Note: Photos from Honors Convocation are available online.
During Hastings College’s day-long Celebration of Excellence April 25, Anna Griggs of Centennial, Colorado, was named the 2017 Bronco Award recipient at Honors Convocation.
Established in 1924, the Bronco Award is the College’s highest non-academic award granted to students. Recipients of the Bronco Award and the accompanying Who’s Who list are determined through a vote of their peers and a student-faculty committee.
Who’s Who honorees are recognized for having made outstanding campus contributions during their college careers. Up to 10 percent of the graduating seniors may be named to the Who’s Who list.
Bios for Griggs and other Who’s Who honorees are below:
Eunice Adounkpe of Omaha, Nebraska, is a sociology major. An active member of the Bronco Forensics team, Eunice is a three-time national qualifier for the American Forensics Association-National Individual Events Tournament and a national runner-up and was named an All American. Eunice interned with the Spouse Abuse and Sexual Assault Crisis Center, where she led the Empty Box Movement, a social movement to bring awareness to survivors of sexual assault. She was honored as a Pi Kappa Delta Speaker of the Year, the Hastings YWCA Tribute to Women College Award Winner and the winner of the 3-D category for the all-student art show. Eunice is the daughter of Laurent and Francoise Adounkpe.
Cameron Bargell of North Platte, Nebraska, is an active member of the Student Association. He has served as a student senator, the cabinet parliamentarian in 2015 and 2016 and the Student Association vice president in 2016. The biology major is a member of the Tri-Beta national biology honorary, the Pi Rho Sigma leadership fraternity, Omicron Delta Kappa national leadership honorary and the Bronco Men’s Golf team. He also served as a resident assistant for two years. Cameron is the son of Jeffrey and Kathryn Bargell.
Marcus Brown, a physics major from Hastings, Nebraska, is a member of the Hastings College Choir and a Dean’s List student. He is an active member of the Alpha Chi national academic honorary, and he has presented personal research at the organization’s 2016 national conference. He currently holds a seat on the Student Association Senate. Marcus was a resident assistant in Altman Hall his sophomore year. Marcus is the son of Terence and Sharon Brown.
Matthew Brown, son of Terence and Sharon Brown, is a physics major at Hastings College. The Hastings, Nebraska, native was accepted to two summer Research Experience for Undergraduate positions in Missouri and Florida, respectively. A member of the Alpha Chi national academic honorary, Matthew has presented his research twice at the organization’s national conference. He also is active on campus as a Student Association senator, a Hastings College Choir member and a former member of the Hastings College Bronco Men’s Basketball team.
Jacilyn Bruns is a journalism major from Grand Island, Nebraska. She served a two-year tenure as Collegian Editor-in-Chief from January 2015 to December 2016, and she has been recognized by the Society for Collegiate Journalists and the Nebraska Collegiate Media Association for her work in broadcast journalism, print journalism and newspaper page layout. She has interned with the Hastings College Office of Marketing and Communication and the Hastings Tribune. She is also involved in the Psi Chi psychology honorary, Alpha Omega sorority, CRU Christian ministry group and the Food4Thought. Jacilyn is the daughter of Jim Bruns.
Melissa Burke, daughter of Thomas Burke and Anna DeMarco, is a psychology and health systems double major from Denver, Colorado. Her research team was awarded the Women’s Monticello Research Grant for their independent research project regarding nature’s effect on mood, attention and memory; the team has been accepted to present at the Association for Psychological Science Conference in 2017. Melissa was declared the Young Scholar of 2016 by the Society for Research on Adolescence. She is also involved on campus as a member of the Psi Chi psychology honorary, the chair of the Student Judiciary Council, a member of the Student Environmental Action Coalition and a volunteer for Food4Thought.
Ethan Carpenter is a business administration and marketing double major from Lincoln, Nebraska. He has led the student body since 2015 as a two-term Student Association President. He is also an active member of the Bronco Men’s Golf Team, the president of Professional Business Leaders and an Hastings College tour guide. He has been honored academically on the Dean’s List, and among his peers as a Homecoming King candidate. Ethan is the son of Michael and Holly Carpenter.
Logan Davis of Omaha, Nebraska, is the son of Kim Gazda-Davis. The exercise science major has interned at Hastings Physical Therapy. He is the president of the Omicron Delta Kappa national leadership honorary and the vice president of the Beta Beta Beta biological honor society. Logan was a member of both the Hastings College Football Team and has been active with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Lily Ealey of Lincoln, Nebraska, is a biology major and member of the Tri-Beta national biology honorary. She is an active member of student government, serving as the Executive Council Entertainment Committee Co-Chair from 2014 to 2016 and the Executive Cabinet Secretary her senior year. Lily plays the bass in the Hastings Symphony Orchestra and the Melodious Thunk Student Jazz Combo. She was a summer intern at Kanti Children’s Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, and has volunteered in several Hastings organizations, including Start Over Rover, Food4Thought and the Spouse Abuse Sexaul Assault Crisis Center. Lily is the daughter of Brenda Ealey.
