Previous Commencement Award Winners
Spring | Recipient | Mentor | Program |
| Fall | Recipient | Mentor | Program |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
May 2023 | Randall Eric Cole | Professor Anita Barbee and Lecturer Lori Paris | M.S.S.W. Social Work |
| Dec. 2023 | Kaelin Rae Allison | Lecturer Mane Martirosyan and Instructor Jennifer Bobo | M.S.S.W. Social Work
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May 2022 | Vickie Stone | Assistant Professor Shawnise Miller | M.S.S.W. Social Work |
| Dec. 2022 | Dustin Ray Smith | Assistant Professor Thomas Jennings | M.A. Anthropology |
May 2021 | Meredith Nicole Cahill | Associate Professor Kira Taylor | M.P.H. Public Health Sciences: Specialization in Epidemiology |
| Dec. 2022 | Bolaji Michael Ogbulu | Associate Professors Aaron Rollins and Sumei Zhang | M.U.P. Urban Planning and M.P.A. Public Administration |
May 2019 | Miranda Danielle Hale | Assistant Professor Lluίs Baixauli-Olmos | M.A. Spanish
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| Dec. 2021 | Ashley Renee Ezzo | Assistant Professor Kathryn Marklein | M.A. Anthropology |
May 2018 | Brittany Michelle Volpei | Professor Anna Faul | M.S.S.W. Social Work
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| Dec. 2020 | Sashauni Johnson | Assistant Professor Heather Storer | M.S.S.W. Social Work |
May 2017 | Amanda Marie Velez | Professor Seana Golder | M.S.S.W. Social Work |
| Dec. 2018 | Allan A. Day | Assistant Professor Angela Storey | M.A. Anthropology
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May 2016 | Deborah Layne Geisler | Professor Anna Faul | M.S.S.W. Social Work |
| Dec. 2015 | Sara Ashley Mudd | Professor Anna Faul | M.S.S.W. Social Work |
May 2015 | Mawut M. Mach | Assistant Professor Dru Kemp | M.S.S.W. Social Work |
| Dec. 2014 | Dominique Zilpha Jones | Associate Professor La Creis Kidd | M.S. Pharmacology and Toxicology |
May 2014 | James Howard Kent Pugh | Assistant Professor Robin Hognas | M.A. Sociology |
| Dec. 2013 | Archana Rai | Professor Rudolph Parrish | M.S. Biostatistics: Decision Science |
May 2013 | Melony Gwen Martinez | Associate Professors Lisa Wagner and Manuel Medina | M.A. Spanish |
| Dec. 2012 | Kendra Elise Hollis | Lecturer April Murphy | M.S.S.W Social Work |
May 2012 | Alexis Marie Bass | Associate Professor Mary Carothers | M. A. Art (Creative) and Art History |
| Dec. 2011 | Brentin J. Ocker | Professor Mary Hums | M.S. Sport Administration |
May 2011 | Alice Lannon Maynor | Professors Pamela Yankeelov and Crystal Collins-Camargo | M.S.S.W. Social Work |
| Dec. 2010 | Sheila Marie Cuffee Martin | Lecturer Carolyn Provenzano | M.S.S.W Social Work
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May 2010 | Fran S. Ellers | Professor Dana Christensen | M.S.S.W. Social Work |
| Dec. 2008 | Ghanashyam Sharma | Professor Beth Boehm | M.A. English
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May 2009 | Charlene Burlew | Professor Carolyn Provenzano | M.S.S.W. Social Work |
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May 2008 | Kahlil Gibran Baker | Associate Professor Anna Faul | M.S.S.W. Social Work |
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May 2008 | Basheer Zuhair Hawwash | Associate Professor Olfa Nasraoui | M.S. Computer Science |
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Spring | Recipient | Mentor | Program |
| Fall | Recipient | Mentor | Program |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
May 2022 | Erica Von Proctor Lewis | Professor Ying Kit Chan | M.F.A. Studio Art and Design |
| Dec. 2023 | Marta Martin | Associate Professor Angela Storey | M.A. Anthropology |
May 2020 | Ashlee Ann Van Schyndel | Assistant Professor Liza Creel | M.P.H. Public Health
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| Dec. 2022 | Jose M. Najera | Associate Professor Ann Herd | M.S. Human Resources and Organization Development |
