Meet the University Honors Program: Left to right, Assistant Director Lindsay Daigle; Director Amelia Zurcher; Administrator Maria Cooper; and Advisor Karalee Surface. 

Honors Staff

Amelia Zurcher, Director

Amelia Zurcher, PhD
Professor, English
Sensenbrenner Hall 002A

What I do: I oversee all aspects of the Honors Program, including admissions, curriculum, Honors research, and all our connections with the rest of the University and our alumni. I also do some advising and teach at least one Honors class per year.

What I'm interested in:  I love reading (especially novels, all kinds), cooking, biking, and dogs.

Lindsay Daigle, Assistant Director

Lindsay Daigle, PhD 
Sensenbrenner 002C

What I do: As the Assistant Director of the Honors Program, I oversee the Honors Peer Mentor Program, the Honors Media Internship, and Honors advising practices. I plan Honors-affiliated events and extra-/co-curricular opportunities as a way to build community. I also teach HOPR 1955H, our first-year foundational rhetoric course.

What I'm interested in: I love collaborating with students to help them explore their worlds and learn how to best contribute to them. I’m interested in learning as a lifelong, engaged, recursive process. And generally, I like poetry and literature, TV and movies, sports and athletics, social justice, and forward progress. Outside of Marquette, I teach group fitness and creative writing classes around Milwaukee.

Karalee Surface, Experiential Learning and Prestigious Fellowships Coordinator

Karalee Surface, PhD
Sensenbrenner Hall 005A

What I do: I serve as a point person for students interested in pursuing prestigious fellowships and as the primary advisor for the Fulbright U.S. Student program. I enjoy connecting students with research or extracurricular opportunities, finding internships, and navigating various personal and academic crises as they arise.

What I'm interested in: I like storytelling, history, gender equity, and disability. I am an avid reader, and aside from my work at Marquette, I freelance as a copyeditor and developmental editor. Unsurprisingly, I love hearing students’ stories and helping them to develop their stories through transformative experiences here at Marquette.

Maria Cooper, Honors Administrative Assistant

Maria Cooper 
Sensenbrenner Hall 005C

Who I am: I've been employed at Marquette for nearly 20 years.  I worked in the Honors Program from 2006-2020 and returned in 2024. I split my responsibilities between the Honors Program, the Office of Academic Integrity, and the Marquette Core Curriculum. 

What I do: I manage the honors curriculum, student records, the budget, facilitating honors funds for research and study abroad, and organizing honors events. I'm a problem solver and love troubleshooting to figure out systems and processes.  

What I'm interested in: I love the outdoors, walking, yoga, cooking, and time with family.

Honors Faculty

Kris McLain, Teaching Assistant Professor

Kris McLain, PhD
Sensenbrenner Hall 005K

I earned my PhD from Pennsylvania State University in Philosophy and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. I love to think about the ancient Graeco-Roman world and how it can inform and speak to us today. In my free time, I read, play board games and video games, and explore Milwaukee.