Two SBS Students Receive 2024 Centennial Achievement Awards
Octreyvian Killian and Onur Ural Burns
Congratulations to two students in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences who have received a 2024 Centennial Achievement Award.
This year’s SBS honorees are Octreyvian Killian, a triple major in Learning, Literacy, and Leadership; German Studies; and philosophy, with honors in philosophy. Currently in an accelerated master’s program in philosophy, Killian aspires to pursue a doctorate in either philosophy or educational psychology, focusing on mentorship to reinvigorate higher education and create opportunities for transformative experiences. Also honored is Onur Ural Burns, a Ph.D. student in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching, a Graduate Interdisciplinary Program. He is also minoring in Teaching English as a Second Language and works as a graduate associate in the Writing Program. Burns researches educational technologies and language teacher education.
Centennial Achievement Awards are presented to undergraduate students who demonstrate integrity, and persistence and contribute to their community. The awards are also given to graduate students in recognition of their outstanding achievements and perseverance in overcoming obstacles. The awards are presented by the Division of Student Affairs and the Graduate College.
Below are student profiles from the Dean of Students Office:
2024 Centennial Achievement Undergraduate Awardee
Octreyvian Killian expects to graduate in May summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in learning, literacy, and leadership, along with a Bachelor of Arts in German studies and philosophy with an honors designation in philosophy. He is also in an accelerated master's program in philosophy but does not plan to complete any advanced degrees until 2026.
Born in Salt Lake City, Octreyvian experienced family and health challenges from a young age. Struggling with illness and intermittent homelessness throughout his life, Octreyvian has been forced to take many breaks from his educational pursuits.
Since coming to the University of Arizona, he has worked as an undergraduate teaching assistant and as a tutor at the Strategic Alternative Learning Techniques, or SALT, Center, where he has supported first-years and other students with disabilities to build the skills, techniques and confidence needed succeed.
At the U of A, he has diligently advocated for equity and access for disabled and LGBTQIA+ students. As a preceptor, he created a system for more equitable testing processes that allowed students with dyslexia and other disabilities multiple ways to demonstrate content comprehension.
In his work with UROC (Undergraduate Research Opportunities Consortium) as an AWARDSS-PLUS fellow, Octreyvian has been conducting ongoing research into the discrepancy between fixed and transfer student graduation rates to aid his fellow transfer students in continuing their education and completing their degrees. Although this portion of his research has recently concluded, he hopes to conduct a follow-up study to investigate solutions for the systemic challenges his study uncovered. After finishing his master's program, Octreyvian hopes to pursue a doctorate in either philosophy or educational psychology. He also hopes to study mentorship in order to reinvigorate higher education and create more opportunities for transformative experiences.
2024 Centennial Achievement Doctorate Degree Awardee
Onur Ural Burns is a doctoral candidate in the Second Language Acquisition and Teaching Graduate Interdisciplinary Program, with a minor in teaching English as a Second Language, in the Department of English, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. He also works as a graduate associate in the Writing Program in the Department of English, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. He is expected to graduate in 2025.
His research focuses on education technologies and language teacher education. He facilitates online programs for K-12 teachers and university instructors to develop their digital competence. Some of his work was recently included in the Handbook of Language Teacher Education, published by Springer Nature.
As a first-generation college graduate, Onur is the first person in his extended family to earn a master's degree and the only one currently pursuing a doctorate. Onur relied on scholarships and assistantships from Turkish higher education institutions to continue his bachelor's education. He also received funding from Erasmus, a European student exchange program, to study in the Czech Republic for a semester. He was also a Fulbright Scholar, and he taught at the University of California, Santa Barbara for one academic year.
Onur is from Turkey’s southern coast, a region renowned for its cultural diversity and UNESCO World Heritage Sites. He consistently participated in activities to contribute to his community. When he was an undergraduate student in the College of Education at Çukurova University in Turkey, he volunteered to teach English to children from other low-income families. Most recently, he volunteered to teach English to immigrants online.
Onur's Ph.D. journey has brought numerous obstacles. He faced restrictions on academic freedom from his country, COVID-19 lockdowns during his first two years, and a recent earthquake in his hometown that claimed the lives of his parents. Despite having to overcome these obstacles in pursuit of his educational goals, Onur remains hopeful about what the future holds if he continues to work hard.
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