Outstanding Students of the Year for Outstanding Academic and Co-curricular Contributions:
Mary Elise Conzelmann has served the public and fostered collaborations to create healthy communities. As a Recreation Administration major, she has presented at professional recreation conferences, published research, been a member of the HSU women’s rowing team, worked multiple part-time jobs, and volunteered throughout her undergraduate education.
Conzelmann has engaged in her community by volunteering with the Humboldt Bay Trail Fund Committee, Bike Month Humboldt, Women’s Rally Group, and North Bay Rotaract. In her first year at HSU, she re-activated the Recreation Administration Club and served as president for two years. During that time, she was awarded a grant to host a Cultural Diversity Workshop for campus and community members.
She is currently volunteering with the Redwood Community Action Agency and Humboldt County Association of Governments on a traffic stress assessment in McKinleyville. This assessment will help local officials and planners understand the roadways in McKinleyville and hopefully encourage the development of safer paths for biking.
A member of the Humboldt State Women’s Rowing team, she has demonstrated leadership and is currently collaborating with the US Coast Guard, HSU Center Activities and the Admissions department to create a video that will educate newly admitted students on local waterway safety.
Conzelmann will complete her degree in three years at Humboldt State and will pursue her M.S. in Management at Saint Mary’s College of California.
Tanya Garcia has shown exemplary commitment to her double majors in Environmental Resources Engineering and Math, as well as the broader STEM community during her tenure as an undergraduate at Humboldt State University. She co-founded the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, a student-run club that seeks to promote academic excellence among Latinx engineers, and has served a number of leadership roles.
Garcia is also committed to Engineers without Borders, and participated in a service trip to Nicaragua where she and fellow engineering students worked with professional engineers to install a water well for a rural hospital. Fluent in Spanish, she also served as translator for the group. She was awarded the “Engineers without Borders Excellence in Service” award for her work.
In addition to her work through student organizations, Garcia has been an active source of academic support to her peers. She served as a Jeffrey S. Navarro engineering peer mentor from 2017-2018, providing academic, professional, and personal support to a cohort of sophomore engineering students. She has volunteered for local math competitions and science fairs, and has also spoken publicly at a number of events to advise peers. Throughout her tenure as an undergraduate, she was a frequent volunteer at admitted student events.
Garcia currently works for the Schatz Energy Research Center on improving access to services among people who live off-grid. She wants to be a leader and an educator and expand access to energy and water in low-income communities in the country and abroad.
Other Awards Presented at the May 1 ceremony:
Excellence in an Academic Discipline: College of Arts Humanities & Social Sciences
Shanti Belaustegui—Environmental Studies
Excellence in an Academic Discipline: College of Professional Studies
Haley Miller—Kinesiology
Excellence in an Academic Discipline: College of Natural Resources & Sciences
Amanda Agosto Ramos—Biology
Outstanding Artistic Achievement in Visual & Performing Arts
Jen Kelly—Journalism and Physics
Al Elpusan Award for Student Activism
Christian Boyd—Political Science
Outstanding Contribution to a Campus Club or Organization
Michael Magana—Economics
Excellence in Community Service (Off-Campus)
Marlene Medina—Social Work
Excellence in Sports Club
Karsten Hayes—Environmental Resources Engineering
Outstanding Contribution to an Associated Students Program
Isabel Jazlin Sanchez-Pacheco—Business Administration
Excellence in Intercollegiate Athletics
Francisco Calderon—Criminology & Justice Studies
Brian Lorensen Residence Life Staff Award
Jose Balderrama—Business Administration
Alexis Brown—Political Science
Kawai Navares—Forestry
Mikayla Kia—Environmental Science & Management; International Studies
Recipients of the McConkey Outstanding Graduate Student Awards
Alexis Bernal—Natural Resources
Catherine Boers—English
Molly Hilgenberg—Social Work
Alexandria Jaurique—Psychology
Kristian Salgado—Environment & Community
Angel Lomeli—Kinesiology
Grant Skoglund—Applied Anthropology
Samantha Silver—Sociology
HSU’s Outstanding Student Researchers
Jessie Armendariz, graduate, Kinesiology
“Effects on Wild Blueberry Drink on Fat Oxidation During Cycling in Healthy, Active Males”
Faculty Advisor: Taylor Bloedor, Kinesology
Adriene Bouissou and Ian Cullimore, undergraduates, Biological Sciences
“Distribution of Western Thatching Ants (Formica Obscuripes) and Their Effects on Soil Condition in a Coastal Dune Ecosystem”
Faculty Advisor: Erik Jules, Biological Sciences
Chant’e Catt, Sonya Woody, Ashley Bradshaw, Katelyn Harris, graduates, Social Work
“Educated Landlord and Tenant Programs”
Faculty Advisor: Jen Maguire, Social Work
Gabriel Goff, graduate, Forestry
“Physiological Responses of Quercus Garryana to Conifer Encroachment and Removal in Northern California”
Faculty Advisor: Lucy Kerhoulas, Forestry
Andrew Hahn, graduate, Kinesiology
“The Effect of Interval Intensity on Time to Exhaustion and Metabolic Profile During HIIT Running in Recreational Runners”
Faculty Advisor: Young Sub Kwon, Kinesiology
Megan King, undergraduate, Biological Sciences
“Loss of lgH Affects Cellular Migration and Anchorage Independent Growth and Increases Sensitivity to mTOR and MAPK Signaling of Murine Neural Progenitor-like Cells”
Faculty Advisor: Amy Sprowles, Biological Sciences
Angel Lomeli, graduate, Kinesiology
“The Effects of Secondary Cognitive Tasks on Performance of the 3-Meter Tandem Gait in Concussed and Non-concussed Individuals”
Faculty Advisor: Justus Ortega, Kinesiology
Spencer McLintock, graduate, Environmental Resources Engineering
“The Use of UV Light for the Treatment of Cyanotoxins in Small-Scale Drinking Water Treatment Systems”
Faculty Advisor: Margarita Otero-Diaz, Environmental Resources Engineering
Carissa Pritchard, graduate, Anthropology
“Assessing Craniofacial Variation and Sexual Dimorphism in a Skeletal Sample from Medieval Prussia”
Faculty Advisor: Marissa Ramsier, Anthropology
Nathan Tamayo Hernandez, graduate, Kinesiology
“Performance Profile for Tabata Intermittent Training on Treadmill”
Faculty Advisor: Young Sub Kwon, Kinesiology