Several local students earn academic and leadership awards at Wesleyan

News Release
May 1, 2022

BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – On Sunday, April 24, West Virginia Wesleyan College held the annual Academic and Leadership Awards Ceremony, in which students, faculty and staff were honored for their outstanding academic and leadership performances and efforts. The awards are presented to honor students in academics, athletics, campus life and more.

Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty Dr. Lynn M. Linder said, “We are so proud to honor our students for their academic success, as well as their significant contributions to campus life. We also sincerely thank their parents and everyone who has supported them in their efforts and played a key role in their success.”

The following is a list of awards announced during the ceremony.

Sam Ross Scholar Athlete Awards were given to Natalie Pireu ‘22, of Blacklick, Ohio, Gavin Wilson ‘22, of Webster Springs, West Virginia.

Pippa McGinley ‘22, of Morgantown, West Virginia, received the Campus Life Staff Member of the Year Award.

Sullivan Foundation Awards were awarded to Gray Caldwell ‘22, of Belington, West Virginia, Katherine Kell ‘22, of Follansbee, West Virginia.

Furthermore, the John Wesley “Do All The Good You Can” award was given to Candice Reed ‘23, of Inwood, West Virginia, and Molly Milleson ‘22, of Springfield, West Virginia.

Alana Rennix ‘22, of Valley Bend, West Virginia, and Malaika Kimmons ‘22, of Apex, North Carolina, received the Wesleyan Values award. In addition, Allison Weiss ‘22, of Hurricane, West Virginia, and Myndi Tran ‘22, of Clarksburg, West Virginia, were awarded as Outstanding Peer Leaders.

Outstanding Community Outreach awards were presented to Kiera Daugherty ‘22, of Charleston, West Virginia, and Claire Gum ‘22, of Weston, West Virginia.

Reece Fletcher ‘22, of Parkersburg, West Virginia, is Greek Man of the Year; whilst Emily Keesucker ‘22, of Sutton, West Virginia, is Greek Woman of the Year.

Malaika Kimmons ‘22, of Apex, North Carolina, Kobe Vinegar ‘22, of Trotwood, Ohio, and Amira Layeni ‘22, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, were given the Outstanding Leadership Award. Additionally, Jakob Spruce ‘22, of Charleston, West Virginia, received the Trail Blazer Award and Ariana Harmon ‘24, of Gambrills, Maryland, the Rising Star Award.

Outstanding Senior Art Major David Hooper ‘22, of Clarksburg, West Virginia; Outstanding Senior Graphic Design Major Sai Sakamoto ‘22, of Tokyo, Japan; Outstanding Junior Art & Design Major Chloe Perdue ‘23, of Lansing, West Virginia; Outstanding Sophomore Art & Design Major Shauna Caro ‘24, of Palm Coast, Florida; Outstanding Freshmen Art & Design Major Milo Hayes ‘25, of Julian, West Virginia.

Outstanding Seniors in Biology Hannah Coulson ‘22, of Fairmont, West Virginia, and Gray Caldwell ‘22, of Belington, West Virginia; Outstanding Junior in Biology Olivia Carpenter ‘23, of Canvas, West Virginia.

Betty Abdelgelil ‘23, of Summersville, West Virginia; Outstanding Sophomore in Biology Hali Westcott ‘23, of Sistersville, West Virginia; Outstanding Freshman in Biology Kaef Rehman ‘25, of Daniels, West Virginia, Kyan Gillespie ‘25, of Webster Springs, West Virginia, Bryer Ketterman ‘25, of Buckhannon, West Virginia, and Charli Bolton ‘25, of Nicholasville, Kentucky.

Outstanding Researcher in Biology Cameron Wilson ‘22, of Buckhannon, West Virginia; Outstanding Student Workers in Biology/Environmental Science Olivia Carpenter ‘23, of Canvas, West Virginia; Outstanding Senior in Environmental Science Nathan White ‘22, of Camden, West Virginia; Outstanding Junior in Environmental Science Nagyaleeya McMillan ‘23, of Buckhannon, West Virginia; Outstanding Sophomore in Environmental Science Michael Crown ‘25, of Mount Airy, Maryland; Outstanding Freshman in Environmental Science Masashi Nakatani ‘25, of Wakayama, Japan; Outstanding ENVS Researcher Haley Zinn ‘22, of Tunnelton, West Virginia.

