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.
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.
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.
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 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 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 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