May 2019 | Sarah Michelle Forister | Assistant Professor Erick Dubuque | M.Ed. Special Education
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| Dec. 2018 | Meagan Sue Taylor | Professor Julie Peteet | M.A. Anthropology
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May 2018 | Bruce Phillip Dougherty | Assistant Professor Megan Shreffler | M.S. Sport Administration |
| Dec. 2017 | Dylan Scott Terry | Assistant Professor Meg Hancock | M.A. Sport Administration |
May 2017 | Keith Owen Auspland | Professor Seana Golder | M.S.S.W. Social Work |
| Dec. 2016 | Wesley Sawyer Cunningham | Assistant Professor Lara Kelland
| M. A. History |
May 2016 | Benjamin Michael Gies | Professor Thomas Mackey | M.A. History |
| Dec. 2015 | David Christopher Reeve | Assistant Professor Megan Shreffer | M.S. Sport Administration |
May 2015 | Erran Michael Huber | Assistant Professor Mike Hagan | M.A. Humanities |
| Dec. 2014 | Karen M. Michalek-Parsley | Associate Professor Anita Moorma | M.S. Sport Administration |
Spring | Recipient | Mentor | Program |
| Fall | Recipient | Mentor | Program |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
May 2023 | Sarah LeAnn Price | Associate Professor Matthew Lawrenz | Ph.D. Microbiology and Immunology |
| Dec. 2023 | Olalekan Tunde Adepoju | Professor Bronwyn Williams | Ph.D. English/Rhetoric and Composition |
May 2022 | Trinidad Jackson | Professor Monica Wendel | Ph.D. Public Health Sciences |
| Dec. 2022 | Claire Elizabeth Westcott | Associate Professor Kevin Sokoloski | Ph.D. Microbiology and Immunology |
May 2021 | Nichole Claire Jackson | Associate Professor Andrea Olinger | Ph.D. English/Rhetoric and Composition |
| Dec. 2021 | Irina Alexandrovna Vanzhula | Associate Professor Cheri Levinson | Ph.D. Clinical Psychology |
May 2020 | Dylan MacGregor Johnson | Professor Igor Lukashevich | Ph.D. Microbiology and Immunology |
| Dec. 2020 | Jamie Lynn Young | Professor Lu Cai | Ph.D. Pharmacology and Toxicology |
May 2019 | Lisa Christine Smith | Professor Karen Kayser | Ph.D. Social Work |
| Dec. 2019 | Bridget Kathleen Cauley | Professor Patrick Pössel | Ph.D. Counseling and Personnel Services |
May 2018 | Sara del Pilar López-Amézquita (Álvarez) | Professor Bruce Horner | Ph.D. English/Rhetoric and Composition |
| Dec. 2018 | Evan Matthew Gora | Professor Stephen Yanoviak | Ph.D. Biology
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May 2017 | Mahsa Badami | Assistant Professor Olfa Nasaroui | Ph.D. Computer Science and Engineering |
| Dec. 2017 | Yvette Z. Szabo | Professor Tamara Newton | Ph.D. Clinical Psychology |
May 2016 | Ashley D. Miller | Professor Marianne Hutti | Nursing |
| Dec. 2016 | Stephanie Winkeljohn Black | Professor Patrick Pössel | Ph.D. Counseling and Personnel Services |
May 2015 | Amy J. Lueck | Associate Professors Karen Kopelson and Susan Ryan | Ph.D. English/Rhetoric and Composition |
| Dec. 2015 | Marvin “Lee” Schmidt, Jr. | Associate Professor Geoffrey Clark | Ph.D. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology |
May 2014 | Damien Beau Wilburn | Professor Robert Feldhoff | Ph.D. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology |
| Dec. 2014 | Ahmed Reda Amin EL-Barkouky | Professor Aly Farag | Ph.D. Electrical Engineering |
May 2013 | Robert James Loomis III | Associate Professor Balaji Panchapakesan | Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering |
| Dec. 2013 | Rachel Nicole Waford | Professor Richard Lewine | Ph.D. Clinical Psychology |
May 2012 | Tara Jean Schapmire | Professor Anna Faul | Ph.D. Social Work |
| Dec. 2012 | Akshata Moghe | Professor Shirish Barve | Ph.D. Pharmacology and Toxicology |
May 2011 | Crystal A. Day | Professor Barbara Burns
| Experimental Psychology |
| Dec. 2011 | Jianting Wang | Professor Kyung Kang | Chemical Engineering |
May 2010 | Stacy Marie Deck | Associate Professor Anna Faul | Ph.D. Social Work |
