2022 Recipients | Ohio University

2022 Award Recipients

Congratulations to this year's winners of the Leadership Awards! Click each student photo below to read their full bio.

Faith Laughlin

Eyes of Freedom Scholarship - Non Veteran

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

My purpose at OHIO has been to bridge the gap between the University and the Athens community. I have made sure to be a voice for those that go unheard in this area while educating all who will listen about the place they call home for a short four years.

Mercadies George

Eyes of Freedom Scholarship – Student Veteran

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

My purpose is to help my fellow brothers and sisters in arms, as well as the older veteran generations, during their transition back to civilian life.

Myles Jay Wortman

The Arnold Student Allyship Award & Outstanding Senior Leader Award

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

My purpose at OHIO has been to create and hold space for myself and other students who possess marginalized identities where we can be ourselves and create media that represents us and all that we care about.

Andrew Connolly

The Arnold Student Allyship Award & Outstanding Senior Leader Award

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

I aspire to make a difference. I am working to advance my education towards my goal of conducting research for international policy on anthropogenic changes and their relation to the One Health concept and its ties to socioeconomic issues.

Luvina Cooley

The LGBT Center Student Hart Award

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

My purpose at Ohio University has been to increase my awareness of intersectional social justice issues and create a more inclusive campus for all.

Owen Yates-McEwan

Stonewall Student Leadership Award for an Individual

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

Sexual health is incredibly impactful to overall health and wellbeing, and yet it is often neglected for those whose bodies don’t fit into a binary. My goal is to end that and create LGBT-specific sexual health education available on campus.

Lost Flamingo Theatre Company

Stonewall Student Leadership Award for an Organization

Mia Walsh

Latinx Heritage Achievement Award

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

My purpose is to be as kind as possible to as many people as possible. Kindness is something overlooked in our workforce and classes but it is crucial to better connections, inclusion, and adaptability.

Hannah Prante

Latinx Heritage Achievement Award

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

My purpose is to build myself, express myself, and find my communities and I am extremely grateful that I have been able to do that at OHIO.

Maribel Antunez-Uriostegui

Latinx Heritage Achievement Award

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

Through my time here, I have offered my insight into the Latine community on our campus by helping undergraduate admissions find new recruitment methods to bring Latinxs to OHIO.

Vincent Eguakun

Francine Childs Diversity Leadership Award

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

My purpose is to leave Ohio University a place better than I found it. I've translated my experiences in promoting racial equality and diversity through my lived experiences over to my positions at OHIO.

Maya Meade

Martha Jane Hunley Blackburn/Donald A. Spencer Achievement Award

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

I want to make a positive impact on every person that I meet. I have had the intention of teaching people as much as I can while educating myself on the diverse experiences of others.

Sedric Granger, Jr.

Martha Jane Hunley Blackburn and Donald A. Spencer Achievement Award

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

I put my passion for mentoring into action through being an OMSAR mentor and using my role as a Resident Assistant to help encourage my residents to be successful in their college endeavors.

Joshua Toffey

Martha Jane Hunley Blackburn and Donald A. Spencer Achievement Award

Dayna Shoulders

Martha Jane Hunley Blackburn and Donald A. Spencer Achievement Award

Reaija Grice

Martha Jane Hunley Blackburn and Donald A. Spencer Scholarship Award & The George Floyd Memorial Scholarship

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

My purpose at OHIO is to provide a voice for the voiceless and opportunities for the underrepresented to excel and every way possible.

Roosevelt Boone

Martha Jane Hunley Blackburn and Donald A. Spencer Scholarship Award & The George Floyd Memorial Scholarship

McKenzie Taylor

Women's Issues Leadership Award

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

I am an ideal candidate for this award because I focus on uplifting myself as a leader that is dedicated to helping everyone around me become leaders themselves.

Ibrahim Akmese

Charles J. Ping International Leadership Award, Graduate level

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

As a mental health provider and a graduate student, my goal is to increase the accessibility of mental health resources for international students.

Aanya Datta

Charles J. Ping International Leadership Award, Undergraduate level

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

My purpose is to ensure that I am able to help International students transition into a new and foreign way of life as smoothly as possible.

Alyssa Embry

Edwin L. Kennedy Leadership Award for Outstanding Community Service from an Individual

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

My purpose at OHIO is to bring accessible theater to the Athens community, and professional companies, so that all individuals can view it in comfort in a safe, nonjudgmental environment.

Asian American/Pacific Islander Student Union

Edwin L. Kennedy Leadership Award for Outstanding Community Service from an Organization

Desmond Owusu

Kerrigan Family Scholarship

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

My purpose at OHIO is to provide encouragement, support, and love to African Americans who feel that they don't have people that relate and understand their struggles.

Bobcats Lead Change for "Bridging the Gap"

Outstanding Programming Award

University Program Council for "Flavor of the Week"

Outstanding Programming Award

Rhyan Goodman

Rudy Leadership Award

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

My purpose at OHIO has been the empowerment and service of others.

Laurie Littlejohn

Rita LaValley Recreation Employee Award

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

My purpose at Ohio University has been to provide support to my coworkers and peers by allowing myself to become a resource to multiple students across multiple different divisions within the University.

Anthony Russo

Student Affairs Employee Academic Achievement Award

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

I have explored ways to put my education to use, such as becoming an RA to build a positive community for new students and becoming a driver for the CatCab to assist those with limited mobility.

Ambrea Dellafave

Student Affairs Employee Excellence in the Workplace Award

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

My purpose as a student at Ohio University is to learn, be involved, and grow personally and professionally.

Ruby Williams

Dr. Patti McSteen Award

Roberto Di Donato

Outstanding Graduate Student Leader, Masters level

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

Within my OHIO communities, I have helped eliminate the thinking of "how things have always been done." With this shift in thinking, we are starting to create alternative solutions to the problems in pedagogy and performance theory.

Nicholas Whitticar

Outstanding Graduate Student Leader, Doctoral level

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

As a graduate student, I focus on improving the graduate student experience in ways that will last for years after I graduate.

Carissa Nickell

Outstanding Senior Leader Award

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

My purpose at Ohio University centers around mentorship and the betterment of both our Bobcat and local communities.

Becky Ivan

Outstanding Senior Leader Award

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

I have the purpose of being trustworthy, a friend, an advocate, an ally, a leader, a mentor, a founder, and more. All these things I have done with love. My purpose is to love.

Brooke Klopfenstein

Outstanding Senior Leader Award

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

My purpose at Ohio University is to redefine leadership for myself and fellow Bobcats through inspiring leadership and encouraging others to take their “leap of faith” into opportunities.

Micaela Beatham-Garcia

Outstanding Senior Leader Award

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

Good leadership is salient to me because it is a position in which you dedicate yourself to aiding others in finding their passions, bring organizational dreams to fruition, and grow immensely from working with those around you.

Alina Taylor

Outstanding Senior Leader Award

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

My mission across my campus involvement has been to inspire others to be the most authentic version of themselves, personal or professional, and to be an active voice for those who need it most.

Micaylah Nash

Outstanding Senior Leader Award & John Newton Templeton Designation

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

My purpose and Ohio University has been to be a part of many diverse organizations and provide new perspectives to people. I have been able to use my experiences and knowledge to speak up and leave a positive impact.

Backdrop Magazine

The Arnold Allyship Student Group Award

Makayla Moore

George Floyd Memorial Scholarship

What has been your purpose at OHIO?

My purpose at OHIO has been to grow into my own person and expand my own knowledge about what I already knew while being open to new learning experiences and opportunities.