Austin College honors for campus leadership and involvement were handed out last week, April 26, at the annual Student Affairs Leadership Awards event, which highlights the contributions to the campus community of a wide variety of individuals, organizations, and programs.
Outstanding Seniors
President Steven O’Day presented the evening’s top honors to Outstanding Seniors Jacob Moreno of Euless, Texas, and Sara Schuster of McKinney, Texas. These awards are presented based upon the seniors’ scholastic achievements and co-curricular involvement, including membership and leadership in student organizations, committees, or athletic teams, as well as participation in performing arts, intramurals, and community service.
Jacob is completing a major in Communication Studies and a minor in Leadership Studies. He is a member of Senior Committee and the National Association for Mental Illness. President of Campus Activities Board, he also is an intern in the Institutional Marketing and Communications Division.
Sarah is completing a major in Chemistry and minors in Biology and Spanish. She is co-chair for Senior Committee, vice president of administration for Campus Activities Board, and vice president for Omega Zeta sorority.
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Outstanding First-Year Student Award
Outstanding First-Year Student honors went to Noelani Dawson. The Outstanding Freshman Student Award recognizes a freshman who has excelled in leadership and scholarship. “This student has certainly taken advantage of the opportunities to both engage and lead within the Austin College community—involved in Black Expressions, Muslim Student Association, Classics Club, Asian Student Association, Theta Sigma Chi, Biology Interest Group, Cheer, and is the president of the Caruth Hall Council. Still, she has managed to maintain an impressive GPA while taking a rigorous set of classes in Public Health, and a mix of classes in sciences, humanities, and social sciences,” said Dean of Admission Mary Randers in announcing the award.
Oscar C. Page Servant of the Year
Ti’Anna Smith was named the Oscar C. Page Servant of the Year. The award is based upon self-motivated willingness to perform service to the community and honors Austin College President Emeritus Oscar Page (serving 1994–2009) for his emphasis on the values of servant-leadership and his example of volunteer efforts. In announcing the award, Andrea Restrepo, Austin College coordinator of volunteer services, said, “Ti’Anna serves with a cheerful heart and reaches out to others in need even if they don’t reach out to her. To list her achievements in service might take a while, but this year’s recipient has had integral roles in the Service Station, TEDx, Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity, and the ACtivator ministry team, and I am sure many more. Those who know her know that she truly has a servant’s heart, and you can always count on her genuine smile.”
Henry Bucher Global Citizen Award
Michael Maloney received the Henry Bucher Global Citizen Award for service and study in a variety of cultural and international contexts as well as service to the Austin College campus community. This award honors Henry Bucher, chaplain emeritus and associate professor emeritus of humanities whose tenure at Austin College has been distinguished by consistent commitment to service and study in a global context.
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Goodloe Lewis Scholarship
Liberty Chanin received the Goodloe Lewis Scholarship, established by Aramark to honor and memorialize the long-time Austin College faculty and staff member and his participation and leadership, plus his friendship to the campus community. The award recognizes a student for co-curricular leadership and involvement. Liberty is a junior, completing majors in History and French. She serves as a Peer Mentor Ambassador, a Transfer Student leader, and a Sallie Majors Religious Life Intern. She is also on the Austin College Swim Team and became the second Austin College woman swimmer to win a conference title when she took first place in the 1650 freestyle at conference.
Robert Bradshaw Memorial Scholarship for Campus Leadership
The 2022 recipients are Shaina Banh and Cassandra Silva Salas. Shaina has been active in numerous campus organizations, including Biology Interest Group, Student Assembly, Pre-Health Society, Students Today-Alumni Tomorrow, and Women in STEM and has done biology research and NOYCE tutoring. Cassandra is a member of Pre-Law Society, Students Today-Alumni Tomorrow, Women in STEM, a SEPA ambassador, a member of the Service Station board, and an active volunteer for ’Roo Bound and other campus programs. The Robert Bradshaw Memorial Scholarship was endowed through contributions of family, friends, colleagues, and a special gift from the graduating Class of 1994 in memory of Bradshaw, who served as vice president of Student Affairs for 10 years before his untimely death. This award recognizes students who demonstrate exceptional leadership through involvement in co-curricular activities at Austin College.
