Students Honored At Leadership Award Ceremony

Dr. Charles Davis, Penn State Wilkes-Barre Chancellor, and the Penn State Wilkes-Barre Student Government Association are pleased to announce the 2013-2014 student recipients of The John R. Murphy Award for Excellence in Leadership & Service, The Martin U. Dougherty Emerging Leader Award, The Eric A. & Josephine S. Walker Award, and the Penn State Wilkes-Barre Who's Who in American Colleges & Universities.

The 2013-14 John R. Murphy Award for Excellence in Leadership & Service was awarded to graduating senior Ashish Srivastava from Mumbai, India. Rick Barry, a former Penn State Wilkes-Barre student and Walker Award recipient, made this endowed award possible to honor former Director of Student Affairs, John R. Murphy, who served Penn State Wilkes-Barre from 1967 to 2004. The award was established to recognize a graduating senior whose outstanding qualities of leadership, service, scholarship, citizenship, and character have been directed into programs and service on campus and/or the community that have positively influenced fellow students and have contributed to the prestige and well being of the Wilkes-Barre campus and the reputation of the University as a whole. Ashish has served as a mentor and Special Projects Committee chair for Lion Ambassadors. He has also been president of Global Citizens Society for a year and a half, student leader for NSO, and participant for the class of 2014 with Intercollegiate Leadership Wilkes-Barre. Ashish graduated last weekend with a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Sciences and Technology.

The 2013-14 Martin U. Dougherty Emerging Leader Award was awarded to Stroudsburg native, Ryan McDermott. The Dougherty family established this award in remembrance of their husband/father, Martin, who served on the Penn State Wilkes-Barre Campus Advisory Board. Martin's firm, The Architectural & Engineering Group, Inc., designed the Carriage Room in the campus' Student Commons, which won the 2003 "Pride of Place" Award from the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce. This award recognizes a student of junior status who has at least a 3.0 cum GPA; has demonstrated excellence in scholarship, leadership, citizenship, service and character. Ryan is an Administration of Justice major who serves as the campus' Student Government president; Lion Ambassadors' SGA representative, Lion Ambassadors' Public Relations and Social Media Manager; Blue and White Society's treasurer and president; and Students for Justice's internal affairs chair.

The 2013-14 Eric A. & Josephine Walker Award was awarded to Trucksville native, Zachary Aciukewicz. The purpose of this award is to recognize the Commonwealth Campus student whose outstanding qualities of character, scholarship, leadership and citizenship have been directed into programs and services that have positively influenced fellow students and have contributed to the prestige and well being of their campus and, hence, to the reputation of the University as a whole. The award is made annually, at or near the end of the spring term, to a full-time undergraduate student who is completing two full years of freshman-sophomore study at a Commonwealth Campus. Zachary has served on the campus' Student Government Association as a club representative, on the Career Services Mentorship Program, and a USCAA Academic All American. He has also served as a member of Business Club for two years. Zachary is a Business major with an option in Marketing and Management.

Each year members of the campus are asked to nominate students for the Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities Award. The criteria for this award is based on scholarship, participation and leadership in academic and co-curricular activities, citizenship and service to Penn State Wilkes-Barre and the surrounding community and potential for future achievement. The 2013-14 Penn State Wilkes-Barre recipients are: Matthew Boozer [New Bethlehem], Joseph C. Brandenburg [Dallas], Chelsea English [Dallas], Theodore D. Frear, II [Factoryville], Keith Moran [Nanticoke], Isaura Olivares Areche [West Hazleton], and Michael Tierney [West Pittston].