Saint Mary’s College Announces 2019 Lumen Christi Recipient

May 20, 2019 (Notre Dame, Ind.) — Saint Mary’s College honored Heather DiLallo ’19 with the Lumen Christi Award during Commencement on Saturday, May 18. As their time on campus comes to an end, seniors are recognized and awarded for representing their graduating class to the highest degree. The Valedictorians reflect the mind, the Outstanding Senior embodies the heart of the class, and the Lumen Christi Award recipient represents the soul.

The Lumen Christi Award is the highest award the College confers upon a student and has been given since 1960. The recipient is recognized by the College community as an outstanding woman of faith who has lived the mission. The name of the recipient is not revealed until the Commencement ceremony. Past recipients include alumnae working to serve the greater good in fields such as healthcare, social services, education, legal services, and more.

“Receiving the Lumen Christi award was such a surprise and an honor,” DiLallo said. “I am so blessed that my mentors and classmates have seen the work I've been doing over the last four years to mentor those younger than me and make the Saint Mary's community a home for all, just like it has been for me. I hope to take this award and continue to be motivated to be the change and pay it forward, just as I have been trained to do as a Saint Mary's woman.”

DiLallo is pursuing a career that will make a difference as a student in the Five-Year Dual Degree in Engineering Program with the University of Notre Dame. According to her award citation, she has applied her chemistry and engineering knowledge to do good. In the summer of 2017, she traveled to Nepal to conduct research on the PADs project with the goal of developing simple, inexpensive, paper-based tests that can be used by almost anyone, anywhere to screen for substandard or counterfeit pharmaceuticals. She also traveled to China to conduct further PADs research for her senior comprehensive project and met with medical experts to gain greater understanding of quality controls for medicine in China.

One of her nominators wrote, “She is an outstanding member of this community, a leader, a woman of faith, and a scholar who embodies a deep faith, a lively intelligence,  and compassion for others. She is a true Lumen Christi.”

Recently, DiLallo was also named a Barry Goldwater Scholar, as she plans to pursue her PhD in chemistry. Goldwater Scholars have very impressive academic qualifications that have garnered the attention of prestigious post-graduate fellowship programs.

The Scholarship Program honoring Senator Barry Goldwater was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering. The Goldwater Scholarship is the premier undergraduate award of its type in these fields.