Wilkes University congratulates the recipients of our 2023 Extracurricular Awards!
First-Year Student e-Mentors are upperclassmen that provide experience and support to incoming students at Wilkes University. While the program begins at Orientation, e-Mentors work with their assigned group throughout the Fall semester, to offer guidance and knowledge that will help with the transition to college life. The program helps each new student connect with peers, upperclassmen, and the institution as a whole.
Kaylee Simmons
Leah Kubasek
Lindsey Scorey
Long Le
Madelynn Kinard
Matthew Haubert
Matthew Schwarztrauber
Megan Makovsky
Mel Fouts
Michelle Bazan
Nathaniel Edwards
Nikki Polivka
Sarah Pavlick
James Hiryak
Hera Mukhtar
Devyn Cammarota
Dean Ambosie
Danielle Morris
Arlyn Rivera
Aariyanna Gould
Highest GPA of male senior student-athletes
Nick Kinzler
Highest GPA of female senior student-athletes
Nicole O'Rourke
Top male athlete for the 2022-23 season
Cameron Butka
Butka was the 197-pound MAC Champion and First Team All-MAC this season. The sophomore finished the year with a 27-7 overall record, adding another title at the Blue Jay Classic. Butka placed second at the Ned McGinley Invitational and was fourth at the NCAA Southeast Regional. In the final regular season individual rankings by the National Wrestling Coaches Association, Butka was ranked 13th nationally and second in the Southeast Region at 197-pounds.
Top female athlete for the 2022-23 season
Abigail Barcless
Barcless was named MAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-MAC following her senior season. It was the first time in program history that a student-athlete earned First Team all-conference honors and a major award. Barcless was also the first player in team history to earn a selection to the All-UCHC team as she was named Honorable Mention. The defenseman was third on the team with five goals and tied for second with five assists and tied for third overall with 10 points this season. Her 37 blocked shots led the team and ranked within the top 10 of the UCHC.
The Nada Vujica Memorial Award has been given for over 40 years to an international student who fosters internationalization on the Wilkes campus. Nada Vujica was a staff member at Wilkes and served as Head Librarian. Her husband Dr. Stanko Vujica was the Chairman of the Philosophy Department. Both of them were very interested in promoting international perspectives and highlighting globalization at Wilkes, so they created this award.
Gabriel Arauz Ramos
Gabriel has been an active student on campus as an Admissions Ambassador as well as assisting in the Global Engagement office. He has helped new international students at Orientation, various trips and on campus events from the planning stages right through the final facilitation of the event. He works with the Shine program working with children and teaching them Spanish and about Panamanian culture.
The RAs are hired on the basis of character, leadership, and their ability to interact with students. All of the RAs have undergone extensive training so they may readily meet the needs of all our residential students. The main function of the RA staff is to build a community, which is crucial to a successful residence hall living experience. The RAs practice an open door policy and are available day and night should students need them.
Lucas Scott
Lucas is a graduating RA who has contributed positively to the Wilkes community through his service as a Resident Assistant
Caleb Ofori
Caleb is a graduating RA who has contributed positively to the Wilkes community through his service as a Resident Assistant
Ryan Stewart
Ryan is a graduating RA who has contributed positively to the Wilkes community through his service as a Resident Assistant.
The Outstanding Senior Intern Award is presented to a graduating senior intern in any major. They must have received (or will receive) a 4.0 in their internship. They should be considered an outstanding representative of the Cooperative Education program.
Sarah Pavlick
Sarah has been a vital part of our office for the last several years. When you give Sarah a task, she not only completes it with time to spare, but she does it very well. She has was not only intern in the Career Development and Internship office, but she interned in the Alumni office here at Wilkes University. Further, she is an intern at Itoh Denki in their marketing team. While an intern at the CCDI, she helped countless of students better their resumes, assisted in marketing tools for varying events like the Career and Internship Fair, and learned the ins and outs of the internship program. She excels in what she does and will go far! We are appreciative of all the work she has done and wish her the best!
The Resident Assistant of the Year award is meant to recognize an RA who has stood above the rest in executing the duties of the position. This award should be given to an RA who has demonstrated a mastery of the RA position, served as a resource to their peers, built a strong residential community, and upheld the values of the Residence Life office and the RA position.
Nicole Middleton
Nicole has shown exceptional care and skill when building communities between residents in and outside the residence halls. As well as, cultivating original programming efforts to maintain the engagement of both first year and upper-class residents. She has been a mentor within the RA Position to the new RAs guiding them and providing support when needed. Has taken it upon herself to go beyond what is asked had find new solutions to better the experience of her residences and the community as whole. Has been a positive role model both in the position and outside the role. An example that occurred recently: Nicole took it upon herself to use her connections within the community to present and advocate on Programming Board using Glow Run has the organization that they donate funds to from their Bingo occurring the week of Glow Run and the potential of matching the proceeds earned. 100% of this would go to the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention.
