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University Recognizes Outstanding Students for 2023

May 3, 2023
By Larry Isch
Posted in About
Honors Day recipients

University of the Ozarks administrators and faculty presented the University’s top academic and division awards for the 2022-23 academic year during the 66th annual Honors Day ceremony, held Wednesday afternoon in the Walton Fine Arts Center.

Abby Lewis, a health science major from Greenbrier, Ark., and Kneisha McDonald, a biology major from Nassau, The Bahamas, were named the recipients of the 2023 Wiley Lin Hurie Memorial Award, presented to the outstanding senior in the graduating class as voted on by the faculty. The Hurie Award is named in honor of the long-time president of the University and is the highest honor given to an Ozarks student. Lewis was also named the Outstanding Student in Exercise Science and McDonald was named the Outstanding Student in Biology.

The award winners in the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts included, Outstanding Student in Art – Connor Klein; the Amanda Alders Pike Art Award – Connor Klein and Liam Neal; Outstanding Student in English – Dax Grove; Outstanding Student in History – Carlissa Colebrook; Outstanding Student in Music – Eber Martinez; Outstanding Student in Philosophy – Ciara Boswell; Outstanding Student in Spanish – Odalis Garcia; and Outstanding Student in Theatre – Klara McElroy.

The awards in the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics included, Outstanding Student in Biology – Kneisha McDonald and Emily Spillers; Outstanding Student in Chemistry – Carlos Beauregard Leon and Brickshane Tucker; Outstanding Student in Health Science – Abby Lewis; Outstanding Student in Psychology – Kennedy Goodnight; Outstanding Student in Mathematics – Jonathan Duffel; and Outstanding Student in Environmental Studies – Laura Bruce.

The awards in the Division of Social Sciences included, Outstanding Student in Accounting – Lea Terrell; Outstanding Student in Business Administration – Jose Rodolfo Arias Fonseca; Outstanding Student in Political Science – Jose Rodolfo Arias Fonseca and Denisse Delgado-Conde; Outstanding Student Communication Studies – Melvin Mendoza; Robert Berry Fulton Award in Communication – Emerald McCourty;  Outstanding Student in Elementary Education – Shea Neumeier; Outstanding Student in Physical Education – Trey Vance; and Outstanding Student in Education – Sarah Todd.

The University also announced the winners of the annual A.R.C.H. competition during the ceremony. In the category of Poster Presentations, Jayden Glover took first, Josue Maldonado was second and Ashley Hawkins was third. In the category of Multimedia Storytelling, Melvin Mendoza won first place, Cristhian Rodriguez was second and Sarah Bureau was third. In the category of Oral Presentations, Kneisha McDonald was first, Solange V. Avalo was second and Cristhel Mejia was third. In the category of Visual Arts Display, Alexandra Melgar took first, Mirian Miralda was second and Jessica Frazer and Connor Klein tied for third.

“The students we celebrated this afternoon have not only challenged themselves and excelled in their chosen field of study, they have also challenged themselves to explore new interests, to expand their capabilities, to become campus leaders, to experience new cultures, and in doing so, they have become valuable members of this campus community,” said University President Richard Dunsworth. “And, when they leave our campus borders they will be valuable members of the world community.”

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