Keystone Project
Students design and create an individual Keystone Project as the capstone of their Honors Humanities experience.
About the Keystone Project
With this project, students actively engage the Arts & Humanities to explore their personal interests and/or to engage with pressing social issues. Students work with mentors and peers to articulate their own goals for the project and to bring those goals to fruition. This project is an opportunity to:
- Explore a passion.
- Develop advanced skills in creative expression, research, collaboration, and communication.
- Collaborate with faculty across the university.
- Connect with the rich resources of the Washington, D.C. - Baltimore Metro Area.
Keystone Project Timeline
Year 1
Spring Semester: In HHUM106: Arts & Humanities in Practice, students begin to conceptualize their keystone projects.
Summer: If students so choose, they can work on their project during these months, particularly if the project requires more time than a semester can afford.
Year 2
Fall Semester: If students so choose, they can work on their project during this semester, particularly if the project requires more time than a semester can afford.
Spring Semester: In HHUM206: Keystone Project Seminar, students learn processes required to design and complete a successful project from planning and prototyping, to creating, critiquing, and revising. Students create and revise their projects and offer feedback on their peers’ projects in a workshop setting. Students also present their projects at the Keystone Symposium in April.
Students can complete their Keystone Project at any time during their time at the University, but we encourage students to finish their projects at the end of year 2 with their cohort.
Symposium
Symposium is an annual event hosted by the Honors Humanities program, during which students present their work to colleagues, family, and friends. The format is similar to an academic conference, giving students the experience of presenting their work in a formal but friendly setting.
Each year, Honors Humanities students showcase their extraordinary talent, creativity, and drive at our annual keystone symposium. Students design and complete individual projects grounded in the tenets and methodologies of the arts and humanities. Symposium features live panel presentations from our entire sophomore class, a keystone prize ceremony honoring the recipients of the Honors Humanities keystone prizes, and a keynote speech by an Honors Humanities alumnus.
View 2021 Symposium ProgramKeystone Awards
Awards are given to exemplary keystone projects. Each award honors a student at both the first and honorable mention levels. Each awardee receives a plaque in their honor, as well as a monetary prize.
The Seidel Keystone Prize for Achievement in the Humanities honors a student majoring in the humanities who has demonstrated a consistent commitment to their keystone project and who has exceeded expectations, showing passion for their work and taking initiative in gaining new knowledge and experience.
The Lowell Ensel Keystone Prize honors a member of Honors Humanities whose project takes the form of a creative work of art, music, literature or film. The prize is presented in memory of Lowell Ensel, a former Honors Humanities student who demonstrated an incredible talent for filmmaking in his Keystone Project, entitled In the Midterm. Watch In the Midterm here.
The Honors Humanities Keystone Prize is given to a worthy project by any student in any form. This prize awards excellence in project design, creation, revision, and completion.
Below are Keystone Prize awardees along with samples of their outstanding projects.
Keystone Prize Awardees
2021 Awardees
The Seidel Keystone Prize for Achievement
Winner: Luther Hahn | Wool and Linen (Play)
Honorable Mention: Oscar Lenore | Through the Door (Novel)
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The Lowell Ensel Keystone Prize
Winner: Sabireen Alim | Bangladesh Repainted (Visual Art)
Honorable Mention: Grace Vaeth | A Life's Journey (Music Album)
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The Honors Humanities Keystone Prize
Winner: Emily Eason | Olde Towne, New Townspeople: An Anthropological Analysis of the Life Stages of the 1.5 Generation of Latino Immigrants in Gaithersburg, MD (Research Paper)
Honorable Mention: Bianca Ralph | The Hyphenated Experience (Podcast)
2020 Awardees
The Seidel Keystone Prize for Achievement in the Humanities
Winner: Erin Namovicz | Teaching Middle Schoolers Film: Lessons Learned (Service Project)
Honorable Mention: Eunice Braimoh | The Survivor’s Guide to Feeling (Short Stories)
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The Lowell Ensel Keystone Prize
Winner: Marissa Choy | Through Our Eyes (Graphic Novel)
Honorable Mention: Lane Williamson | Unboxing a Life: Growth Through Grief (Reflection Essays)
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The Honors Humanities Keystone Prize
Winner: Beth Ann Zinkievich | Chant for Change (Anglicant Chant)
Honorable Mention: Kelsie Oshinsky | The Wilds (Novel)
2019 Awardees
The Seidel Keystone Prize for Achievement in the Humanities
Winner: Siri Neerchal | Different-Different: Short Stories (Short Stories)
Honorable Mention: Miejo Dambita | Encountering Vulnerability (Performance)
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The Lowell Ensel Keystone Prize
Winner: Ryan O'Connor | Transforming Music: Valerie, For Orchestra (Symphony)
Honorable Mention: Dylan Orr | The Phantom of the Urethra and Other Stories (Short Stories)
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The Honors Humanities Keystone Prize
Winner: Susannah Outhier | Those Who Glow (Documentary Film)
Honorable Mention: Thomas Hughes | Quieter than Silence (Novel)