Faculty and students were honored recently at Penn State Schuylkill during the annual Honors Day. Three members of the faculty were recognized for their excellence along with all of the student academic award winners.
Valerie L. Schrader, assistant professor of communications, was the recipient of the 2014 award for excellence in research or creative accomplishments. She published nine articles in peer reviewed journals, with a 10th article in press, four under submission and more in progress. She was named Scholar of the Year in 2012 by the National States Advisory Council and has received eight other awards for her scholarly efforts since 2009. Additionally she has been the presenter and author of more than 25 scholarly talks locally, regionally and nationally, incorporating her scholarly and research expertise in a variety of Penn State development initiatives.
Nicole M. Andel, assistant professor of English and humanities, received the 2014 award for excellence in teaching. She teaches courses in many different disciplines including English composition, literature, and arts and architecture. She gives much attention to detail and has incorporated various popular cultural phenomena into her classes. Andel projects a warm, cheerful attitude to her students that they return in kind. She takes great interest in their lives and shows genuine concern for their well-being.
The 2014 award for excellence in service was presented to Darcy L. Medica, associate professor of biology. She enriches her students’ and colleagues’ experiences on campus through her service activities. She engages students in her research and spearheads the Faculty Research Series during which faculty present their research and research processes. She engaged students in presenting their research at the Undergraduate Research Day at the state capitol. She co-coordinates the Penn State Schuylkill Honors program and serves as the program coordinator for the grant-funded Envision, Plan, Implement, Change, Sustain (EPICS) project to develop and implement a “living laboratory for sustainability” on campus.
Student academic awards were also presented. The President’s Freshman Award is given to students who have earned a 4.0 cumulative grade-point average based on at least 12 graded Penn State credits completed by the end of the fall semester of the academic year the award is given but have not exceeded 35 total credits earned. Those receiving the award were Edward C. Brennan, Xiaoyu Cao, Justine M. Ellis, Tracey L. Klinger, Michael H. Koharcheck, Tori A. Morgan, M. L. Morgan, Ronald J. Reedy, Carlos L. Rivera, Julia E. Schuller, Theodore M. Staller Jr. and Ryan M. Stronach.
The President Sparks Award was presented to Stephanie E. Sandler as the undergraduate degree candidate who earned a 4.0 cumulative grade-point average based on at least 36 graded Penn State credits completed by the end of the fall semester of the academic year the award is given but have not exceeded 59 total credits earned.
Edward A. Breiner received the Evan Pugh Scholar Award. This award is for those juniors and seniors who are in the upper 0.5 percent of their respective classes and have completed at least 48 graded Penn State credits at the end of the fall semester of the academic year the award is given. In order to be eligible, the student must be a full-time undergraduate student for at least four semesters prior to selection.
Several academic program awards were presented during the event. The psychology award was presented to Kirstie Liptok; the psychology research award was presented to Ashlee Vandermeer; the associate degree in business award was presented to Judy Tarson; the bachelor’s degree in business award was presented to Bret Kozura; the bachelor’s degree in information sciences and technology award was presented to Jeffrey Fritz; the English award was presented to Joshua Yom; the humanities award was presented to Crystal Harris; the best student paper in the humanities award was presented to Alyssa Brown; the administration of justice award was presented to Nicole Kennedy; the sociology award was presented to Kenneth Oliver; and the biology award was presented to Harnoor Singh.
Penn State Schuylkill Honors participation certificates were presented to the following students who had completed at least one honors course or honors option course: Kaitlyn Bandholz, Carl Bligan, Liuxi Chen, Jaydeep Dhillon, Megan Felty, Marilyn Geist, John Miller, Caitlyn Mroz, Camisha Prince, Gabriel Rohrberg, Chul Shin, Ryan Stronach, Cynthia Texidor, Joseph Westerfer and Joshua Yom.
One-year honors certificates were presented to students who are members of the Penn State Schuylkill Honors program and have completed at least seven credits of honors course work during the 2013-14 academic year. Students receiving certificates were John Bayliff, Xiaoyu Cao, Avril Cooper, Shane Hall, Christopher Hillman, Stacy Koperna, Catherine Mahon, Carlos Rivera, Harnoor Singh and Yuxin Xu.
The Keystone Honor Society is an organization of students at Penn State Schuylkill who have achieved academic excellence and are actively involved in University and community service. All members of the Keystone Honor Society must have a cumulative 3.0 grade-point average after two semesters and participate in four campus/community service activities per year. Those receiving recognition this year include Allysa Brown, Xiaoyy Cao, Liuxi Chen, Canniel Gomez Terrero, Robert Keating, Britney Massey, Tira Rice, Bethany Richards, Gabriel Rohrberg, To’Nia Thomas, Bryan Underkoffler and Panyu Wang.
Honors Day provided the opportunity for the campus community to honor those faculty and students who excelled during the 2013-14 academic year. Preparations are under way for commencement on Saturday, May 10, on the campus green.