The National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) has selected recent SMBHC graduate Ryan Parsons as one of three 2011 NCHC Portz Scholars. Ryan, who hails from Hattiesburg, graduated last May with a double major in International Studies and Chinese. Each year, honors colleges nationwide are invited to nominate one paper by an undergraduate honors student. Ryan was selected on the basis of his Croft/honors thesis, “The Urbanization of Chinese Citizenship: A Case Study of Shanghai and Suzhou.” As a Portz Scholar, Ryan will present his thesis at the up-coming NCHC Convention in Phoenix this October; he’ll also receive a $250 stipend.