Outstanding Accounting Student Kayla Wade ‘22, of Clinton, Pennsylvania; Outstanding Business Administration Student Christie Depoy ‘22, of Rock Cave, West Virginia, Outstanding Economics Student; Javier De Ona Garcia Matres ‘22, of Madrid, Spain; Outstanding Management Student; Emily Keesucker ‘22, of Sutton, West Virginia, Outstanding Marketing Student Natalie Pireu ‘22, of Blacklick, Ohio; Outstanding Sport Business Student Connor “Bobby” Hartwell ‘22, of Essex, England; Outstanding 5 year MBA Student MaKatlyn Tucker ‘22, of Salem, West Virginia.

Outstanding Laboratory Assistant Abigail Bowe ‘24, of Powell, Ohio, Kason Currence ‘22, of Buckhannon, West Virginia; Outstanding Junior Chemist Katherine Marks ‘23, of Wellsburg, West Virginia; Outstanding Senior Biochemist Lauren Baumgartner ‘22, of Pittsburgh, PA; Outstanding Senior Chemist Christopher Neil ‘22, of Kenna, West Virginia.

Outstanding Communication Major Chloe Sotomayor ‘24, of Spencer, West Virginia; Leadership in the Communication Department Anthony Damcott ‘23, of Akron, Ohio; Outstanding Communication Researcher Timothy Walker ‘23, of Alum Creek, West Virginia; Outstanding Media Communication Major Anthony Damcott ‘23, of Akron, Ohio, Timothy Walker ‘23, of Alum Creek, West Virginia; Outstanding Senior Rebecca Osborne ‘22, of Hurricane, West Virginia.

Outstanding Criminal Justice Senior Devin Taylor ‘22, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland; Technical Theatre Award Haley Wilson ‘22, of Bridgeport, West Virginia; Outstanding Senior Dance Student Hope Hickman ‘22, of Shallotte, North Carolina; Outstanding Senior Theatre Student Jakob Spruce ‘22, of Charleston, West Virginia, Derek Hess ‘23, of Bridgeport, West Virginia; Academic Achievement Award Fisher Goodwin ‘25, of Elkins, West Virginia, Gracie Bulleri ‘24, of Marriottsville, Maryland, Abby Wetzel ‘24, of Clarksburg, West Virginia; Outstanding Seniors in English Ali Householder ‘22, of Ranson, West Virginia.

Outstanding Senior in Athletic Training Grace Lee ‘22, of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, Samantha Mise ‘22, of Stafford, Virginia, Cheyanne Rowden ‘22, of Snellville, Georgia; Leadership in Athletic Training Easton Perry ‘22, of Ripley, West Virginia; Young Professional in Athletic Training Brennon Weese ‘23, of Beverly, West Virginia; Delta Psi Kappa/David E. Reemsnyder Award Kiera Daugherty ‘22, of Charleston, West Virginia; Developing Clinician in Exercise Science Award Taylor Papworth ‘22, of London, England, and Callie Boddy ‘22, of Fairmont, West Virginia.

Outstanding Senior Major in Gender Studies Award Ali Householder ‘22, of Ranson, West Virginia; Putting Theory into Practice Award Jakob Spruce ‘22, of Charleston, West Virginia; Experiential Teaching Award Bee Strickland ‘23, of Charleston, West Virginia; Outstanding Senior Major in History Award Camden Richardson ‘22, of Morgantown, West Virginia; Outstanding Junior Major in History Award Lillie Archer ‘23, of Coraopolis, Pennyslvania.

Outstanding Senior in International Studies Alexandra Garrett ‘22, of Glenville, West Virginia; Outstanding Honors Students Ali Householder ‘22, of Ranson, West Virginia, Rayna Heckman ‘22, of Randallstown, Maryland. The Hallam award was received by Elizabeth Harvey ‘23, of Cross Lanes, West Virginia, Collin McEntire ‘25, of Haddonfield, NJ, Morgan Norris ‘25, of Gilbert, AZ, Taylor Swartz ‘23, of Pomeroy, Ohio.

Outstanding Senior in Music Pippa McGinley ‘22, of Morgantown, West Virginia, Lauren Smith ‘22, of Buckhannon, West Virginia; Music Department Award Dominick Gray ‘22, of Belle, West Virginia, Taylor Armstrong ‘22, of Sutton, West Virginia, Evaleen Atha ‘22, of Jane Lew, West Virginia, Tyler Davis ‘22, of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, Pippa McGinley ‘22, of Morgantown, West Virginia, Giulia Parsons ‘22, of Timonium, Maryland, Lauren Smith ‘22, of Buckhannon, West Virginia, Madelyn Brewer ‘22, of Petersburg, West Virginia, Brycen Pearl ‘22, of Boonsboro, Maryland,

The School of Nursing has recognized the following awards Outstanding Seniors in Nursing Maddi Carpenter ‘22, of Belington, West Virginia, Colleen Hottinger ‘22, of Franklin, West Virginia; Outstanding Juniors in Nursing Mariah O’Hara ‘23, of Buckhannon, West Virginia, Emily Wilcox ‘23, of Parkersburg, West Virginia, Outstanding Sophomores in Nursing Kaitlynn Pena ‘24, of Harlingen, Texas, Madison Wamsley ‘24, of Buckhannon, West Virginia.

