In the Student Spotlight: April 21, 2017

Kudos to these students

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  Northern Arizona football senior Patrick Baldenegro and women’s basketball senior Rene Coggins were honored as the Golden Eagle Scholar Athletes of the Year on Tuesday during the 39th annual Golden Eagle Awards luncheon at the High Country Conference Center. A tradition that started in 1997, the Golden Eagle Awards honor NAU student-athletes who have maintained high levels of scholastic achievement while performing with distinction. This year, 190 student-athletes across NAU’s 15 athletic programs were honored.

• A recent NAU graduate, Tyler Hill, a chemistry teacher at Sandra Day O’Connor High School in CITY, was selected as a Knowles Science Teaching Foundation Fellow for 2017. The Knowles Science Teaching Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing new math and science teachers with professional development, resources and support to improve STEM education in U.S. schools. The fellowship is awarded to a STEM teacher in their first or second year of teaching who, according to the KSTF website, “have the capacity and determination to commit to teaching as their primary career.” The fellowship is designed as a five-year program with three phases during which fellows will be mentored by others in their field to prepare them to better educate their students and those in the surrounding community.

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  Four NAU-Yuma Social Work students recently presented papers at the 2017 Western Social Science Association Conference in San Francisco. Grace Ricablanca and Alex Galvin presented the paper “Kids in Crisis,” based on research they completed in their field practicum experience at Crane Elementary School in Yuma.  Jesus Atondo and Sarai Jazek presented a paper on “Reasons Undocumented Immigrants in Imperial County are not Seeking Health Care.” The NAU-Yuma Social Work Program has had 28 social work students present academic papers at international and national conferences.

• Earlier this month, Elizabeth Sorg, graduate student in the Department of History, presented “The Role of the Environment in Determining Health in the Pampas” at the Rocky Mountain Council for Latin American Studies conference in Salt Lake City.

• Briana Astorga from the Academic Transition Programs was awarded 2017 Student Employee of the Year and Violet Hays from Disability Resources was awarded 2017 Student Employee of the Year Runner-Up at an award presentation April 13. Twenty-four student workers from throughout campus were nominated by supervisors based on their initiative, community contribution, communication skills, professional behavior and teamwork. The students were presented the awards by their supervisors and Cindy Anderson, dean of students.