Kat Maloney
Kat is a third-year student in the College of Liberal Arts, with a major in English and minors in Art and Natural Resources. She has lived in Oregon her whole life and was born and raised in Tigard, roughly an hour and a half from campus. She is currently developing her thesis, which focuses on how morality within children’s literature has changed over time and with different influences, as well as a synthesis of her own book based on the findings. Kat wants to experience as much as possible in college and enjoys hearing from her peers! She loves hearing about what people are passionate about and proud of, which is something she gets to do constantly in her position as a student writer for the Honors College.
Jax Richards
Jax Richards was born and raised in Oregon and graduated from Southridge High School in Beaverton in 2019. He is a fourth-generation Oregonian and is in his fourth and final year, earning five Honors Bachelor of Science degrees in economics, public policy, political science, speech communication and sustainability.
His honors thesis is a self-constructed economic microsimulation that examines the impact that restructuring tax credit payout structures would have on Oregon poverty rates. In the Honors College, he’s previously worked as an ambassador and as an Honors College Center for the Humanities 2022 Summer Intern. Currently, Jax enjoys working as a student writer because he gets to connect with others in the Honors College community and loves helping people tell their stories.
Beyond his work in the Honors College, Jax serves as the student representative on the Oregon State University Board of Trustees and has held positions in the Oregon Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives and several children’s organizations, including his own nonprofit.