2023 Hardin, Clark Scholars Named at Honors Recognition Banquet
The Hardin and Clark Scholars, the top academic honors at Midwestern State University, and many other outstanding students were named during the annual Honors Recognition Banquet on April 28 in D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
Casee Harl was named Hardin Scholar. Harl is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mass communication with a double minor in digital media and visual communication. The Hardin Scholar is the university’s highest award for academic excellence and was begun in 1962 by the Hardin Foundation. It is presented each spring to a student during his or her senior year, and a $3,000 scholarship is awarded with the honor.
Harl is a member of the Redwine Honors Program and Model United Nations team and has earned President’s Honor Roll recognition each of her semesters at MSU Texas. She volunteers with the Wichita Falls Wild Bird Sanctuary, food drives for the Women’s Shelter, and the Wichita Falls and Lake Dallas animal shelters. Harl is also active with Bridge College Ministries through First Baptist Church Wichita Falls.
Two years ago, Harl joined the social media and marketing team as a student staff photographer. Her images capture the life of MSU Texas students on campus and in the community and have been used extensively throughout the university’s social media, website, and marketing materials. She is also a small business owner with her photography business specializing in weddings, family, and senior portraits.
Finalists for the Hardin Scholar were Colten Ellis and Brittany Hailey Hollingsworth.
Mmesoma Unachukwu, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, 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 features a $1,500 scholarship award. It is presented each spring to a student in his or her junior year.
Unachukwu is active on the MSU Texas campus as a member Redwine Honors Program, African Student Organization, Society of Women Engineers, and National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). Since attending MSU Texas, Unachukwu has earned a certificate of achievement from the McCoy College of Science, Mathematics & Engineering, President’s Honor Roll recognition, and was the table tennis recreational sports champion in 2022 and 2023. She has volunteered with the Wichita Falls Food Bank, the Redwine Honors garden, highway cleanup through the NSBE, and provided community service at an orphanage in Nigeria. Unachukwu’s professional goal is to own an automotive company with the mission of making transportation easier.
Finalists for the Clark Scholar were Amy DeWalt, Erin McCutcheon, Marcus Morris, Brooklyn Rhyne, and Samantha Wilson.
Leadership Awards
Leadership awards were presented to Woman of the Year Gabriella Pettijohn, Man of the Year Anil Khanal, Outstanding Graduate Woman Bethany Ward, Outstanding Graduate Man Damilola Ola, Outstanding Senior Woman Sheeba Kalvin, Outstanding Senior Man Andres Revis, Outstanding Junior Woman Tiffany Nguyen, Outstanding Junior Man Colten Ellis, Outstanding Sophomore Woman Marisol Mora, Outstanding Sophomore Man Brandon Goins, Outstanding Freshman Woman Megan Adams, and Outstanding Freshman Man Joshua De Waal. The Viola Grady Leadership Award was presented to Zetta Cannedy; the James L. Stewart Service Award was presented to the Omega Delta Phi Fraternity, Inc.; and the Howard Farrell
Community Excellence Award was presented to Exziyah Greenlee. The Alumni Association Award was presented to Ernuel Tonge, and the Fraternity and Sorority Life Award was presented to Chrishaun Blake.
Academic Awards
Academic awards presented to students in the Dillard College of Business Administration were Outstanding Accounting Student Zachary O’Dell, Outstanding Economics Student Gabriella Pettijohn, Outstanding Finance Student Exziyah Greenlee, Outstanding General Business Student Hallie Morgan, Outstanding Management Student Brittany Jackson, Outstanding Management Information Systems Student Kristine Trinh, Outstanding Marketing Student Ian Scalia, and Outstanding Graduate Student In Business Administration Bethany Ward.
Students recognized from the Gordon T. and Ellen West College of Education were Outstanding Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences Student Timothy Gilliam, Outstanding Bilingual Education Student Juanita Orozco, Outstanding Elementary Education Student Madelyn Strait, Outstanding 4th Through 8th Grade Education Student Halie Bigford, Outstanding Kinesiology Student Lynzee Keys, Outstanding Secondary Education Student Megan Thonsgaard, Outstanding Special Education Student Avery Barton, Outstanding Sport and Leisure Studies Student Keaton Dickens, and Outstanding Graduate Student in Education Lauren Lindrgen.
Awards presented to students in the Lamar D. Fain College of Fine Arts were Outstanding Art Student Jayce Downing, Outstanding Mass Communication Student Cecil Witherspoon, Outstanding Music Student Destiny Anderson, and Outstanding Theatre Student Emma Boatright.
Students recognized from the Robert D. & Carol Gunn College of Health Sciences & Human Services were Outstanding Athletic Training Student Callie Melton, Outstanding Criminal Justice Student Madison Mullen, Outstanding Dental Hygiene Student Emily Cowan, Outstanding Exercise Physiology Student Makinzie Garvin, Outstanding Nursing Student Brooke Creacy, Outstanding Radiologic Science Student Brysann Vaughn, Outstanding Respiratory Care Student Sheeba Kalvin, Outstanding Social Work Student John Melton, and Outstanding Graduate Student in Health Sciences and Human Services Suchi Prajapati.
Students recognized from the Prothro-Yeager College of Humanities & Social Sciences were Outstanding English Student Brandon Goins, Outstanding Student in a Foreign Language Morgun Mason, Outstanding History Student Ethan Allen, Outstanding Humanities Student Collin Thiel, Outstanding Global Studies Student Federica Manno, Outstanding Political Science Student Emily Beaman, Outstanding Psychology Student Aribah Tahir, Outstanding Sociology Student Alexis Leskey, and Outstanding Graduate Student in Humanities and Social Sciences Sajana Dissanayake.
Awards presented to students in the McCoy College of Science, Mathematics & Engineering were Outstanding Biology Student Andrea Repici, Outstanding Chemistry Student Anna Razavi, Outstanding Computer Science Student Samuel Olatunde, Outstanding Environmental Science Student Morgun Mason, Outstanding Geosciences Student Elizabeth Elkins, Outstanding Mathematics Student Samuel Olatunde, Outstanding Mechanical Engineering Student Kuwin Wyke, and Outstanding Graduate Student in Science, Mathematics Chad Callender.