{"id":73492,"date":"2026-01-08T08:01:39","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T13:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/?p=73492"},"modified":"2026-01-13T08:53:03","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T13:53:03","slug":"two-utc-honors-college-students-win-big-at-national-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/01\/two-utc-honors-college-students-win-big-at-national-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"Two UTC Honors College students win big at national conference"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A

Vio Midgett graduated from UTC in May, earning degrees in both history and international studies. Photo courtesy of Vio Midgett.<\/p><\/div>\n

Vio Midgett graduated from UTC in May, earning degrees in both history and international studies. Photo courtesy of Vio Midgett.Vio Midgett\u2019s research was driven by two childhood memories.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The first came from the Japanese nursery rhymes her grandmother\u2014who grew up on <\/span>a United States Navy<\/span> base in Japan\u2014sang to her when she was a child.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s kind of where I first fell in love with Japanese culture,\u201d Midgett said.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The other memory derives from her second-grade history textbook.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt taught me about World War II,\u201d she said. \u201cThere was one paragraph on the atomic bomb with a picture of it. It was like, \u2018Yeah, this is the atomic bomb that was used in World War II. It was a necessary evil. We had no other option.\u2019<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs an 8-year-old, I looked at that and was like, \u2018I wonder how the people that we bombed would think about that.\u2019\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In May 2025, Midgett graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with degrees in history and international studies.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Shortly after she crossed the McKenzie Arena stage, the Brock Scholar in the UTC Honors College was selected as a Portz Scholar\u2014an honor awarded by the National Collegiate Honors Council to only four of the strongest undergraduate researchers nationwide.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was the second straight year a UTC honors student landed the prestigious award. <\/span>May 2024 graduate Emily Patton<\/span><\/b><\/a>, a Brock Scholar who earned bachelor\u2019s degrees in environmental science and humanities: international studies, was the first University student selected as a Portz Scholar.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Midgett received the award at the NCHC\u2019s annual competition for outstanding undergraduate honors papers, recently held in San Diego.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her project, titled \u201cPublic memory of World War II in Japan,\u201d grew out of a gap she noticed between the histories she had been taught in the United States and the ways those same events were remembered in Japan.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI really wanted to know how it was being taught to students over in Japan,\u201d she said. \u201cHow are they remembering the same events that I was learning about\u2014especially the devastation Japan caused in Korea and China and the international conflicts that are still going on today because of actions in World War II?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During the summer of 2024, Midgett spent four months in Japan to put that question to the test. She conducted 13 interviews total with Japanese college students while also studying to improve her proficiency in the language.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her research analyzed how public memory is shaped through sources such as textbooks, museums and memorials, popular culture, and personal experience. Midgett organized her findings around three recurring narratives she observed: justification, victimization and pacifism.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKnowing what these narratives are and what their focuses are is important to breaking down how they\u2019re influencing public memory in the future,\u201d she said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A

Vio Midgett poses in front of Mount Fiji in Japan.<\/p><\/div>\n

When she learned she had been selected as a Portz Scholar, the moment felt almost unreal.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know the right words for it,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen I first learned I got it, <\/span>I was just kind of shocked. It didn\u2019t really feel real. I was compared against a lot of different honors colleges, and only four people nationally get this award.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The significance didn\u2019t fully sink in until she arrived in San Diego.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I finally got over there, I was like, \u2018No, this is kind of a big deal,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cThere were people from all over the country suddenly interested in my work because I won this scholarship. It felt surreal, but also really rewarding.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Midgett is now working for a nonprofit in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, that provides free art classes and supplies to underfunded schools in Appalachia. She plans to return to Japan in 2026 to attend a long-term language school and eventually pursue graduate studies to continue her research.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI would love to make this thesis larger once I get my proficiency up in Japan in a more comparative study, a deeper analysis of it with a larger group of contestants,\u201d she said. \u201cI also really want to deep dive into American public memory and how it has been shaped as well.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf I could get someone to pay me to do that, I\u2019d spend years writing that book,\u201d she added with a laugh.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A

Noah Wyatt received third place in a research poster competition at the NCHC conference in San Diego. Photo courtesy of Noah Wyatt.<\/p><\/div>\n

UTC junior and Brock Scholar Noah Wyatt was also an award winner at the NCHC conference, taking third place in the research poster competition. More than 200 posters were presented<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wyatt\u2019s project, titled \u201cUnderstanding the Edge Effect at the Nab Experiment Using Geant4 Simulations,\u201d comes from his work on a particle physics experiment at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he has been conducting research since the beginning of his sophomore year.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis project studies neutron decay and the weak nuclear force,\u201d <\/span>explained Wyatt, who is majoring in physics.<\/span> \u201cThis is a collaboration with over 100 scientists, and I contribute to the simulation team.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wyatt runs large-scale simulations of the experiment to identify potential sources of error or uncertainty. His poster focused on how magnetic fields influenced the experiment\u2019s results.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe found several pieces of the experiment that caused lots of data to be lost,\u201d he said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Going into the competition, he wasn\u2019t sure what to expect.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if I was expecting to place; of course, you always hope you do,\u201d he said. \u201cAfter the judges came around to me, I felt very good about my presentation. The guy with the poster next to me, who was also presenting physics research, said I did a good job. I did feel good about my chances, but with so many people, a lot is out of your control.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to his research, Wyatt has big plans. His goals include pursuing a doctoral degree, becoming a professor and \u201cto understand the universe at the most fundamental level.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Earning third place at a national competition, he said, was a step in the right direction in achieving those goals.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was exciting when I found out I placed,\u201d Wyatt said. \u201cI\u2019ve presented posters several times, and I\u2019ve been getting better each time. I am passionate about science communication, and placing in this competition showed me I can be good at it and encouraged me to continue pursuing it.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn more<\/h4>\n

Visit UTC<\/a><\/p>\n

UTC Honors College<\/a><\/p>\n

How to apply<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vio Midgett\u2019s research was driven by two childhood memories.\u00a0The first came from the Japanese nursery rhymes her grandmother\u2014who grew up on a United States Navy base in Japan\u2014sang to her when she was a child. The other memory derives from her second-grade history textbook.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Continue Reading <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2000,"featured_media":73502,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_slider":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_featurette":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,70,12746,48128,61,122493,518,8244,12745,48007,781,661],"tags":[123827,123826,124642,123828,124776,124297,123093,4940,123829,124647,126495],"class_list":{"0":"post-73492","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-academics","8":"category-brock-scholars-honors-college","9":"category-chemistry-physics","10":"category-college-of-arts-sciences","11":"category-community","12":"category-education","13":"category-history","14":"category-honors-and-awards","15":"category-honors-college-2","16":"category-research-academics","17":"category-scholarship","18":"category-students","19":"tag-creating-the-mocs-experience","20":"tag-cultivating-a-culture-of-innovation","21":"tag-emily-patton","22":"tag-leveraging-our-special-place-as-chattanoogas-university","23":"tag-mocs-learn-mocs-do-mocs-lead","24":"tag-national-college-honors-council","25":"tag-noah-wyatt","26":"tag-oak-ridge-national-laboratory","27":"tag-operating-with-excellence","28":"tag-portz-scholar","29":"tag-vio-midgett","30":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nTwo UTC Honors College students win big at national conference | UTC News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vio Midgett\u2019s research was driven by two childhood memories.\u00a0The first came from the Japanese nursery rhymes her grandmother\u2014who grew up on a United States Navy base in Japan\u2014sang to her when she was a child. 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