Kelsey Fuchs is a psychology major from Loveland, Colorado. She embraces her spiritual background through memberships in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, CRU and Sunday Night Live Bible study. On campus, Kelsey is involved in the Psi Chi national psychology honorary, the Alpha Omega sorority, the Hastings College Choir, Habitat for Humanity and the Resident Hall Association. She recently interned with “Made for Freedom,” a social enterprise that raises money to fight human trafficking through its wholesale and retail clothing business. Kelsey is the daughter of Daryl and Cindy Fuchs.
Jessica Gonzalez, daughter of Jose and Tamera Gonzalez, is a marketing major from Albion, Nebraska.She is a current co-president of the Multicultural Student Union at Hastings College. Jessica is a copy editor for the Hastings College Collegian student newspaper. She served as the treasurer of the 2016 Artist Lecture Series Student Symposium Committee. She is involved in the Talent Pool Internship Program, and has interned with Industrial Irrigation, the Hastings App and the Hastings Family YMCA.
Jazmin Gonzalez-Vega is a biology and psychology double major. She is a member of the Psi Chi national psychology honorary, the Student Health Advisory Council, the Order of Omega, the Omicron Delta Epsilon national leadership honorary and the Kappa Rho Upsilon sorority. She participated in the Summer Medical and Dental Education Program and held an Internship at the South Heartland District Health Department in Hastings. The daughter of Martin Gonzalez, Jazmin is originally from Grand Island, Nebraska.
Anna Griggs is a communication studies major from Centennial, Colorado. She holds several leadership positions in a variety of groups across campus, including parliamentarian for the Student Association Executive Cabinet, the president of the Sigma Alpha Iota national women’s music fraternity, the co-president of the Lambda Pi Eta national communications honorary and the co-president of the Student Alumni Association. Anna is also the founder and current student director of the Crimson Cupboard, a campus food pantry. She is an active member of the Hastings College Choir and the Chancel Choir at First Presbyterian Church. Anna is the daughter of Steven and Susan Griggs.
Mark Gueswell is the son of Barry and Ronda Gueswell. The business administration and marketing double major of Greeley, Colorado, is a prominent figure on the tennis court who has been honored several times as the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference Men’s Tennis Player of the Week. Mark works as a tour guide for Hastings College Admissions. He has also held roles in the Fellowship of Christians Athletes, the Resident Life staff, the Artist Lecture Series Student Symposium Committee and the Student Association Senate.
Russell Heitmann is a double major in broadcasting and journalism from Hebron, Nebraska. He is a leader with Hastings College Media, spending time as the Sports Director of Live Productions, a commentator during athletic broadcasts, the lead news anchor on Broncos News Now and a member of the KFKX radio staff. He has interned with several notable media organizations, including Sports Radio 810, the University of Kansas Athletics Department and Time Warner Cable Sports. Outside of the media department, he has filled the leadership roles on the Student Association Senator and Student Judiciary Council. Russ is the son of Darcy and Anne Heitmann.
Zaidya Hirschman is a music education major from Norfolk, Nebraska. She is an active participant in campus music, with membership in the Hastings College Band, the Hastings College Choir, the Hastings College Jazz Ensemble and the Sigma Alpha Iota national women’s music fraternity. Zaidya also plays with the Hastings Symphony Orchestra and is a part of the National Association for Music Educators (NAfME), as well as the Student Education Association. In the community, she volunteers with the Hastings Literacy Program. Zaidya is the daughter of Bryan and Melora Hirschman.
Molly Hoff, daughter of Steve and Mary Hoff, is a religion and sociology double major. The Broomfield, Colorado, native was awarded the Kessler Scholarship, the Leroy and Jean Thom Scholarship for Continuing Religious Education, the John and Janie Shell Academic Scholarship, the James and Alyce Tanton Rudden Scholarship, and the Dr. A. and L. Langenberg Scholarship. Molly was a 2014 recipient of the Knappenberger Travel Fund, which she used to supplement her trip to Cambodia to work briefly as an English teacher. She also spent time volunteering at orphanages in Mexico and Peru; locally, she volunteers to teach ESL for the Hastings Literacy Program.
