Jeremy Johnson and Emily Walters have been named the 2009 Outstanding Senior Man and Woman at Pittsburg State University.
The pair, chosen from a pool of 20 finalists, received their awards during the annual Leadership Banquet held April 9 in the Crimson and Gold Ballroom.
PSU President Tom Bryant delivered the awards. As tradition, the winners’ names will be recorded on a plaque around the flagpole in front of Russ Hall.
“All of the people that were standing up at the front of the room were outstanding in their own right,” said Johnson, a senior English major from Pittsburg. “It seemed to me that it was arbitrary to say, ‘This is the best of those.’ They all deserved recognition.”
Johnson served as Student Government Association president last year in addition to participating in numerous extracurricular clubs and activities. This year he has served as copy editor for PSU’s student newspaper, the Collegio.
Emily Walters, a senior in math and biology from Pittsburg, said the award was especially gratifying during a “challenging” semester that saw the birth of her third child.
“To be selected as the outstanding senior woman is a truly amazing honor, and I’m so excited and so humbled to be chosen,” Walters said. “Just to be nominated and selected as a finalist was overwhelming.”
In addition to being a mother of three, Walters has found time to serve as SGA legislative affairs director, co-direct the Wesley House free clinic, and win a $20,000 scholarship for her research on lupus with Dr. Virginia Rider. She is also executive director of local art studio The Little Room.
As fate would have it, Johnson and Walters plan to attend the same graduate school: The University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y. Johnson will pursue a master’s degree in English literature, while Walters will pursue a dual degree in medicine and biostatistics.
Numerous other awards were also presented at the Leadership Banquet:
• Ashley Davis was named Outstanding Leader on Campus, while Julie Dainty of Phi Upsilon Omicron was named Advisor of the Year.
• The Ali Kemp Educational Foundation Fashion Show presented by Sigma Sigma Sigma & Sigma Phi Epsilon was named Outstanding Program of the Year.
• The Residence Hall Assembly took home the award for Student Organization of the Year, while Sigma Alpha Iota won the award for Most Improved Student Organization.
• The Presidential Award on Multiculturalism was given to the International Student Association, and the New Horizon Award was given to Up ‘Til Dawn.
Finalists for Outstanding Senior Man included Jordan Backs; Michael Carpenter; Chad Friesen; Yury Kuzmichev; Zoel Lopez; Edward Penner; Aaron Poe; Jonathan Sperry; Nathan Woodward and Johnson.
Finalists for Outstanding Senior Woman included Katelyn Burton; Maria Ferreira; Christine Hildebrandt; Venessa Lee; Dana Pugh; Jazmin Ramirez; Analia Saldivar; Christa Weber and Walters.
PITTSBURG —
