maria C. Werner is from Centereach, N.Y.
All seven earned the Colgate W. Darden Jr. Award for Academic Achievement for their achievements of earning degrees with the highest GPA in the undergraduate program. They all also graduated summa cum laude with other academic achievements.
Conner, from Sterling, earned her degree in English and art history. She was also named the outstanding major in English for the 2024-2025 academic year and graduated with departmental honors. She held internships with the UMW Galleries, UMW Special Collections and Archives and with the Trowbridge Museum in Bath, England.
Conner plans to pursue a position in archival, library or museum work, a combination of her two majors.
Held, from Annandale, majored in computer science and philosophy. He graduated with departmental honors in philosophy. Held’s creative solutions in the classroom earned him, along with a team of UMW students, a first-place finish at the ACM Mid-Atlantic Regional Programming Contest and first place for Best Statistical Method at the American Statistical Association (ASA) DataFest.
He completed research entitled, “The Chinese Room and Creating Consciousness: How Recent Strides in AI Technology Revitalize a Classic Debate,” which merged his majors into one assignment.
Held recently picked up web development and plans to pursue a career in programming.
Moore, from Fredericksburg, earned degrees in mathematics and applied physics. His undergraduate research was in fluid dynamics from which he ran and interpreted simulations with an application to green energy via wind farm efficiency. He presented his work at UMW’s Research & Creativity Symposium, and he will present again at the Virginia Academy of Science in late May. Moore was inducted into the physics honor society Sigma Pi Sigma and Phi Beta Kappa. He plans to continue to pursue advanced physics research and work.
Payne, from King George County, majored in music and computer science. She has been a member of the UMW Philharmonic since 9th grade with her siblings and was the youngest to join the orchestra. During her time at UMW, Payne served as concertmaster of the UMW Philharmonic and won prizes in the Philharmonic’s concerto competition in all three years, twice on violin and once on piano.
As a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Payne graduated with honors. She also earned the Ernest C. Ackermann Excellence in Computer Science Award and the Anne and Sidney Hamer Music Award. Payne will attend the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York and earn a master’s of music degree in Violin Performance.
Butler came to UMW from Chagrin Falls, Ohio, majored in biological sciences and minored in practical ethics.
She is also in UMW’s pre-medical program. She hopes to become a physician and will attend the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Butler has served as president of the Global Medical Brigades and organized the 2025 efforts to travel to Panama for a mobile clinic. She has presented her research on mytonic dystrophy at professional conferences, including an award at the Virginia Academy of Science annual meeting. Butler also volunteers with Mary Washington Healthcare and the Moss Free Clinic.
Butler earned the Helen G. and Justin J. Piscopo Alvey Scholarship and the Rebecca Culbertson Stuart Memorial Scholarship upon admission to UMW. She graduated with departmental honors in biomedical sciences and University Honors and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Mortar Board.
Oberlies came to UMW from Greensboro, N.C. and majored in environmental science and Spanish. She also competed in UMW’s cross country and track and field teams, and was named to the C2C All-Academic team and the UMW Athletic Honor Roll.
Oberlies traveled to Kiritimati Island during the Summer Science Institute to collect samples of ancient corals for research on climate change, studied abroad in Bilbao, Spain and traveled to Guatemala where she served as an interpreter between members of the local community and UMW students. A trip to Bonaire, off the coast of Venezuela, allowed Oberlies and fellow students to explore local reefs and marine life.
A member of the Honors Program and Phi Beta Kappa, Oberlies graduates with University Honors. In July, she will begin to serve as a coastal resource volunteer with the Peace Corps in the Philippines.
Werner, who majored in elementary education, graduates with University Honors. She was also inducted in Phi Beta Kappa. She served as the City as Text program coordinator for the Honors Program, mentored new students, coordinated service trips as a COAR Council Leader and planned events as director of programming for the Washington Guides. Werner also wrote a children’s book and taught in Fredericksburg City Public Schools, where she plans to begin her career as an elementary school teacher.
UMW is at 1301 College Ave., Fredericksburg.
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Rebecca Barnabi