| Dec. 2010 | Juhi Bagaitkar | Associate Professors David Scott and Thomas Mitchell | Microbiology and Immunology |
May 2009 | Theodore Lawrence Druffel | Professor Mahendra Sunkara | Ph.D. Chemical Engineering |
| Dec. 2009 | Jose C. Aponte | Professor Gerald B. Hammond | Ph.D. Chemistry |
May 2008 | Bo Xu | Professor Gerald B. Hammond | Ph.D. Chemistry |
| Dec. 2008 | Jenifer Lorena Gamble | Professor Anita Barbee | Ph.D. Social Work |
Spring | Recipient | Mentor | Program |
| Fall | Recipient | Mentor | Program |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
May 2023 | Kylea Rose Garces | Professor Sarah Emery | Ph.D. Biology |
| Dec. 2023 | Belinda Joyce Petri | Professor Carolyn Klinge | Ph.D. Microchemistry and Molecular Genetics |
May 2022 | Robert Eric Shoemaker | Professor Alan Golding | Ph.D. Humanities |
| Dec. 2022 | Mohamed Nazih Mohamed Shehata | Professors Ayman El-Baz and Adel Elmaghraby | Ph.D. Computer Science and Engineering |
May 2021 | Jill Marie Randall | Professor Karen Kayser | Ph.D. Social Work |
| Dec. 2021 | Victory Oseken Osezua | Associate Professor Muriel Harris | Ph.D. Public Health Sciences |
May 2020 | Irina Miralda Molina | Associate Professor Silvia Uriarte | Ph.D. Microbiology and Immunology |
| Dec. 2020 | Justin Douglas Smith | Assistant Professor Sachin Handa | Ph.D. Chemistry |
May 2019 | Kelsey Lynn Kaht | Professor Richard Baldwin | Ph.D. Chemistry |
| Dec. 2019 | Casey Jean Steadman | Professor Charles Hubscher | Ph.D. Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology |
May 2018 | Ashley Atri Assgari | Assistant Professor Christian Stilp | Ph.D. Experimental Psychology |
| Dec. 2018 | Ashlee J. Warnecke | Professor Richard Lewine | Ph.D. Clinical Psychology |
May 2017 | Andrew Zahidaoud Haddad | Professor Craig Grapperhaus | Ph.D. Chemistry
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| Dec. 2017 | Andrew A. Gibb | Associate Professor Bradford Hill and Professor Aruni Bhatnagar | Ph.D. Physiology and Biophysics |
May 2016 | Matthew Cody Lee Keith | Professor Roberto Bolli | Physiology and Biophysics |
| Dec. 2016 | Sujith Dassanayaka | Professor Steven Jones | Ph.D. Physiology and Biophysics |
May 2015 | Abdallah Eteleeb | Associate Professor Eric Rouchka | Ph.D. Computer Science and Engineering |
| Dec. 2015 | Sabrin Husein Albeituni | Professor Jun Yan | Ph.D. Microbiology and Immunology |
May 2014 | Michael James Sobiech | Professor Debra Journet | Ph.D. English/Rhetoric and Composition |
| Dec. 2014 | Adam T. Gerstenecker | Associate Professor Benjamin Mast | Ph.D. Clinical Psychology |
May 2013 | Sebastien Laulhe | Professor Michael Nantz | Ph.D. Chemistry |
| Dec. 2013 | G. Christopher Crawford | Associate Professor Bruce Kemelgor | Ph.D. Entrepreneurship |
May 2012 | Zhuang Jin
| Professor Gerald Hammond
| Ph.D. Chemistry |
| Dec. 2012 | John Martin Mueller
| Professor David Dubofsky | Ph.D. Entrepreneurship |
May 2011 | Carlo Renato Bartoli | Professor Sumatha D. Prabhu
| Physiology and Biophysics |
| Dec. 2012 | Ghanashyam Sharma
| Associate Professor Joanna Wolfe | Ph.D. English/Rhetoric and Composition |
May 2010 | Marion E. Hambrick | Associate Professor T. Christopher Greenwell and Assistant Professor Sue Lasky
| Ph.D. Educational Leadership and Organizational Development |
| Dec. 2011 | Sarah B. Bush | Professor Karen Karp | Curriculum and Instruction |
May 2009 | Amisha Poret-Peterson | Associate Professor Martin Klotz
| Ph.D. Biology |
| Dec. 2011 | Eric Wallace Leake | Professor Bronwyn Williams | English/Rhetoric and Composition |
May 2008 | Mesia Moore Steed | Professor Suresh C. Tyagi | Ph.D. Physiology and Biophysics |
| Dec. 2010 | Cynthia Britt | Professor Debra Journet | English/Rhetoric and Composition |
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| Dec. 2009 | Caitlin Killelea Holley | Associate Professor Benjamin Mast | Ph.D. Clinical Psychology |