The Department of Physics presented Outstanding BS in Physics Justin Knotts ‘22, of Morgantown, West Virginia, Roman Moore ‘24, of Elkview, West Virginia, Brycen Pearl ‘22, of Boonsboro, Maryland, Eden Reynolds ‘25, of Cross Lanes, West Virginia, Lanty Rose ‘25, of Hillsboro, West Virginia; Outstanding BA in Physics Jonas Branch ‘25, of Fairmont, West Virginia, Madisyn Fox ‘23, of Caldwell, West Virginia, Devon John ‘25, of Steamboat Springs, CO, Pedro Parmezani ‘25, of Port Saint Lucie, FL, Alex Thompson ‘25, of Philippi, West Virginia; Outstanding BS in Applied Physics Robert Hardt ‘25, of Charles Town, West Virginia, Jackson Igo ‘23, of Cross Lanes, West Virginia, James McIntosh ‘23, of Charleston, West Virginia, Noah Osborne ‘22, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, Baylee Senator ‘22, of Chapmanville, West Virginia;Outstanding BA Physics-Engineering Dual Degree Ahmed Abdel-Salam ‘24, of Dubai, UAE, Lance Cerullo ‘25, of Fairmont, West Virginia, Caleb Hardy ‘25, of Kearneysville, West Virginia, Camden Lawrence ‘25, of Craigsville, West Virginia, Logan Proud ‘24, of Keyser, West Virginia.

Outstanding Seniors in Political Science Scott Soucier ‘23, of Asbury, West Virginia; Outstanding Senior in Psychology Rayna Heckman ‘22, of Randallstown, Maryland. The John Warner Sociology Award was given to Maria Hughart ‘22, of Birch River, West Virginia; Katsuki Takano ‘22, of Tokyo, Japan, received Vijaya Rao Global Awareness Award and Candice Reed ‘23, of Inwood, West Virginia, was awarded Outstanding Senior in Sociology.

The Wesleyan Spirit Awarded were received by Freshmen Sadie Nichols ‘25, of Sistersville, West Virginia, Robert Hardt ‘25, of Charles Town, West Virginia: Sophomores Garrett Davis ‘23, of Jane Lew, West Virginia, Delaney Gump ‘23, of Weston, West Virginia; Juniors Madisyn Fox ‘23, of Caldwell, West Virginia, Justin McIntyre ‘23, of Indian Head, Maryland; and Seniors Yuka Mizuide ‘22, of Ueda Nagano, Japan, and Benjamin Peters ‘22, of Morgantown, West Virginia.

There were 15 students who were honored of Senior Academic and Leadership Achievement Evaleen Atha ‘22, of Jane Lew, West Virginia, Orian Bar ‘22, of Denver, North Carolina, Madelyn Brewer ‘22, of Petersburg, West Virginia, Rayna Heckman ‘22, of Randallstown, Maryland, Colleen Hottinger ‘22, of Franklin, West Virginia, Ali Householder ‘22, of Ranson, West Virginia, Katherine Kell ‘22, of Follansbee, West Virginia, Pippa McGinley ‘22, of Morgantown, West Virginia, Alana Rennix ‘22, of Valley Bend, West Virginia, Baylee Senator ‘22, of Chapmanville, West Virginia, Lauren Smith ‘22, of Buckhannon, West Virginia, Jakob Spruce ‘22, of Charleston, West Virginia, Kobe Vinegar ‘22, of Trotwood, Ohio, Allison Weiss ‘22, of Hurricane, West Virginia, Haley Zinn ‘22, of Tunnelton, West Virginia.

Furthermore, Interim President Dr. James Moore honored the following Outstanding Seniors Rebecca Osborne ‘22, of Hurricane, West Virginia; Malaika Kimmons ‘22, of Apex, North Carolina, Sai Sakamoto ‘22, of Tokyo, Japan, Gray Caldwell ‘22, of Belington, West Virginia.

Khalil Smith ‘23, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was given the Inspiration Award.

In conclusion, Student Senate presented Faculty Member of the Year Award to Dr. Coty Martin, assistant professor of political science, and Staff Member of the Year to Karen Leventry, an employee with Aladdin Food Service.