College of Arts and Letters Celebrates Student Successes at Awards Ceremony

The University of Southern Mississippi College of Arts and Letters recently held its annual awards ceremony on the Hattiesburg campus of Southern Miss in the Thad Cochran Center Ballroom. Students were recognized for academic excellence at the event.

College of Arts and Letters Dean Maureen Ryan welcomed awardees and their families and friends before department chairs announced winners of awards and scholarships.

“Few events of the academic year are more gratifying than our annual awards ceremony, at which the college's departments recognize their most accomplished students,” Ryan said.

Top student awards include the following:

Department of Anthropology and Sociology

Shann MM Winn Outstanding Anthropology Student of the Year — Miranda Nicole Parker
Irmgard H. Wolfe Award for Best Graduate Paper in Anthropology — Carson Elizabeth Rouse
Lambda Alpha Award for Best Undergraduate Paper in Anthropology — Adrianne Lynn Buck
Anthropology and Sociology Citizenship Award — Alyssa DeAnn Mace, Samuel Lawson Mingo
Sociology Student of the Year - Ethan Tyler Keys
Alpha Kappa Delta Award for Best Undergraduate Paper in Sociology — Amber Nicole Bynum
Sociological Imagination Paper Award — Ethan Tyler Keys

Department Art and Design

Excellence in Art BA — Maranda Hutson
Excellence in Sculpture BFA — Elizabeth Claire Thrash
Excellence in Graphic Design — BFA – Brennan Tate Kennedy
Excellence in Painting and Drawing BFA — Alex Christopher Townsend

Department of Communication Studies

Communication Studies Department Service Award — Lakelyn Taylor
Don George Award for Academic Excellence — Megan Brown, Marissa McGillis
Siltanen-Hosman Scholarship Endowment — Breneesha Washington
Elliott and Bonnie Pood Communication Studies Endowment — Jonathan Bridenbaker, Anna Goretski, McKenna Stone
Susan Mallon Ross Award for Outstanding Service to The University of Southern Mississippi Speaking Center — Mohamed Ismail, Lakelyn Taylor

Department of Dance

Outstanding Freshman in Dance — Tarrah Mills
Outstanding Sophomore in Dance — Gabriela Salazar
Outstanding Junior in Dance — Noelle Billings
Outstanding Senior in Dance — Reanna Martinez
Outstanding Dance Educator — Destiny Ponville

Department of English

Joan Johnson Writing Award-Poetry — Chad Foret
Joan Johnson Writing Award-Fiction — Nickalus Rupert
Ben Mounger Rawls Award — Jessica Guzman
Mary Maude T. Jordan Scholarship — Ross Thompson
Wilbur and Polly Stout English Scholarship — Christina Beth Vehos, Katelyn Chantel Ladner
Linwood E. Orange Scholarship — Jessica Ramer
Howard W. Bahr Achievement Scholarship — Olivia Bushardt, Monic Ductan, Paige Nicole Jackson, Renee Ramsey
James Sims Award — Charles Hunter Joplin
Howard W. Bahr Achievement Scholarship — Lindsay Patorno
Garth A. Avant Memorial Endowment — Jefferson (Jay) Glassie
Florence Burrow Pope Endowed Scholarship — Carlton Wade McGrone
Shannon O'Hara and Henry Mackaman English Scholarship — Hiba Tahir-Poetry; William (Chance) Clark-Fiction
Janet Sims English Scholarship — Jessica Carrell
Dr. Jeremy Lespi Memorial English Scholarship — Todd Osbourne
Nelma and Marlin Ivey Scholarship — Shaniqua Beavers
Dr. Stan Hauer Graduate Teaching Award — Olivia Bushardt

Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures

Outstanding Student in German — Alice Olivia Townsend
Outstanding Student in Classics — Jon-Michael Platt
Outstanding Student in French — Kathleen Smith
Outstanding Student in Spanish — Alexiandria Ellis