This award is given to an individual who is more than a great volunteer, but someone who has embraced the role of being a leader through service.
Ryu Torres
Ryu has been nominated for the Helping Hands through Service Award because he has demonstrated great enthusiasm as a Reading Buddy tutor. Ryu has had a huge impact on the second graders he works with and has been committed each week to helping the children learn literacy. The second graders respond very well to Ryu. He is very respectful, reliable, and has been more than a great volunteer. He has been a true leader and mentor in his role as a Reading Buddy.
Maxine Bodnari
Maxi has been nominated for the Helping Hands Through Service Award because she has demonstrated excellent leadership through service. Maxi has chosen to volunteer with Reading Buddies despite a very busy schedule. Maxi is a dedicated Reading Buddy and always presents with an optimistic, friendly, and happy personality. Maxi has been one of the most reliable and creative tutors and deserves to be recognized for her dedication and hard work as a Reading Buddy.
The Office of Residence Life’s highest honor given to a graduating RA, this award recognizes a staff member who has spent a significant portion of their time at Wilkes in the RA role and has made an indelible impact on the residents and staff of Wilkes University. The recipient of this award has given back to the department and the residents in a meaningful way. Through programming, residence life traditions, community building, campus leadership, and mentorship, the recipient of this award has demonstrated unwavering commitment to the mission of Residence Life and the growth of the residential student.
Caleb Ofori
Caleb Ofori was chosen for the Outstanding Service and Dedication Award award because Caleb's performance & work ethic has been consistent, and Caleb is always prepared to serve. No matter the difficulty of the task, Caleb has gone to great lengths to insure that the job was done and done well. He has worked with integrity, poise and grace.
This award is given to a student who exemplifies the ethic of service in our Teacher Education Preparation Program.
Kylee Laudenslager
Kylee is amazing, she supports our department, faculty/staff, and her fellow classmates on a daily basis. Kylee is the SPSEA Northeast Region Vice-President, President of the Wilkes University Education Club, member of the Wilkes University Women’s Golf Team, and member of the Wilkes University Cheerleading Squad. Kylee always assists with Open House events, Accepted Students’ Day, and specific education day related activities. Kylee took the initiative to completely redo our Education Resource Room. She gathered volunteers, chose paint colors, painted the entire room, bought new furniture, and created an Amazon Wish List so faculty, staff, and students could donate to the new and improved resource room. Kylee will be a senior in the fall 23 semester. She will be student teaching during the spring 24 semester. We can’t imagine what we will do when Kylee graduates.
This award will be given out annually to a student who showed consistent involvement with the alumni association during their time at Wilkes. This includes volunteering on the Homecoming Student Team, representing students at Advancement events, and giving their time and talent to help out in the Alumni Office.
Ariel Reed
Ariel had consistently helped the Office of Alumni Relations whenever she was asked. Her experience in communications and business came in handy when Giving Day needed to be promoted and donors needed to be personally thanked. She has grown and developed from her freshman year into being a great volunteer and the face of a great Wilkes student.
The student is selected by the faculty based on leadership qualities, co-curricular and extra-curricular participation and academic standing.
Lindsey Scorey
Lindsey Scorey is an Honors Program and Dean’s List student, as well as a member of Lambda Pi Delta and Alpha Lambda Delta honor societies. She has been involved on campus as an e-Mentor and as the Student Orientation Coordinator for the e-Mentor Program, as well as serving as an intern for both the Department of Marketing and Communications and the Office of Student Development. She has served as the Executive Director for student-run pr firm Zebra Communications and as an on-air personality and Social Media Coordinator for 90.7 WCLH Radio. She is the host of the podcast “Telling the Untold Stories of Wilkes University,” as well as a Scholar of Communication for the Allan P. Kirby Center for Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship. She was formerly the Assistant Opinion Editor of The Beacon, as well as a member of the Speech and Debate team. She also served as a student representative on the Strategic Planning Committee for the University. Lindsey has held several leadership positions in our co-curriculars, and she has demonstrated a high level of commitment and effectiveness in fulfilling her responsibilites.
This award is given to the top student in a mechanical engineering co-op.
Erin Shober
This past summer Erin was an intern at RPA Engineering, an engineering consulting firm, where she had the opportunity to work on many projects. A key project at RPA gave her the opportunity to work with other interns where they were given a budget and tasked with inventing something or improving an existing product. They decided to improve an automated lawn mower that was already available for commercial use by adding solar power to extend the battery life and allowing it to mow bigger yards! This summer she has an internship at Air Products as a Reliability Engineering Intern, where she will be learning about reliability assessments, supporting project initiatives for improving plant reliability, and more.