student awards
Student leadership
Recognizing greatness.
Mastodons do amazing work every day, and we want to celebrate that. Check out the various student awards presented by Student Leadership.
Note: Nominations for the 2024 awards cycle will close on March 1st, 2024. When submitting nominations, please only include examples from the current academic year.
This will be awarded to a student who has made an impact on Purdue Fort Wayne, shown support for students, student organizations, and the greater campus community, exhibited college pride, and demonstrated overall student leadership throughout the academic year. Nominators can provide examples that occurred outside of this academic year, when relevant.
Eligible students must have a GPA of 2.5 or higher, be in good standing with the Office of Conduct and Care, and be enrolled as a full-time student at the university for the previous and current semester.
This is awarded to the individual who has supported their organization through serving as a resource and assisting the student members in the organization.
This award is presented to a student who has given outstanding service to their organization and has worked toward their own leadership development.
This award will be given to a student who has embodied the university’s values throughout the academic year. Nominations should detail examples of a students-first mentality, striving for excellence and innovation, commitment to diversity and inclusion, and engagement on campus.
This award recognizes specific initiatives and/or newer organizations that have built their membership and something new for the benefit of the campus community.
This award is given to a staff member who supervises student employees as part of their responsibilities. The nominator for this award should be a student employee directly supervised by nominee. Nominations should detail specific examples of how the nominee has enhanced the student-employment experience on campus through their supervision.
This is awarded to a part-time or full-time faculty member who helped engage, impact, and inspire students. Their dedication to students is evident inside and outside the classroom. Nominees for this award should demonstrate how they went above and beyond the basic requirements of teaching to inspire students to attain excellence in scholarship.
Nominations for this award should be submitted by students only. Nominations should include specific examples from a student perspective of how the instructor demonstrated teaching excellence during the last academic year.
This award is given to a member of the Student Government Association who has shown leadership within the organization and has gone above and beyond the expectations of their position.
This award is given to the member who has contributed to their organization in positive and significant ways, gone above and beyond the call of member duty, and helped to continue steering the organization in a positive direction.
This award is given to the student organization that has played a vital role in the campus community and has gone above and beyond to enhance the campus through the past academic year.
This award is given to an individual or group who promotes diversity of thought and helps to build a campus atmosphere where a range of views, ideas, and beliefs can be freely shared and respected.
This award is given to a student who is employed in an on-campus role and excels at their job responsibilities. Nominators should be the supervisor or another employee from the department or office. Nominations should detail the how the nominee’s work performance has made an impact in the office, and how they have collaborated with others, led with a positive attitude, and shown, for example, creativity and problem-solving skills.
The award for service to students is given to the individual or group who has exhibited support through service to the student body. These contributions are reflective of their dedication both in and out of the classroom.
This will be awarded to a student who has made an impact on Purdue Fort Wayne, shown support for students, student organizations, and the greater campus community, exhibited college pride, and demonstrated overall student leadership throughout the academic year. Nominators can provide examples that occurred outside of this academic year, when relevant.
Eligible students must have a GPA of 2.5 or higher, be in good standing with the Office of Conduct and Care, and be enrolled as a full-time student at the university for the previous and current semester.
This award is given to a member of the Student Government Association who has shown leadership within the organization and has gone above and beyond the expectations of their position.
This is awarded to the individual who has supported their organization through serving as a resource and assisting the student members in the organization.
This award is given to the member who has contributed to their organization in positive and significant ways, gone above and beyond the call of member duty, and helped to continue steering the organization in a positive direction.
This award is presented to a student who has given outstanding service to their organization and has worked toward their own leadership development.
This award is given to the student organization that has played a vital role in the campus community and has gone above and beyond to enhance the campus through the past academic year.
This award will be given to a student who has embodied the university’s values throughout the academic year. Nominations should detail examples of a students-first mentality, striving for excellence and innovation, commitment to diversity and inclusion, and engagement on campus.
This award is given to an individual or group who promotes diversity of thought and helps to build a campus atmosphere where a range of views, ideas, and beliefs can be freely shared and respected.
This award recognizes specific initiatives and/or newer organizations that have built their membership and something new for the benefit of the campus community.