Jake Kampschneider of Papillion, Nebraska, is a biology major. He is heavily involved in peer education groups, including the College Acquaintance Rape Educators (CARE) and Boost Alcohol Consciousness Concerning the Health of University Students (BACCHUS). As a peer educator, he has presented at the National BACCHUS National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) General Assembly. Jake worked at the South Heartland District Health Department as a public health intern, and he is a leader on campus for the Outdoors Club, the Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC) and the HC Democrats. Jake is the son of Dave and Mary Kampschneider.
Nick Musgrave, son of Dale and Jerelyn Musgrave, is a history and political science double major from Parkersburg, West Virginia. He was an Irish Fellow, Creigh Weyer Scholar and a 2017 Evans-Storer Lecturer in political science. Nick was directly involved with the 2014 Chuck Hassebrook for Governor campaign as an intern and a regional field director. He has also interned with the Virginia Democratic Party and the office of Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia. On campus, Nick is a member of the Phi Alpha Theta national history honorary, the Omicron Delta Kappa national leadership honorary, the Inter-Greek Council, the Student Association Senate, the Political Science Club and Hastings College Media.
Sarah Nelson is a music education major from Colorado Springs, Colorado. She is a recipient of the Jennifer Cady Music Scholarship, the Theodore Presser Scholarship and the Mountford-Wherry Music Scholarship. Sarah is the president of Sigma Alpha Iota, the national women’s music fraternity, and the founder of A Work in Progress, the Hastings College women’s a cappella group. She is also leads a campus bible study and is a member of CRU and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Sarah is the daughter of David and Jody Nelson.
Alyx Olney is a Spanish and sociology double major from La Vista, Nebraska. She is the co-chair of LocalGlobal/Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Committee and the co-director of the Peer Mentor Program. Additionally, Alyx is a member of the Alpha Chi national academic honorary, the Omicron Delta Kappa national leadership honorary, the Alpha Kappa Delta sociology honorary, the Student Alumni Association, the Sociology Club and Habitat for Humanity. She received the Clara Altman Award for Foreign Languages, the Knappenberger Travel Grant and the Gaston and Noelle Alpha Chi National Scholarship. Alyx is the daughter of Dave and Kathy Olney.
Lauren Perkins, daughter of Glenn and Crisann Perkins, is an accounting major from Grand Island, Nebraska. She is a recipient of the Principal Financial Group Scholarship and the Nebraska Society of CPA’s Foundation Scholarship. Lauren is the co-president and fundraising chair of the Alpha Omega sorority, the treasurer of the InterGreek Council, a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa national leadership honorary, a member of the Order of Omega and a volunteer for Food4Thought.
Maddie Sharp is a psychology major from Omaha, Nebraska. She has served as the volunteer coordinator of Food4Thought and is a member of the Psi Chi national psychology honorary and the Omicron Delta Kappa national leadership honorary. Maddie is a part of a student research team testing the effects of nature on mood, attention and memory. She won first place for original psychology research at the Great Plains Psychology Conference in 2014 and was awarded the Women’s Monticello Research Grant. Her team has been accepted to present at the Association for Psychological Science Conference in 2017. Maddie is the daughter of Michael and Stephanie Sharp.
Laurel Teal of Castle Rock, Colorado, is a double major in history and political science. She is a member of the Alpha Chi national academic honorary, the Phi Alpha Theta national history honorary and the Kappa Rho Upsilon sorority. Laurel was a 2014 Irish Fellow; her Irish Fellows project won the award for the best undergraduate student paper at the 50th annual Northern Great Plains History Conference. She recently interned with the U.S. House of Representatives. Laurel is the daughter of George and Laura Teal.
Collin Tedesco is a business adminstration and marketing double major. The Castle Rock, Colorado, native is a prominent member on the Bronco Men’s Golf team, and the treasurer of the Student Association Executive Cabinet. Collin also is a member of Professional Business Leaders, as well as a recipient of the Dr. Ralph Lamb Economics and Business Administration Scholarship. Collin the the son of D.J. and Sarah Tedesco.
Kassandera “Kassy” Winter is an elementary education major from Ericson, Nebraska. She is the director of Youth Christ for Ministry and an active member of the CRU leadership team. Kassy also is a member of the Alpha Omega sorority, the Student Education Association and the Hastings College Choir. She volunteers on campus with Food4Thought and Operation Christmas Child. Kassy is the daughter of Kevin and Sheryl Winter.
Hastings College is a private, four-year institution located in Hastings, Nebraska, that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. With 64 majors and 15 pre-professional programs, Hastings College has been named among “Great Schools, Great Prices” by U.S. News & World Report and a “Best in the Midwest” by The Princeton Review. For more, go to hastings.edu.