Robert Rogers Outstanding Volunteer Service Scholarship
The Robert M Rogers Award for Outstanding Service went to two recipients this spring. Mariagisse Morales is a member of the Service Station board and goes over and beyond in both time and commitment. She is willing to volunteer her time, outside of her required duties for service opportunities and events to be successful. Madison Wilson is also a member of the Service Station board and serves with such joy and infectious enthusiasm that many want to participate in events based on her excitement alone.
Dorothy Abernathy Award for Leadership to the Church
Liberty Chanin received the award that recognizes campus leadership to the church. The award memorializes a 1940 alumna and assistant professor of religion at Austin College.
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Nelda Lambert Work-Study Excellence Award
Abigail Fuscone received the Nelda Lambert Work-Study Excellence Award, which honors the loyalty, efficiency, reliability, and special contributions that the late Nelda Lambert made to Austin College as a longtime member of the Student Affairs staff. The award is presented to a student employed in a work-study position who reflects the excellence Nelda embodied in her work. Abigail’s supervisor said she is always on time, very reliable, picks up extra shifts whenever help is needed, and never complains at work. The recipient has already used all her work study hours allotted for spring semester and now volunteers in the Athletic Training Office.
Organization Excellence
The Organization Excellence Award went to Alpha Phi Omega.
The award recognizes an organization that has made significant contribution to its members, Austin College, and to the community through academic, leadership, and service achievements.
Consistently recognized for contributions to the College community, this year’s recipient has continued its contributions to the Austin College campus and has donated time and resources to better the greater community. As a group, its members have completed over 1,650 volunteer hours for fall 2021 and 1,000 hours for spring 2022 for the College and local community this academic year.
The Greek Organization Excellence Award was presented to Sigma Phi Chi.
The award recognizes the Greek organization that has excelled in scholarship and leadership and has demonstrated service to the Sherman and college communities. Sigma Phi Chi has been chartered for 20 years and continues to show grace and represent Austin College Greek life well. Every member is involved in other activities and organizations around campus. They have completed many service opportunities, such as Virtual Bingo with members of the Sherman community and hosting a craft sale for Black Visions Collective.
Organization Sponsors
Liz Washington, Campus Police office coordinator, was named the 2022 Outstanding Sponsor of a Non-Greek Organization.
The Outstanding Sponsor Award recognizes the sponsor who has made significant contributions to the group through participation, support, and assistance. Liz is the sponsor of the Austin College Anglers and has supported and guided an up-and-coming organization through activities on and off campus. She communicates with the organization and continues to make the group feel comfortable. She has helped the organization plan events to showcase the group’s commitment to Austin College.
The 2022 E. Don Williams Greek Organization Outstanding Sponsor Award went to Alex Garganigo, associate professor of English.
The E. Don Williams Greek Organization Outstanding Sponsor Award recognizes the sponsor who has made significant contributions to their Greek organization through participation, support, and assistance. The nomination said Alex “has made a consistent effort to meet new members and make them feel welcomed as well as always sending messages of inspiration before large events and programs.” The award is named to honor the significant and long-term sponsorship of a campus Greek organization by Williams, emeritus professor of mathematics, who taught at Austin College from 1970 to 2013.
Howard Starr Faculty/Staff Co-Curricular Support
Dr. Erin Copple Smith received the 2022 award that recognizes significant faculty/staff contributions to students beyond the classroom. She joined the faculty in 2012 and is an associate professor of media studies. Last year, she became director of the transformative First-Year Experience and is the driving force behind the Peer Educator Institute that began this spring. The award is named for Howard Starr, emeritus professor of psychology, and is given to those faculty and staff who follow Dr. Starr’s example of continued commitment to students. Dr. Starr, who began his career at the College in 1964 and retired in 2013, still has an impact on the campus today.
Outstanding Service to Campus Award
Mr. Timothy McClure ‘08, owner of Advanced Labs in Sherman, received this award for his continued connection to the campus. During COVID, he volunteered to do testing on campus through his company and never missed a testing date on campus, doing more than 15,000 tests on campus.