Southeastern senior Kai Jones earns prestigious award for STEM and Classics

March 30, 2026

MOBILE, Ala. – Southeastern Oklahoma State University senior Kai Jones was recognized as the first runner-up for the Dr. Anthony Fauci Award in STEM and Classics at the annual conference of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South (CAMWS) over Spring Break.

Jones, a senior biology and history major in the Southeastern Honors Program from Durant, was one of a record number of applicants for the award, who were encouraged to discuss the ways in which the applicant has forged connections between the study of Classics and a STEM/pre-med/pre-health/social science field, in their academic careers to date.

Jones’ work across disciplinary boundaries – including in History, Biological Sciences, Chemistry and ancient languages – drew the attention of the prize committee. The committee considered the pursuit of the classes that would comprise a Classics major, above and beyond their already busy schedule, to be proof that Jones fulfilled the spirit of the prize. While at the conference, Jones presented a paper, “The Parthenon as a Symbol of Cultural Identities in Athens,” and was featured in the awards section of the plenary session at the conference.

“Kai Jones is a truly exceptional student whose work has shown how much a Southeastern student can achieve during their time. Whether on paleoanthropology excavations in Kenya or in archaeology courses in Athens, Kai has consistently shown that they will stop at nothing to earn a place in their field. The winners and runners-up in previous years studied at truly elite academic institutions, and Kai deserves their place alongside any of these fine young scholars. We know well that their majors’ faculty, the Honors Program and the Office of Study Abroad are proud to call Kai Jones one of their own.”