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| Dec. 2009 | Gladys Afor Ngoh | Associate Professor Steven Jones and Professor Irving Joshua | Ph.D. Physiology and Biophysics |
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| Dec. 2008 | Satoru Arimitsu | Professor Gerald Hammond
| Ph.D. Chemistry
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Spring | Recipient | Mentor | Program |
| Fall | Recipient | Mentor | Program |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
May 2023 | Mohamed Tarek Mohamed Ali | Professor Ayman El-Baz | Ph.D. Interdisciplinary Studies, specialization in Translational Bioengineering |
| Dec. 2023 | Affan Affan | Professor Tamer Inanc | Ph.D. Electrical Engineering |
May 2022 | Heba ElSayed Mohamed Kandil | Professors Ayman El-Baz and Adel Elmaghraby | Ph.D. Computer Science and Engineering |
| Dec. 2022 | Emily Michelle Kempfer | Assistant Professor Lee Thompson | Ph.D. Chemistry |
May 2021 | Ahmed M. Shaffie | Professors Adel Elmaghraby and Ayman El-Baz | Ph.D. Computer Science and Engineering |
| Dec. 2021 | Brett Robert Janis | Professor Michael Menze | Ph.D. Biology |
May 2020 | Fatemeh Karami | Associate Professor Monica Gentili | Ph.D. Industrial Engineering |
| Dec. 2020 | Robert Chandos Monsen | Professor John O. Trent
| Ph.D. Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics |
May 2019 | Tasha L. Golden | Associate Professor Monica Wendel | Ph.D. Public Health Sciences |
| Dec. 2019 | Dhruba Kumar Pattadar | Professor Francis Zamborini | Ph.D. Chemistry |
May 2018 | Zhichao Lu | Professor Gerald B. Hammond | Ph.D. Chemistry |
| Dec. 2018 | Cierra Nichole Sharp | Professor Leah Siskind | Ph.D. Pharmacology and Toxicology |
May 2017 | Emmanuel Frimpong Boamah | Professor Janet Kelly and Associate Professor Sumei Zhang | Ph.D. Urban and Public Affairs |
| Dec. 2017 | Udika Iroshini Bandara | Professor Ryan Gill | Ph.D. Applied and Industrial Mathematics |
May 2016 | Ehsan Hosseini-Asl | Professor Jacek Zurada and Associate Professor Ayman El-Baz | Electrical Engineering |
| Dec. 2016 | Jessica Lee Weaver | Associate Professor Jason Smith | Ph.D. Physiology and Biophysics |
May 2015 | Katherine Mae Efstration Winham | Associate Professor Seana Golder and Professor Bibhuti Sar | Ph.D. Social Work |
| Dec. 2015 | Venkat Kalyan Vendra | Professor Mahendra Sunkara and Associate Professor Delaina Amos | Ph.D. Chemical Engineering |
May 2014 | Fahmi Abdallah Fahmi Mohammed Khalifa | Associate Professor Ayman El-Baz and Assistant Professor Karla Welch | Ph.D. Electrical Engineering |
| Dec. 2014 | Sajedah Mahmoud Hindi | Professor Ashok Kumar | Ph.D. Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology |
May 2013 | Lacey Morgan Litchfield | Professor Carolyn Klinge | Ph.D. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology |
| Dec. 2013 | Ahmed Abd-Elrahman Elnakib | Associate Professors Aymay El-Baz and Tamer Inanc | Ph.D. Electrical Engineering |
May 2012 | Santoshrupa Dumpala | Professor Mahendra Sunkara | Ph.D. Chemical Engineering |
| Dec. 2012 | Jeffrey John Bara | Associate Professor Susanna Remold | Ph.D. Biology |
May 2011 | Vivekanand Kumar | Professor Mahendra Sunkara | Chemical Engineering |
| Dec. 2011 | Jason Lee Hellman | Professor Aruni Bhatnagar | Physiology and Biophysics |
May 2010 | Walid Missaoui | Associate Professor Hichem Frigui | Ph.D. Computer Science and Engineering |
| Dec. 2010 | Patrick Holt
| Associate Professor John Trent | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology |
May 2009 | Pankaj Chhaganbhai Patel | Professor James O. Fiet | Ph.D. Entrepreneurship |
| Dec. 2009 | Michael Flaherty | Associate Professor Buddhadeb Dawn and Professor Roberto Bolli | Ph.D. Physiology and Biophysics |
May 2008 | Nicholas Bryce Watson | Professor W. Glenn McGregor | Ph.D. Pharmacology and Toxicology |
| Dec. 2008 | Abdullah Yalcin | Associate Professor Jason Chesney | Ph.D. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology |