These 2019-20 Outstanding Students Awards recognize the academics and co-curricular excellence and achievements of our students. Congratulations to this year’s winners and nominees! Read more about the winners and nominees!

Overall Outstanding Students of the Year for Academic and Co-curricular Contributions

Psychology major Doug Cherry has reached a level of involvement in the field of Psychology that’s rare for an undergraduate student. As HSU’s Student Council Representative for the Western Psychological Association, he advocates for students at the yearly council meeting. He has demonstrated academic leadership as a graduate assistant for the Psychology Department and within academic clubs and organizations. He’s active in the community and volunteers for the Boys and Girls Club and local school districts.

Child Development & Native American Studies major Ellen Colegrove, a member of the Hoopa Valley Tribe, has spent four years balancing academics and cultural responsibilities with community service. Recognized for academic excellence as a Udall Scholar, she is actively involved in numerous organizations and projects that support the campus and local Native American communities. For instance, she is a student leader and mentor at the HSU’s Indian Tribal & Educational Personnel Program and works with at-risk children for Two Feathers Native American Family Services. She also served as a mentor and leader of the Ka’m-t’em Youth Photography Project, which was dedicated to teaching youth the process of transferring generational knowledge through an image.

Academic and Co-curricular Award Recipients

Excellence in Arts Humanities & Social Sciences
Blue Baldwin—Psychology and Communication

Excellence in Professional Studies
Britney Bjork—Child Development

Excellence in Natural Resources & Sciences
Rosebelle Ines—Environmental Science & Management

Outstanding Artistic Achievement in Visual & Performing Arts
Cara Peters—Journalism

Al Elpusan Award for Student Activism
Tony Wallin—Journalism

Outstanding Contribution to a Campus Club or Organization
Jennifer Garcia—Anthropology, Minor: Spanish

Excellence in Community Service
Meg Bezak—Liberal Studies/Elementary Education

Excellence in Club Sports
Martin Gordillo—Kinesiology

Outstanding Contribution to an Associated Students Program
Pao Valdovinos —Psychology

Excellence in Intercollegiate Athletics
Lex Thrower—Criminology & Justice Studies

Brian Lorensen Residence Life Staff Award
Bree Rueda—Political Science, with Communication minor
Dan Perez-Sornia—Biology with a Chemistry minor

Club Advisor of the Year
Dave Marshall—PC Gaming Club

Patricia O. McConkey Outstanding Graduate Student Awards
-- Lukas Edward Coppen—Master of Science ~ Kinesiology
-- Marcos Andrew Hernandez—Master of Arts ~ English: Composition Studies & Pedagogy
-- Chih-Wei Hsu—Master of Science ~ Environmental Systems: Energy, Technology, & Policy
-- Hallie Lepphaille—Master of Arts ~ English: Applied English Studies
-- Courtney Rene Pack—Master of Arts ~ Psychology: School Psychology
-- Kelly Catherine Pfieler—Master of Science ~ Biology
-- Kevin Rodger Soland—Master of Science ~ Natural Resources: Forestry, Watershed, & Wildland Sciences
-- Stephanie Sean Souter—Master of Arts ~ Psychology: Academic Research

Outstanding Student Research
Michael Academia, Undergraduate in Fisheries Biology
“Food Provisioning, Prey Composition, and Nesting Success of Ospreys in Northwestern California”
Faculty advisor: Jose Marin Jarrin, Professor in Fisheries Biology

Goh Butler, Undergraduate in Biochemistry
“Transgenic Zebrafish Labeling Chloride Transporters, Key Regulators of Brain Activity and Behavior”
Faculty advisor: Ethan Gahtan, Professor in Psychology and John Steele, Professor in Biological Sciences

Karin Chao-Bushoven, Graduate in School of Education
“Why People Donate? Motivation in Major Donors in Higher Education”
Faculty advisor: Eric Van Duzer, Chair, School of Education

Ciara Emery, Graduate in Environment and Community
“Bringing Climate Change Home to Meet Your Viewshed: Stakeholder Perceptions of Offshore Wind Energy in Humboldt County, California”
Faculty advisors: Laurie Richmond, Associate Professor, Environmental Science and Management, and John Meyer, Chair, Politics

Irene Gonzalez-Herrera, Graduate in Psychology
“Bully-Victimization, Depression, and School Connectedness in Early Adolescent Students”
Faculty advisor: William Reynolds, Professor Emeritus in Psychology

Sarah Holden, Undergraduate in Anthropology
“A Symbol of Hope: An Ethnographic Analysis of Religion and Disaster Following the Camp Fire”
Faculty advisor: Mary Scoggin, Professor in Anthropology

Haley Huffaker, Elizabeth Osuna, Undergraduates in Child Development
“An Autoethnographic Exploration of Resilience among Student Parents in College: Voices of Latina
Student Mothers”
Faculty advisor: Meenal Rana, Associate Professor in Child Development

Brandon Light, Undergraduate in Biological Sciences
“Loss of LGL 1 Affects Akt and Girdin in Murine Neural Progenitor Cells in a mTOR Dependent Manner”
Faculty advisor: Amy Sprowles, Chair, Biological Sciences

Erin Trent, Graduate in Biological Sciences
“Detection, Isolation, and Characterization of Rickettsia Species Phylotype G022 from Ixodes pacificus”
Faculty advisor: Jianmin Zhong, Professor in Biological Sciences

Carrie Tully, Graduate in Environment and Community, and Cody Henrikson, Undergraduate in Marine Biology
“Imagining an Indigenized Campus”
Faculty advisor: Cutcha Risling Baldy, Chair, Native American Studies