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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.

Nominations will open at 8am on January 16th, and will close at 5pm on February 20th. 

Nominate Someone Here

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 recognizes specific initiatives and/or newer organizations that have built their membership and something new for the benefit of the campus community.

The Student Employee of the Year 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 demonstrate how the nominee has gone above and beyond their job responsibilities, creating a lasting impact on the department and/or university through the following: leadership skills, excellence in attitude, and teamwork/collaboration.  

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.

2025 Awards Cycle

Meet the nominees and recipients.

 

Student Leader of the Year Award & Scholarship
Umualqayr Ahmed

Emma Keeling

Bri Revis

Kolbey Johnson

Noah Moreno

Willow Cribb

Laura Schroeder

Matthew Klacik

Jack Patrick Shearer

Maleah Boyd

McKenna Tully

Michael Boyd

Riley Danielle Schmitt


SGA Member of the Year Award 
Michael Boyd

Matthew Klacik

Riona Workman

Nicole Myers

Blake Beckstedt

Chloe Howard

Sophia Cheng

Willow Cribb

Student Organization Advisor of the Year 
Hal Odden

David Momoh

Naomi Gurevich

Jason Baldwin

Abbey Wang

Student Organization Member of the Year 
Jaythen Haywood

Karalena Heredia

Palmer Harrell

Akshat Verma

Myra Witte

Lee Derrick Richards

Student Organization Officer of the Year Award 
Sarina Wright

Bri Revis

Julian Colon

Drew Clem

Lydia Comfort

Ezenwa Opara

Lauren Sharp

David Vega

Chloe Brayton

Luke Wilson

Ramya Bendapudi

Isai De La Rosa

Bree Felger

Ayden Harrisen Crites

Matthew Klacik

MaKenna Tully

Leah Gabler

Gideon Prumm

Aria Baker

Outstanding Student Organization Award 
National Association for Music Education

National Society of Black Engineers

Student Athlete Leadership Team

Rock Climbing Club

Student Veterans of American

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship

Campus Ministry

Craft Club

Marine Biology Club

Spirit of the Mastodon Award 
Umualqayr Ahmed

William Meyer

Caleb Evers

Larry Shaheen

Navyaprabha Rajappa

Amelia Yoder

Matthew Klacik

Jack Patrick Shearer

Na'Saya Lowe

Abigail Rollins

Ashley Acosta

Justin Taylor Garcia

Michael Boyd

Building Block Award 
Black Student Union

Active Minds

Peace Club

Navyaprabha Rajappa

Savannah Ostermeyer, Damian Williams, Srinithi Yalamanchili and Rual Flores

FRIENDS of the University Pantry

Undergraduate Student Employee of the Year Award 
Sui Nawl Sang

Gustavo Pereira Corsi da Silva

Emma Keeling

Nathan Potts

Kolbey Johnson

Elisa Ayer

Lily Waters

Austin Tyler Lange

Makayla Zettler

Riona Workman

Jamie Ewell

Kaiden Houston

Tia Ajay RaoRane

Mallory Aschliman

Celah Dunn

Steven LaGoy

Luke Meyer

Brock Reschly 

Graduate Student Employee of the Year Award 
Morgan Hissim

Eri Omotoba

Ruaa Jamal Rabi Salem Alfakawi

Divya Navale

Skyler Barrett

Anayat Ali

Thomas Carroll

Tia Rumple

Srivedya Gurazada 

Student Supervisor of the Year Award 
Suzanne Rumsey

John Buteyn

Ayn Reineke

Eric Manor

Cindy Firestine

Dr. John Egger

Lindee Mason

Soni Jha

Michelle Kuhlhorst

Abbey Wang

Dr. Benjamin Slomski

Liane Ambrose

Jenny Mora

David Liu

Alex Backer

Service to Students Award 
Lexy Lowen

Student Conduct & CARE

CARE Team

Austin M. Rausch

Scott Beamon

Kate Long

Student Government Association

Charles Dankyi

Eric Manor

Wendy Maxwell

Navyaprabha Rajappa

Student’s Choice for Teaching Excellence Award 
Dr. Rebecca Essig

Jennifer Houston

Holly Hullinger

Dr. William Sauerland

Staci Bougher

Dr. Damin Fleming

Michael Columbia

Cynthia Vanderlaan

Dr. Sarah Sandman

Erica Anderson-Senter

John Hrehov

Audrey Moore Excellence in Leadership Award and Scholarship  
Ben Burkle

Student Leader of the Year Award and Scholarship  
Mikayla Haggarty

SGA Member of the Year Award 
Michael Boyd

Student Organization Advisor of the Year 
Yvonne Zubovic

Student Organization Member of the Year 
Jayda Bunn

Student Organization Officer of the Year Award 
Sabene Rizvi

Outstanding Student Organization Award 
Black Student Union

Spirit of the Mastodon Award 
Shawyna Chase

DEI Forward Award 
Liv Hope

Building Block Award 
CSC Mastodon Relaxation Zone

Undergraduate Student Employee of the Year Award 
Perla Figueroa Fiallos

Graduate Student Employee of the Year Award 
Pranjali Amalkar

Student Supervisor of the Year Award 
Brianna Kauffman

Service to Students Award 
Abbey Wang

Student’s Choice for Teaching Excellence Award 
John LaMaster

Students at an award banquet.

Awards Banquet

A Mastodon-worthy celebration. 

Each awards cycle features a banquet that honors all the nominees of the year. 

The date for our 2026 Student Leader Awards Banquet will be held on April 27th, 5-7pm in the International Ballroom. This event is INVITE ONLY.