This award is given to a student who is employed in an on-campus role and excels at their job responsibilities. Nominators should be the supervisor or another employee from the department or office. Nominations should detail the how the nominee’s work performance has made an impact in the office, and how they have collaborated with others, led with a positive attitude, and shown, for example, creativity and problem-solving skills.
This award is given to a staff member who supervises student employees as part of their responsibilities. The nominator for this award should be a student employee directly supervised by nominee. Nominations should detail specific examples of how the nominee has enhanced the student-employment experience on campus through their supervision.
The award for service to students is given to the individual or group who has exhibited support through service to the student body. These contributions are reflective of their dedication both in and out of the classroom.
This is awarded to a part-time or full-time faculty member who helped engage, impact, and inspire students. Their dedication to students is evident inside and outside the classroom. Nominees for this award should demonstrate how they went above and beyond the basic requirements of teaching to inspire students to attain excellence in scholarship.
Nominations for this award should be submitted by students only. Nominations should include specific examples from a student perspective of how the instructor demonstrated teaching excellence during the last academic year.
2024 Awards Cycle
Meet the nominees and recipients.
Here is a list of the nominees and recipients for each award for 2024.
Student Leader of the Year Award and Scholarship
Allyssa Hennessey
Davion Tate
Emma Hedrick
Willow Cribb
SGA Member of the Year Award
Alex Blade
Asad Alibhai
Feyisola Elegbede
Maleah Boyd
Michael Boyd
Mikayla Haggarty
Student Organization Advisor of the Year
Cicelle Beemon - Black Student Union
Jacob Allard - The Herd
Mitchell Fiandt - Tabletop RPG/OUTspoken
Student Organization Member of the Year
Antwanette Jacobs - Black Student Union
Carolyn Pang - Chi Eta Sigma
Davion Tate - Black Student Union
Trinity Stephan - The Herd
Student Organization Officer of the Year Award
Antwanette Jacobs - Black Student Union
Arshpreet Singh Sandhu - Indian Students Association
Feyisola Elegbede - African Student Organization
Isaac Wendel - The Herd
Justin Koenig - The Herd
Manal Ali - Biology Club
Neal Birchfield - Association for Computing Machinery
Nevaya Deck - The Herd
Sebastien Wilson - The Herd
Sean Tierney - Upsilon Pi Epsilon
Olivia Schowe - Generation Action
Outstanding Student Organization Award
Accounting Society
Black Student Union
Generation Action
Mastodon Catholic
Tabletop RPG
The Herd
Spirit of the Mastodon Award
Drake Turner
DEI Forward Award
Brett Wilkinson
Disability Access Center Staff
Feyisola Elegbede
OUTspoken
Multicultural Center Staff
Building Block Award
Gwenna Lehmann
Olivia Samuels
Undergraduate Student Employee of the Year Award
Andrew Velez
Anna Olafsdottir
Antwanette Jacobs
Aurea Nazaire Alconera
Brian Waltz
Collins Karanja
Jamie Ewell
Karen Chaparro
Olivia Edens
Olivia Schowe
Perla Figueroa Fiallos
Riley Dickinson
Taiwo Oladapo
Tyler McClone
Victory Paw
Graduate Student Employee of the Year Award
Drake Turner
Kaliyat Gamba
Student Supervisor of the Year Award
Abbey Wang
Alexandra Backer
Gianna Casaburo
Paula Ashe
Service to Students Award
Austin Decker
Brett Wilkinson
Jenna Hoppe
Joey Beaton
Kerrie Fineran
Rhonda Meriwether
Student’s Choice for Teaching Excellence Award
Ann Livschiz
Brett Wilkinson
Elijah Denecke
Joel Givens
Kevin McMahon
Student Leader of the Year Award and Scholarship
Allyssa Hennessey
SGA Member of the Year Award
Maleah Boyd
Student Organization Advisor of the Year
Jacob Allard
Student Organization Officer of the Year Award
Neal Birchfield
Outstanding Student Organization Award
Accounting Society
Spirit of the Mastodon Award
Drake Turner
Commitment to Diversity Award
Disability Access Center Staff
Building Block Award
Gwenna Lehman
Student Employee of the Year Award
Undergraduate: Aurea Nazaire Alconera
Graduate: Drake Turner
Student Supervisor of the Year Award
Gia Casaburro
Service to Students Award
Dr Kerrie Fineran
Student’s Choice for Teaching Excellence Award
Brett Wilkinson