2016 Hardin, Clark Scholars Named at Honors Recognition Banquet

The Hardin and Clark Scholars, the top academic honors at Midwestern State University, and other outstanding students were named at the annual Honors Recognition Banquet April 22 in D.L. Ligon Coliseum.

Megan Carol Piehler was named Hardin Scholar. Piehler is pursuing a degree in mass communication with minors in public relations and Spanish. The Hardin Scholar is the university's highest award for academic excellence and was begun in 1961 by the Hardin Foundation. It is presented each spring to a student during his or her senior year and a $2,500 scholarship award is given with the honor.

Piehler serves as the 2016 MSU student regent, member of the Student Government Association, and served on the Redwine Honors Society Committee. She is a member of Alpha Chi National College Honor Society, Gamma Phi Beta, and a Redwine Honors Scholar. Piehler received the 2015 Clark Scholar award. She has presented at the National Model United Nations Conference in New York and the Great Plains Honors Conference in Chicago, Illinois. Piehler is from Plano, Texas.

Luke Gregory Allen, who is pursuing a double major in political science and Spanish, was named Clark Scholar. The Clark award was established in 1976 to honor E.B. Clark, a former chairman of the Board of Trustees of the MSU Foundation, and carries with it a $1,500 scholarship award. It is presented each spring to a student in his or her junior year.

Allen is a member of the MSU Cycling Team and has been honored as a USA Cycling Academic All Star for 2015-2016.  He is a member of the MSU Redwine Honors Program, the Spanish Club, the Student Government Association, and the Catholic Campus Center. He is also a member of the MSU Model United Nations Team, which competed in the National Model UN Competition in New York City this spring. Allen is a member of the National Political Science Honors Society Pi Sigma Alpha and of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, and Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society. He volunteers fo the Wichita County Humane Society, the Wichita Falls Bicycling Club, the Hotter N' Hell Hundred Bicycle Race, and the Duel Marathon. Allen is from Abilene, Texas.

Leadership Awards

Leadership awards were presented to Man of the Year Jesse Clyde Brown, Woman of the Year Andrea Mendoza Lespron, Outstanding Graduate Man Matthew Ryan Fox, Outstanding Graduate Woman Ruthann Ross-Vesprey, Outstanding Senior Man Brandon James Poirot, Outstanding Senior Woman Megan Carol Piehler, Outstanding Junior Man Anthony Chisom Enem, Outstanding Junior Woman Julia Marie Brady, Outstanding Sophomore Man Luke Gregory Allen, Outstanding Sophomore Woman Bethany Ann Russell, Outstanding Freshman Man Rahul Vivek Joshi, and Outstanding Freshman Woman Kelsey E. Purcell.

The Viola Grady Leadership Award was presented to Careisha K'niche Whyte; the James L. Stewart Service Award was presented to Sigma Lambda Alpha Sorority, Inc; and the Howard Farrell Community Excellence Award was presented to Jesse Clyde Brown.

Academic Awards

— Academic awards presented to students in the Dillard College of Business Administration were Outstanding Accounting Student Bradley Dwayne Groves, Outstanding Economics Student Luca Liam Lalor, Outstanding Finance Student Curtis Martin Knobloch II, Outstanding General Business Student Karina Lopez, Outstanding Management Student Sarah Beth Bond, Outstanding Management Information Systems Student Oluwashikemi Deborah Olowofela, Outstanding Marketing Student Zachary Paul Santagate, and Outstanding Graduate Student In Business Administration Pierce James Halverson.

— Students recognized from the Gordon T. and Ellen West College of Education were Outstanding BAAS Student Joan Elaine Chalifoux, Outstanding Kinesiology Student Macy Breann Miles, Outstanding Sport and Leisure Studies Student Jacob Daniel Hardin, and Outstanding Graduate Student In Education Brenton Wayne Lamberth.

— Awards presented to students in the Lamar D. Fain College of Fine Arts were Outstanding Art Student Bernard Peters, Outstanding Mass Communication Student Shambreka Decole Jones, Outstanding Music Student Annmarie Brooke Bush, and Outstanding Theatre Student Emily Gail Stovall. The Vinson Award for Journalism was presented to Taylor Anne Warren.

— Students recognized from the Robert D. & Carol Gunn College of Health Sciences and Human Services were Outstanding Athletic Training Student Austin Lee Bauer, Outstanding Criminal Justice Student Justin David Maywald, Outstanding Dental Hygiene Student Conner Leann Timmons, Outstanding Exercise Physiology Student Nicole Michelle Cochran, Outstanding Nursing Student Makenze Jo Martinez, Outstanding Radiologic Science Logan Edward Lafoon, Outstanding Respiratory Care Student Warren Christopher Guiste, Outstanding Social Work Student Melissa Elaine Balderas, and Outstanding Graduate Student In Health Sciences And Human Services Megan Amanda Howdeshell.

— Students recognized from the Prothro-Yeager College of Humanities and Social Sciences were Outstanding English Student Melissa Jean Laussmann, Outstanding Student in a Foreign Language Maira Alejandra Salinas-Guerrero, Outstanding History Student Kristen Patricia Johnson, Outstanding Student in Humanities Laura Elise Galbraith, Outstanding International Studies Student Camisha Le'Ann Johnson, Outstanding Political Science Student Alexis Skija Gay, Outstanding Psychology Student Emily Anne O'Neal, Outstanding Sociology Student Anna Maria Della Nebbia, and Outstanding Graduate Student in Humanities and Social Sciences Cheyenne Nicole Cannedy. The Vinson Award In Creative Writing was presented to Kalli Danae Root.

— Awards presented to students in the College of Science and Mathematics were Outstanding Biology Student Jordan Taylor Carter, Outstanding Chemistry Student Suprena Emanuella Poleon, Outstanding Computer Science Student Michael Gerhard Bria Ellerkamp, Outstanding Environmental Science Student Lisa Marie Diemer, Outstanding Geosciences Student Alexandria Danice Edwards, Outstanding Mathematics Student Tam Cong Doan, Outstanding Mechanical Engineering Student Suman Bhandari, Outstanding Physics Student Sachithra Ishani Weerasooriya, and Outstanding Graduate Student in Science and Mathematics Amy Elizabeth Knowles.