Newman University honored student scholars and leaders for their outstanding academic achievements and accomplishments at the 2014 Academic Honors and Awards Convocation, held April 22 on the Newman campus.
The university-wide event is presented each year to acknowledge superior performance by students and faculty, and includes recognition of honor society inductees, campus leaders, students selected for this year’s Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities, and top scholars in business, information technology, education, science, nursing and other academic disciplines.
Sophomore student Laura Hageman of Garden Plain, Kan., received the prestigious St. Catherine Medal, which is awarded annually to a sophomore or junior who has demonstrated outstanding service to the university, and has established an excellent record for scholastic achievement.
The Newman Academic Honors and Awards Convocation also featured the announcement of Assistant Professor of English Susan Crane-Laracuente, Ph.D. as recipient of the Teaching Excellence Award. The award is presented each spring to a full-time faculty member who has demonstrated an innovative or dynamic approach to courses, course revisions, and teaching techniques. The recipient has the honor of speaking at the following spring commencement ceremony.
2015 NEWMAN UNIVERSITY ACADEMIC HONORS AND AWARDS
STUDENT LIFE AWARDS
Dedication and Service Award
Megan Rucker – Hutchinson, Kan.
Club of the Year Award
Board Games Club
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
Graduate Achievement Award
May Brown
Cathy Segovia
Ruth Ford
Graduate Outstanding Achievement Awards:
Building Leadership
Dan Ackland
Diamond Gulick
Organizational Leadership
Megan Rucker
Eric Yeager
ESOL Curriculum and Instruction
Laurel Visser
Julie Linville
Reading Specialist Curriculum and Instruction
Dyan Steffen
Ashley Zoglmann
Undergraduate Awards:
Sister Vivian Miller Award
Alyssa Curtis – Wichita, Kan.
Teacher of Promise Award
Brandi Davis – Wichita, Kan.
Amal Ullah – Wichita, Kan.
Darcy Haynes
Brett Wary
Outstanding Intern Award
April Murphy – Wichita, Kan.
DIVISION OF BUSINESS
Outstanding Business Student Award
Kendall Anderson – Wichita, Kan.
Outstanding Accounting Student Award
Jonathan Segovia – Wichita, Kan.
Outstanding Information Technology Student Award
Marcus Somes – Goddard, Kan.
Brenno Silva-Ferriera – Wichita, Kan.
DIVISION OF ARTS AND LETTERS
Creative Achievement Award
C.L. Smet – Wichita, Kan.
SCHOOL OF NURSING AND ALLIED HEALTH
Distinguished BSN Graduate Award
Hannah Hein – Colwich, Kan.
Outstanding OTA Student Award
Shina Espino – Maize, Kan.
DIVISION OF HUMANITIES
Humanities Achievement Award
Brandon Layton – Wichita, Kan.
Freshman History Prize
Gabriella Rizzi
Joyce Suellentrop Prize for Distinguished Scholarship in History
Emily Simon – Wichita, Kan.
DIVISION OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Social Science Achievement Award – Criminal Justice
Courtney Holbrook – Wichita, Kan.
Social Science Achievement Award – Counseling
Lindsey Fontelroy – Haysville, Kan.
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK
Outstanding MSW Student Leader Award
Brenna Audley – Wichita, Kan.
MSW Student of the Year Award (Wichita)
Carrie Hochstetler – Newton, Kan.
DIVISION OF SCIENCE/MATHEMATICS
Outstanding Calculus Student Award
Gabriella Rizzi – Wichita, Kan.
Outstanding Mathematics Student Award
Kristen Johnson – Wichita, Kan.
Outstanding Senior Chemistry Student Award
Jennifer Mendez – Wichita, Kan.
Sister Margaret Knoeber Outstanding Lower Division Chemistry Award
Joshua Rodriguez – Wichita, Kan.
Surendra P. Singh Outstanding Freshman in Biology Award
Elijah White – Wichita, Kan.
Steve Palubicki Outstanding Sophomore or Junior in Biology Award
Michael Lauren Phillips – Andover, Kan.
Sister Claudine Axman Award in Biology
Andrew Hild – BelAire, Kan.
STUDENT SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP
Nominees for Ablah Awards
Amall Ullah – Wichita, Kan.
Alex Beck – Wichita, Kan.
Brandon Layton – Wichita, Kan.
Haley Hungate – Wichita, Kan.
Kayla Bckham – Wichita, Kan.
Rusty Carbaugh – Wichita, Kan.
Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities
Brandi Boese – LaCrosse, Kan.
John Denny – Colwich, Kan.
Brandon Gollhofer – Ft. Worth, Tex.
Ashley Gonzalez – Camanche, Ind.
Avery Gronau – Whitewater, Kan.
Mollie Schwabauer – Newton, Kan.
Kappa Gamma Pi (Scholarship and Leadership)
Jeremy Gant – Wichita, Kan.
Yamir Lozada – Wichita, Kan.
Sara Ast – Colwich, Kan.
Courtney Dold – Wichita, Kan.
Matthew Riedl – Andover, Kan.
Amal Ullah – Wichita, Kan.
Special Student Recognition
St. Catherine Medal
Laura Hageman – Wichita, Kan.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: Correction: April 30, 2015 A previous version of this story inaccurately identified the recipients of the ESOL Curriculum and Instruction and Reading Specialist Curriculum and Instruction awards.
