The College of Arts and Letters featured prominently at the FAU Alumni Association’s Talon Awards ceremony

The College of Arts and Letters featured prominently at the FAU Alumni Association’s Talon Awards ceremony this year. The annual Talon Awards recognize a single FAU student, faculty member, community member and alumni and this year, three out of the four honorees were connected to Arts and Letters.

Kira Wolak is graduating with dual-degrees in English and accounting in December 2018 and will be starting her graduate studies in accounting at FAU in January 2019. Kira is part of the Accounting Scholars Program and as Community Service Director of Beta Alpha Psi, an Accounting Honors Society, Kira has planned multiple volunteer events serving non-profits such as Sawgrass Nature Center, Kids Against Hunger, Justin Bartlett Animal Rescue, and SOS Children’s Village. Currently Kira is collaborating with her faculty advisor, Professor Angela Gaze, to rally FAU’s accounting majors in spreading financial literacy to foster youth through programs such as Educate Tomorrow and Guardian ad Litem - Palm Beach.

Kevin Wagner, chair and professor of the Department of Political Science, was honored for his many accomplishments in political science. Wagner received his J.D. from the University of Florida and has worked as an attorney and member of the Florida Bar with the law firm of Scott, Harris, Bryan, Barra, and Jorgensen in Palm Beach Gardens. He returned to the University of Florida five years later to earn an M.A. and Ph.D. in political science. He has lectured extensively on American politics and has been cited in many leading newspapers including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Newsday, Bloomberg News, The Dallas Morning News, USA Today and the Miami Herald. He has been featured as the political analyst for CBS 12 in West Palm Beach and on national television including NBC’s The Today Show. His work has been published in leading journals and law reviews including American Review of Politics, The Journal of Legislative Studies, and Politics and Policy. He has also presented at national conferences including the American Political Science Association, the Southern Political Science Association and the Midwest Political Science Association. His recent work focuses on the effects of technology on politics and campaigning, and he is currently completing a book with Roman and Littlefield Press titled “Click and Reboot: How the Internet is Revolutionizing American Politics.” His other research focuses in the areas of American Institutions, American Political Development, Judicial Politics, Political Behavior, and Research Methods.

Barb Schmidt is a businesswoman, philanthropist, and meditation and mindfulness teacher with more than 30 years devoted to spiritual development and research. As founder of Spirit of Giving Network and co-founder and past president of Ronald McDonald Children Charities of South Florida, Barb raised millions of dollars for children and families in need. In 2001, Barb partnered with FAU’s Peace Studies Program to promote dialogue in the greater community on the topic of inner peace. For the past ten years, she offered quarterly workshops and weekly classes on spiritual practices and has facilitated lectures by many notable speakers at FAU including the Dalai Lama, Jane Goodall, James Finely and Dan Millman. A sought-after speaker herself, Barb regularly lectures at schools and organizations to spread her message of living a meaningful, happy life. Barb is the author of the internationally bestselling book The Practice: Simple Tools for Managing Stress, Finding Inner Peace, and Uncovering Happiness. Barb is also very passionate about mentoring the next generation of leaders. The Barb Schmidt Fellowship for Cultivating Community Involvement, Activism, and Social Change at FAU aims to provide student leaders with a platform to develop the skills and knowledge needed to initiate, execute, and sustain a social movement.