Department of History

Graduate Student Teaching Award — Dennis J. Cowles
Phi Alpha Theta Award — Lindsey R. Peterson
Lamar Powell Graduate Scholarship — Eugene Allan Branstiter, Lindsey R. Peterson
Jay Washam Memorial Scholarship — Hayden McDaniel
Russell Miller Memorial Scholarship — Kelsey Marie Sims
Carroll Warren and Parker History Scholarship — Alyssa Idell Hatten
Claude E. Fike Scholarship — Timothy E. Buchanan
John E. Wallace Award — Brennan Michael Kuehl
Treadwell Davis Award — Nastassia Sergeevna Moore
Outstanding Senior in International Studies — Kimberly Brooke Boisseau
Dr. Kenneth G. McCarty History Scholarship — Hailey Ryan Ulrich
Outstanding Student Teacher Award — Amy Delores Myers
John E. Gonzales Senior Award — Kelsey Marie Sims
John E. Gonzales Undergraduate Scholarship — Rebecca Katherine Applewhite
John E. Gonzales Study-Abroad Scholarship — Caroline Elizabeth Carney, Aubrey Elizabeth Hanson

Department of Interdisciplinary Studies

Outstanding Freshman — Bethany Lawson
Outstanding Senior — April Burnside
Outstanding Leadership — Michal Canga

School of Mass Communication and Journalism

Academic Achievement Award — Whitley Ruffin
Donald M. Dana Sr. Advertising Award — Ignacio Landaverde, Jr.
GodwinGroup Public Relations Award — Melissa David
GodwinGroup Advertising Award — Joshua Hughes
Parnell McKay, Sr. Photojournalism Award — Cam Bonelli
Top News Editorial Student Award — Patience-Erin Jean Johnson
Top Broadcast Journalism Student Award — Julius Kizzee, Tichina Wilson
Top Film Student Award — Audrey Cahill
Top Media Production Student Award — Jamicah McNeil
Top Recording Industry Management Student Award — Jordan Niezgoda
Top Recording Industry Production Student Award — Jonta S. Butler
WUSM-FM 88.5 Top Student Award — Joy Angelle Netzhammer
Top Master's Student Award — Amanda Jo Ladner
Top Ph.D. Student Award — Lijie Zhou
Top Graduate Student Teacher of the Year — Danianese Woods

School of Music

Wind/Brass/Percussion/Jazz/Band Division Undergraduate Student of the Year - Marc Rivet
Wind/Brass/Percussion/Jazz/Band Division Graduate Student of the Year - Jeffrey Humphrey
Piano/Voice Division Undergraduate Student of the Year - Dino Henriquez Rios
Piano/Voice Division Graduate Student of the Year - Juliàn Pernett Castilla
Music Education Division Undergraduate Student of the Year - Kevin Mullen
Music Education Division Graduate Student of the Year - Kelsey McClaflin
String Division Undergraduate Student of the Year - Nathaniel de la Cruz Daga
String Division Graduate Student of the Year - Andrea Beltran Landers
Presser Foundation Undergraduate Scholar Award – Molly Evans

Department of Philosophy and Religion

Outstanding Philosophy Undergraduate - Michael Stokes
Outstanding Religion Undergraduate - Kimberly Brooke Boisseau
Forrest Wood Scholarship - Trace Bevell, Maya Rex, Michael Stokes

Department of Political Science, International Development and International Affairs

The Ronald G. Marquardt Memorial in Legal Studies for Academics-Gulf Coast — Belinda Wright
The Ronald G. Marquardt Memorial in Legal Studies for Academics-Hattiesburg — Tara Majors
The Ronald G. Marquardt Memorial in Legal Studies for Service — Garrett Ramos
Political Science Undergraduate of the Year — Dylan Tyner
Atley Graham Memorial Scholarship for Economics — Henry Woodyard
The Mark Klinedinst Distinguished Graduate Award for Economics — Aaron Linville
Political Science Graduate Student of the Year — Zachary Stewart
The William H. Hatcher Award in Political Theory — Aaron Linville
The Joseph B. Parker American Politics Award — Erin Blackledge
Award for the Outstanding Student in Political Science Methods — Brandon Nettles
The James H. Wolfe Comparative Politics Award — Tarilyn Elliott
Award for the Outstanding Student in Public Law — Gillian Purser

Department of Theatre

Outstanding Freshman in Theatre — Jayda Ross
Outstanding Sophomore in Theatre — Katie Coxwell
Outstanding Junior in Theatre — Kelsey Hebert
Outstanding Senior in Theatre — Taryn McGee
Outstanding Graduate in Theatre — Corey Bradberry

To see photos from College of Arts and Letters' annual awards ceremony, visit the college's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pg/USMArtsandLetters/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10155287693998669.