The stars glittered at the ARCS MWC Eagle Award Celebration on Fri, Apr 4, 2025, at the illustrious Army and Navy Club in Washington, DC! 

Patty Sparrell and Julie Hohl, MWC Co-Presidents, bookended the cosmic cohort of speakers:

Our chapter's 2025 Eagle Awardee Dr. John Mather, a Nobel Laureate in Physics and Senior Astrophysicist, made a stellar presentation addressing topics ranging from his early days growing up on a Rutgers University agricultural research farm, which sparked his interest in science, to his groundbreaking work on both the Cosmic Background Explorer satellite (the focus of his Nobel Prize) and the James Webb Space Telescope. He also donated copies of his book to four lucky attendees!

The constellation of speakers also included DaVonne Henry and Prachi Shah, two current ARCS MWC Scholars from Georgetown University, and Dr. GP Sandhoo, of the Space Development Agency, and 1995 ARCS Scholar at George Washington University.  

Over 82 attendees – including MWC members, donors, and other friends – raptly enjoyed the sold-out event! We were honored to have ARCS Foundation National President Beth Wainwight, who spoke during the program. Pat Anderson, Co-President of the ARCS Illinois Chapter, and her husband John Anderson, President of the National Academy of Engineering, also joined the festivities.

A highlight of the evening was the auction featuring auctioneer extraordinaire Amy Mykityshyn! Amy had the audience on the edge of their seats as she chanted “going, going, gone” on fantastic auction items with the bids supporting our scholars! Charlotte Knight then added to the MWC scholar fund as she led the successful “raise the paddle” feature! 

Thanks to Charlotte and Mary Jo Ruane, Co-VPs of Activities, for leading the fantastic event! Thanks also to the many MWC volunteers and donors who made the event a resounding success!

Patty Sparrell, Dr. John C. Mather and Julie Hohl.	Dr. Kathie Olsen and Beth Wainwright, ARCS Foundation National President
DaVonne Henry, Hilary Sparrell, Prachi Shah, Dr. Isaac Cervantes-Sandoval and Patty Sparrell	Susan Trice, Bob Trice, Lauri Rustand, Gina Kim-Ahn and Becky Corcoran.
Prachi Shah, MWC Chapter Scholar, discussing her research into understanding the neurobiological basis of memory disruption (forgetting).	DaVonne Henry, Hesse Endowment Scholar, discussing his work on high-density magnetic data storage and decreasing storage device size.