Win $1,000 for telling us how you used the library for your research!
Our annual Katheryne B. Willock Library Research Award recognizes University of Arizona undergraduate and graduate students who have made extensive use of the services and resources at the University of Arizona Libraries.
We award up to eight $1,000 prizes─four for undergrads and four for grad students.
If you have questions, contact Mary Simons.
- Submit your application starting February 16, 2026.
- Log into the Google application form with your arizona.edu email.
- University of Arizona undergrads and graduate students may apply as individuals or teams.
- One application per each team or individual is allowed each year.
- Applications must be submitted by March 27, 2026, 11:59pm.
- You must be currently enrolled at the University of Arizona.
- Your application must:
- Include a 1-2 page document that addresses the award selection criteria, resource strategy, and process.
- Demonstrate how you have made significant use of University Libraries’ resources or services to create new knowledge.
- Include a copy of the project that you created using the Libraries’ services and resources.
- We welcome our University Libraries student employees and interns to apply. Your project must demonstrate independent research and shouldn't include:
- Internship work or projects,
- Something you completed during work hours, or
- A project that's part of your library job and job-related tasks.
We'll review and award applications based on specific criteria. In your submission, be sure to:
- Describe the library resources or services used and their impact on your project.
- Explain how you selected the most appropriate resources or services.
- Discuss any roadblocks encountered and your approach to navigating them.
- Reflect on your research and knowledge creation process, including what you learned and how it will influence your future studies or work.
Review winning essays and posters from previous years.
We have all kinds of resources and services that you could include in your submission:
- Online and physical collections
- Archival collections
- Consultations with librarians or specialists
- CATalyst Studios services
We're interested in knowing what you created using library resources or services. Along with your 1-2 page document, projects may include, but aren't limited to:
- Articles
- Course research papers
- Data visualizations
- Digital humanities projects
- Audiovisual productions
- Recordings
- Physical objects
Willock Award winners will get instructions on how to receive their award check.
The award may affect your financial aid, so consult your financial aid advisor.
Additional tips and information
- It's your responsibility to get permission from copyright holders for images, media, or extended quotes you may incorporate.
- Cite your sources.
- Images taken from copyrighted or licensed resources cannot be published beyond the U of A community without permission.
- As the author of the essay, you retain copyright.
Congratulations to our 2025 Willock Award winners!
Graduate students
- Sarthak Hajirnis, Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Sajedeh Hosseini, History
- Riley O'Neill, Psychology
- Caroline Scheuer Neves, Second Language Acquisition and Teaching
Undergraduate students
- Jasmine Lopez, MIS
- Kennedy McEnany, Agriculture, Life & Environmental Sciences
- Kanita Olson and Jonah Wachs (group project), Medical Sciences
- Victoria Rueda, Agriculture, Life & Environmental Sciences
About Katheryne Willock
The late Katheryne (Kate) Willock generously endowed this award. Kate received her undergraduate degree from Arizona State University and taught a course in biology at the University of Arizona. She spent several years as Assistant Territorial Archaeologist in the U.S. Virgin Islands and conducted archaeological fieldwork in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Vieques, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua, and the southwestern United States. Kate was an ardent supporter of the University Libraries and was vocal in championing the value the library brings to campus.