» Media Center » News Releases » 2018 » April
April 4, 2018
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Amanda Herzberg |
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Alyssa Lincoln |
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Jacquie Lamer |
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Carter Herrman and Shelby Simpson |
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Jill Brown |
Northwest Missouri State University honored its outstanding student organizations, leaders and student employees as well as its Tower Service Award winners April 2 during the University’s eighth annual Northwest Awards and Recognition Ceremony.
The collaborative celebration is sponsored by Student Senate, the Office of Student Involvement and Student Employment. It recognizes the winners of the B.D. Library Research Contest, Student Organization and Leadership Awards, Student Senate Tower Service Awards, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’s Commitment to Social Justice Awards, the Office of Human Resources’ Student Impact Awards, Student Employment Awards, the Graduate Assistant of the Year Award and Northwest-Kansas City Awards
Traditionally, the last award to be given is the Student Employee of the Year, which went this year to Amanda Herzberg, a junior chemistry major from Maryville who works as a Supplemental Instruction leader in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. Herzberg’s nomination commended her for having a positive impact on faculty as well as her peers, noting she adds value to conversations and asks questions that help faculty evaluate their teaching.
“The net contribution of all this student’s work is over 500 hours spent helping students, and that’s not counting all the tasks they do to prepare for their job,” Northwest Coordinator of Student Employment Paula McLain said, reading from Herzberg’s nomination. “They consistently strive to better serve students, going above and beyond. More students are successful because of this individual.”
While Student Employee of the Year winners are selected based on standards established by the National Student Employment Association, McLain noted Northwest’s internationally benchmarked student employment program consists of about 950 student employees. They play a key role in the institution’s educational, research and operational excellence.
“Student employees perform invaluable services with enthusiasm, dedication and initiative,” McLain said. “Student employment is our bridge to those we serve, a bridge that personally brings us friendship, ideas and motivation, among many other valuable assets. Indeed, Northwest depends on this irreplaceable workforce.”
The Office of Student Involvement also hands out awards recognizing outstanding students, advisors, programs and organizations. Northwest supports more than 150 student organizations on its campus.
“Those organizations as well as their leaders work tirelessly to provide their members opportunities for growth, development and learning,” Dee Dino, Northwest’s student involvement coordinator, said. “Whether they are coordinating campus wide events, raising thousands of dollars for charities or providing hundreds of man hours to local service organizations, our student organizations and their leaders make an impact every day.”
Northwest’s Student Senate was a winner of two organizational awards – the Community Leadership Award and the Commitment to Diversity Award. Additionally, Alyssa Lincoln, a senior biology and psychology major from Omaha, Nebraska, who recently was elected president of the 2018-19 Student Senate, was named Outstanding Student of the Year.
The Cyber Defense Club was recognized as the year’s Outstanding Student Organization. Jacquie Lamer, a senior instructor of mass media, was named Outstanding Organizational Advisor for her work with AdInk, and AdInk co-presidents Shelby Simpson, a senior public relations major from Spring Hill, Kansas, and Carter Herrman, a senior marketing major from Leawood, Kansas, were named Student Organization Presidents of the Year.
The B.D. Owens Library recognized winners of its annual research contest, which is designed to encourage critical thinking and reward undergraduate students for research excellence. Papers are judged by a panel of faculty and librarians based on the application of scholarly information sources to the topic; the demonstration of skillful incorporation of source content to support the paper’s thesis; and a responsible use of information by providing complete and accurate citations.
A group submission by Krystal Brier, Cameron Morrison, Sylvia Brand, Royce Elder, and Derek Gallagher, titled “The Effects of Snake vs. Block on the Brain,” earned first placed in the contest. Their research for Dr. Bradlee Gamblin’s experimental psychology course was aimed at determining the effects of cell phone usage on memory and retention in the classroom. Participants watched a video clip and some played a game during the clip before taking a short test. The results showed cell phone usage had negative impacts on memory and retention.
Marissa Mallon earned second place for her research paper “Case Study: Roth v. United States” written for Dr. Dan Smith’s law and politics course. Astrid Reynoso Zaragoza placed third for her paper about plant breeding techniques for Dr. Alisha Campbell’s techniques in biotechnology course.
Jill Brown, who began work last November as partnership coordinator for Northwest’s profession-based learning initiatives, delivered the event’s keynote address and reflected on the past work and experiences she attained to help her be successful in her career.
“I’m a big fan of the student worker model because that’s honestly how I’ve gotten everywhere I am today,” Brown said, recounting the camera work she did for a campus TV as a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. “It was a great experience and it led me to all of my connections, and they’re the same connections I use here in my work on the Northwest campus. My entire job focuses on building partnerships and building connections.”
A complete listing of the award winners appears below.
Presented by B.D. Owens Library
Presented by the Office of Student Involvement
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| The Cyber Defense Club was named Outstanding Student Organization. |
Presented by Student Senate
Presented by the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Presented by the Graduate Office
Presented by the Office of Human Resources
Presented by the Office of Human Resources
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| The Writing Center was named Student Employment Team of the Year. |
