Top 50
Bright Mastodon Minds
Check your eligibility.
Do you qualify for the Top 50 Award? Take a look at the nomination criteria.
Know the requirements.
Before your nomination goes before the judges, you must meet a few requirements.
Lend a helping hand.
As a sponsor, you can help us recognize our Top 50 Award winners. Donations support a celebration and scholarship fund.
The Celebration
Attend the event.
Winners of the Purdue Fort Wayne Top 50 Award will be invited, along with a guest, to the Top 50 and Exemplar Dinner and Awards Ceremony. Tickets are available for purchase by family, friends, and anyone who wants to join the celebration. Each winner will be introduced and brought on stage to receive this special award distinguishing them as one of the best and brightest at Purdue Fort Wayne.
Top 50 Recipient
“I am honored and grateful to be amongst numerous students who are driven in their studies, engaged in their community, and great role models for the underclassmen. I am proud to receive this award, as it is a representation of my hard work and dedication despite a busy work schedule and difficult classes in the mathematics graduate program.”
LaDavie’a Shears, Mathematics
Top 50 Recipient
“I love this school; I think that Purdue Fort Wayne reflects the great city of Fort Wayne. As someone who grew up in Fort Wayne, it feels like home. PFW offers a great, affordable education, where you have the ability to develop your understanding of the community and how to grow and support it.”
Sebastien Wilson, Political Science
Top 50 Recipient
“It feels very rewarding to be one of this year’s Top 50 students. When I came to campus, I was quiet and very shy. To know that I made an impact on this campus is more than I ever imagined for myself. It proves that it doesn’t matter where you’re from. Anyone can make a difference.”
Rachel Ringler, B.A. '22
Top 50 Recipient
“It is surreal. I am so honored, and it feels amazing to be recognized not once but twice. I do what I need to provide for my family, not for recognition but because I want to be there, and help, and be a good example for my children to overcome troubles and persevere. This award is confirmation of that hard work and that I am grateful for. Purdue Fort Wayne has literally helped change my life.”
Monica Solga, Counselor Education
Top 50 Recipient
“It is surreal to share this spotlight with so many elite young minds. Honored. Setting foot on this campus in the spring of 2019, who could have imagined my drive for success would lead me here to this moment?”
Jason Bonar, Organizational Leadership
Top 50 Recipient
“Being recognized for my efforts is always a good feeling. It makes me even happier to think that I have friends and family (my sister) being recognized as well: they are excellent at what they do, and I’m honored to share this moment with them!”
Laura Caetano, Construction Engineering Technology
Top 50 Recipient
“Purdue Fort Wayne means the biggest and happiest challenge I have set myself to accomplish so far. The amount of independence, self-knowledge, friends, and experiences that I gained here will forever accompany me; and for that I am extremely grateful.”
Luiza Caetano, Art
Top 50 Recipient
“It has been amazing to see where I started, with no confidence, to finishing my final semester of graduate school as one of the Top 50. I have learned so much on this journey and can confidently say I am a very different person than when I first started, and I can feel proud of that.”
Michaela Bosk, Counselor Education
Top 50 Recipient
“This milestone reflects my journey, the challenges I overcame, and the growth I’ve experienced along the way. Overall, I am grateful to PFW for recognizing my efforts and providing me with a safe platform to pursue my dreams.”
Yashi Yadav, Computer Science
