2020 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 during a virtual Honors Recognition Celebration May 22.

Amanda Renee Threlkeld was named Hardin Scholar. Threlkeld is pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and Management Information Systems. 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 $3,000 scholarship award is given with the honor.

Threlkeld was the University’s 2019 Clark Scholar and serves as president of both the MSU Redwine Honors Program Student Committee and Delta Sigma Pi Co-Ed Professional Business Fraternity. She is a member of the Student Advisory Board of the Dillard College, the MSU Texas Model United Nations Team, Texas Society of CPAs, Mortar Board National Honor Society, Golden Key International Honor Society, and the National Collegiate Honors Council. Earlier this year, she was named the Tornado Alley Region Collegiate of the Year by Delta Sigma Pi.

Active in undergraduate research, Threlkeld recently presented her research on “The Effects of Public Transportation on Passenger Social Habits: A Comparative Case Study of Two College Campus Busing Systems.” During her studies abroad in London, England, last summer, Threlkeld co-conducted research on “Matched Pair Analysis: An Examination of Brokered Deposit vs Core Deposit Constraints of Community Banks on Small Business Lending with Drs. Robert Forrester, John Martinez, and Reid Cummings.

In addition to her academic and research endeavors, Threlkeld is active with Big Brothers Big Sisters, the First Assembly of Wichita Falls, and the Wichita Falls Area Food Bank.

Threlkeld is pursuing her business administration degree in accounting in order to gain her Certified Public Accountant’s License and become a forensic accountant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Finalists for the Hardin Scholar were Kaushik Shah and Andrew Wolf.

Montes Martinez, who is pursuing a degree in accounting and finance, 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.

Martinez is a member of the Redwine Honors Program, Model United Nations Team, Dillard Student Advisory Board, Financial Management Association, Organization of Hispanic Students, Kappa Sigma, Interfraternity Council, and the Rising Mustangs Leadership Program.

Most recently Martinez completed his research on “A Pre and Post Empirical Analysis of the Dodd-Frank Act on Small and Large Community Banks,” as well as a NASDAQ Analysis.

His community activities include participating as a praise and worship team leader at Renuevo Church, as well as volunteering with the St. Patrick’s Day Festival, the Humane Society, Together We Make a Difference, Faith Mission’s Box-A-Thon, MSU-Burns Fantasy of Lights, and the annual Sikes Lake Clean Up.

After completing his degree, Martinez plans to gain certifications as a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Financial Analyst. He says the goal that drives his ambition is to represent his hard-working Mexican immigrant parents by becoming the first in his family to graduate from a university and to defy the status quo.

Finalists for the Clark Scholar were Lillian Adams, Samuel Campbell, Jonus Noack, DanLee Duncan, and Haley Ferrell.

Leadership Awards

Leadership awards were presented to Man of the Year Matthew Mitchell, Woman of the Year Bailey Smoot, Outstanding Graduate Man Broday Walker, Outstanding Graduate Woman Kayla Meaders, Outstanding Senior Man Kaushik Shah, Outstanding Senior Woman Jernelle Jno Baptiste, Outstanding Junior Man Hunter Ricks, Outstanding Junior Woman Kristen Longo, Outstanding Sophomore Man DanLee Duncan, Outstanding Sophomore Woman Lillian Adams, Outstanding Freshman Man Hunter Ordner, and Outstanding Freshman Woman Braelyn Ringwald.

The Viola Grady Leadership Award was presented to Shelbi Stogdill; the James L. Stewart Service Award was presented to Sigma Lambda Alpha Sorority, Inc; and the Howard Farrell Community Excellence Award was presented to Andrew Wolf.

Academic Awards

Academic awards presented to students in the Dillard College of Business Administration were Outstanding Accounting Student Kervell Maxine Guiste, Outstanding Economics Student Elisha Zanieth Titre, Outstanding Finance Student Sara-Lee Earlisha Maximea, Outstanding General Business Student Paul Wayne Stolle, Outstanding Management Student Corbin Lance Bloodworth, Outstanding Management Information Systems Student Kimberly Nicole Cox, Outstanding Marketing Student Lexis Anne Brickhouse, and Outstanding Graduate Student In Business Administration Jordan Raegan Waddell.

Students recognized from the Gordon T. and Ellen West College of Education were Outstanding Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences Student Julia Kaitlyn Lowry, Outstanding Bilingual Education Student Leslie Priscila Alvarado, Outstanding Elementary Education Student Brooke Nicole Schreiber, Outstanding 4th Through 8th Grade Education Student Bailey Paige Burks, Outstanding Kinesiology Student Kylah Mychelle Brodnax, Outstanding Secondary Education Student Blake Daniel Hernandez, Outstanding Special Education Student Lauren Mychael Lindgren, Outstanding Sport and Leisure Studies Student Cailtlyn Marie Kee, and Outstanding Graduate Student in Education Cara Lanae Smith.

Awards presented to students in the Lamar D. Fain College of Fine Arts were Outstanding Art Student Autumn Brook Bellar, Outstanding Mass Communication Student Stephen Gabriel Gomez, Outstanding Music Student Shiori Watashima, and Outstanding Theatre Student Emily May Burns. The Vinson Award for Journalism was presented to Stephanie Guadalupe Robledo.

Students recognized from the Robert D. & Carol Gunn College of Health Sciences & Human Services were Outstanding Athletic Training Student Lisa Garcia, Outstanding Criminal Justice Student Anika Proctor, Outstanding Dental Hygiene Student Kallie F. Bogges, Outstanding Exercise Physiology Student Alexander Zeizinger, Outstanding Nursing Student Bailee Layton, Outstanding Radiologic Science Student Zoe Nolan, Outstanding Respiratory Care Student Tanairi Mai, Outstanding Social Work Student Hailey Hall, and Outstanding Graduate Student in Health Sciences and Human Services Benjamin Van Winkle.

Students recognized from the Prothro-Yeager College of Humanities & Social Sciences were Outstanding English Student Grace Tsichlis, Outstanding Student in a Foreign Language Francesca Luisi, Outstanding History Student Nate Endo, Outstanding Humanities Student James Cope, Outstanding Global Studies Student Lea Cizeron, Outstanding Political Science Student Jonathan Narvais-Gwilt, Outstanding Psychology Student Carl Alfert, Outstanding Sociology Student Latresa Williams, and Outstanding Graduate Student in Humanities and Social Sciences Lisa Moore. The Vinson Award in Creative Writing was presented to Emma Claire Cranford.

Awards presented to students in the McCoy College of Science, Mathematics & Engineering were Outstanding Biology Student Prisca Mbonu, Outstanding Chemistry Student Bailey Smoot, Outstanding Computer Science Student Mai Trinh, Outstanding Environmental Science Student Rachel Leigh Morgan, Outstanding Geosciences Student Bradley Carson Prigmore, Outstanding Mathematics Student Yujin Yoshimura, Outstanding Mechanical Engineering Student Carlyse Wallace, and Outstanding Graduate Student in Science, Mathematics & Engineering Broday Walker. 

The Hardin Scholar and Clark Scholar awards are two of MSU Texas' highest honor for students. Wednesday afternoon, @shipleysuzanne1 traveled around Wichita Falls to deliver the Hardin Scholar and Clark Scholar awards to the homes of Montes Martinez and Amanda Threlkeld. #MSUTexas pic.twitter.com/UslQcMQc0y

— Midwestern State (@MSUTexas) May 29, 2020