The Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice is pleased to announce that Dr. Brooklynn Hitchens has received the 2025 Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award, a competitive recognition given to only one faculty member out of 19 across the University of Maryland for excellence in undergraduate mentorship.

Dr. Hitchens was recognized for mentoring Sara Mohammad, a rising junior and McNair Scholar majoring in Psychology and Criminology. The McNair Scholars Program supports first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students who are preparing for graduate school by pairing them with faculty mentors.

Sara Mohammad, a first-generation Palestinian student from Baltimore County, worked closely with Dr. Hitchens on a research project titled "Intersectionality of Race, Gender, and Sexuality on Victim Willingness to Report to the Police." 

As part of the Summer Research Institute (SRI), Dr. Hitchens supervised Sara’s mixed-methods project, which involved both logistic regression and qualitative interview analysis.

Their mentorship has continued beyond the summer. Dr. Hitchens is currently helping Sara explore additional research opportunities, prepare manuscripts, and navigate the graduate school application process.

Reflecting on Dr. Hitchens' approach to mentorship, she explains, "As a scholar-activist, I strive to cultivate critical consciousness and develop strong intellectuals through research, theory, and praxis. As a Black American woman from a working-class background—and among the first in my family to earn an advanced degree—I understand the transformative power of faculty mentorship. I am dedicated to mentorship that promotes intellectual rigor, critical engagement with social inequalities, and a lifelong commitment to public service and social change."

The department congratulates Dr. Hitchens on this well-deserved recognition.