Students honored for leadership at 29th annual ceremony

The leadership qualities of some of Lehigh’s most accomplished and exemplary students were recognized at the annual Student Life Leadership Award ceremony that took place Thursday, April 24^th, in Packard Auditorium. The two-hour event honored the students who “distinguished themselves in service to the community and devoted significant time and energy into shaping the Lehigh culture in positive and productive ways,” according to Dean of Students Sharon Basso, who presided over the ceremony.

Acknowledging the challenges of the past year, Basso said that Lehigh’s “incredible students have stood up and taken on challenges and helped lead this campus. They give us all hope that we will continue to grow and evolve into a better Lehigh. All of you gathered here today – in one way or another – are leading change across the university, and we thank you.”

New to the ceremony this year was the addition of presentations by two Lehigh trustees. Board of Trustees member Philip Sheibley presented the Bosey Reiter Leadership Cup to Jillian Sloand and Kyle Ferdinando, and Kevin Clayton presented the prestigious University Service Award to Sarah Glickstein and Jake Puzycki.

Basso also noted that the following groups and individuals were recognized at earlier ceremonies on campus as the academic year drew to a close:

• The Office of Multicultural Affairs Recognition Banquet recognized Hung Do and Niomi Sterling as the Most Changed Male and Female

• The Office of Student Leadership Development Recognition Banquet recognized Kerry Mallett as the winner of the Servant Leadership Award. Madeleine Smith won the Transformational Leadership Award and Josh Parris was awarded the Catalyst for Social Change Award.

• The Strive for Excellence Awards Banquet recognized Frederick Coleman, Kevin Jaramillo, and Karen Valerio as the recipients of the Rising Star Award. Nigel Muhammad received the Ralph Albert Thomas ’76 Leadership Award. Liz Pines and MyTresa Taylor were awarded the Strive for Excellence Award.

• The Volunteer Recognition Banquet recognized Rob Suerth as the recipient of the Brian J. Lime Award. Kappa Sigma was honored with the Giving Tree Award.

• The Greek Awards Banquet that was sponsored by IFC, Panhellenic, and the Multicultural Greek Council recognized the following:

The Emerging Greek Leader Award went to J.J. O’Brien, Rachel Sholder and Christian Naunay.

The Greek Man of the Year Award went to Ryan Newcomer of Phi Sigma Kappa

The Greek Woman of the Year Award went to Kaitlin Slattery of Alpha Phi.

The full list of 2014 SLLA prizes and awards includes the following:

CONTRIBUTION TO STUDENT LIFE AWARDS

Ashley Blanks

Kimberly Boylan

Eryne Boyle

Simone Cotton

Abigail Farrell

Katherine Fletcher

Sara Green

Danielle Hanes

Brandi Hawkins

Wade Homer

Kevin Jaramillo

Ralph Jean-Noel

Christian Naunay

Elizabeth Pines

Madeleine Smith

Alexandra Stephanou

Shannon Varcoe

Katherine Walters

JAMES J. DUANE III STUDENT LIFE LEADERSHIP AWARDS

Brooke Astor

Andrew Callahan

Teresa Chamberlain

Kyle Ferdinando

Alexandra Fitzpatrick

Dalisbeth Galvez

Brianna Gardell

Jonathan Glick

Sarah Glickstein

Murphee Greeley

Taylor Hampshire

Tiffany Kuperschmidt

Carolina Mattsson

Nigel Muhammad

Jacob Silber

Kaitlin Slattery

Jillian Sloand

Stephanie Snider

Alexandra Yantzi

GRADUATE STUDENT LIFE LEADERSHIP AWARD

Joe Brague

Joyita Bhadra

Yousef Jalali

OUTSTANDING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING AWARD

Eco-Reps

EXCELLENCE IN ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMMING AWARD

University Production Halloween Festival

EXEMPLARY CULTURAL PROGRAMMING AWARD

Strive for Excellence Awards program

STUDENT CLUB/ORGANIZATION OF THE YEAR AWARD

Lehigh University Dance Marathon

CLUB/ORGANIZATION OF THE YEAR AWARD

From Beneath the Rug

STUDENT CLUB/ORGANIZATION ADVISOR

OF THE YEAR AWARD

Professor Parveen Gupta, Faculty Advisor to the Accounting Club

Professor James Roberts, Faculty Advisor to Alpha Phi Omega

STUDENT SENATE LEADERSHIP AWARD

Alexandria Kennedy

Tiffany Kuperschmidt

RESIDENCE HALL ASSOCIATION CHARACTER AWARD

Leah Paulson

UJIMA AWARD

Ralph Jean-Noel

SERVICE ABOVE SELF AWARD

Erinn Bonshak and Bree Buysee, Adopt a Family event

Lambda Sigma Upsilon Latino Fraternity, HIV/AIDS Awareness, Unity Week at Lehigh

ALLEGIANCE AWARD

Alexander Azero

Mary Brune

Alexandra Fitzpatrick

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE MERIT AWARDS

Bo Johns

Nadia Krook

Tyler Mueller

DEBORAH PEARSALL PRIZE

Alexandra Yantzi, “X”