Southwest’s stellar scholars honored at 2023 Student Honors & Awards Convocation
By Chris Caldwell
Communication major Erika Konig and President
Tracy D. Hall at the 2023 Student Honors & Awards
Convocation April 11, 2023.
Congratulations to the 100-plus best and brightest Southwest scholars honored at the 2023 Student Honors and Awards Convocation. The annual celebration is hosted by the Honors Academy and took place in the Nabors Auditorium April 11, 2023.
“This is a time-honored tradition at Southwest to acknowledge all of you for your academic success in the classroom,” Southwest Tennessee Commuity College President Tracy D. Hall said. “This celebration is for you. We are here because you persevered through the long days and nights, ensuring your goals were met. Your families, the faculty, and staff are all here to congratulate you on being that bright shining light at Southwest.”
Erika Konig, an immigrant from Mexico and the 2023 Commencement student speaker, said the event was bittersweet as it marked the close of the semester and her time at Southwest. “Being in the honors program was an incredible opportunity for me because the courses pushed me to think outside the box and expand my intellectual boundaries,” Konig said. “I can’t believe my time at Southwest is almost over. Choosing Southwest was about the small class size environments, personalized teaching and cost. Plus the seamless enrollment process reassured me that I made the right choice for college!”
Konig was honored during Convocation and received an award for “Excellence in Writing: African American Literature.” She graduated with an A.A. in communication in May 2023 and plans to attend the University of Memphis in fall 2023 to pursue a bachelor’s in communication.
Congratulations to all of the award winners!
Departmental Academic Awards
RADIOLOGIC TECHNOLOGY AWARDS
Dr. Gurley Award for Academic Excellence in Radiologic Technology:
Seth Hendricks
Sheila King
Dr. Gurley Clinical Excellence in Radiologic Technology
Iris Carranza
Kyle Kasaitis
PHARMACY TECHNOLOGY AWARDS
Outstanding Leadership and Character Award
Kennadi Webber
Student Achievement Award
Jillian Buckner
Academic Award of Excellence
Alyssa Chalmers
PHYSICAL THERAPIST ASSISTANT PROGRAM AWARDS
Leo Betzelberger Award
Andre’ LeSueur
Judy Clifft Award
Ryan Davis
Academic Excellence
Autumn Coleman
Blake Bradley
Clinical Excellence
Melanie Young
Majdi Alnasan
MEDICAL LAB TECHNICIAN AWARDS
Highest Academic Achievement Junior Group Medical Lab Technician
Shyraneka Wilson
Highest Academic Achievement Senior Group Medical Lab Technician
Paige Dillon
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE IN NATURAL SCIENCES AWARDS AAS BIOTECHNOLOGY STUDENT OF THE YEAR 2023
Kaleigh Engstrand
PARALEGAL STUDIES AWARDS
Paralegal Studies Student of the Year
Annie Emerson
Lambda Epsilon Chi (LEX) Inductees
Annie Emerson
Lavanda Mayfield
ACCOUNTING AWARDS
Elsie Mae Swoboda AAS Accounting Scholarship
Amy Rodgers
Carl E. Swoboda, Sr. Accounting Technical Certificate Scholarship
Joshua Sissom
Outstanding Accounting Student of the Year
Cassidy Jackson
BUSINESS AWARD
Business Student of the Year
Jenny Frenn
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES AWARDS
Architectural Design Technology Outstanding Student
Abigail Greenwell
Electrical Engineering Technology Outstanding Student
Jalen Becton
Mechanical Engineering Technology Outstanding Student
Hunter Dowden
TECHNOLOGIES AWARDS
Automotive Technology Outstanding Students
Thomas Littlewood
Kaleb Taylor
Computer Engineering Technology Outstanding Student
Manuel Monjaraz
Computer Information and Technology Outstanding Student
Kadeem Franklin
Larry Pillowe
Mechatronics Technology Academic Award
Brendan Youngblood
Mechatronics Technology Leadership Award
Travis Theil
ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONAL TECHNOLOGY AWARD
Administrative Professional Technology, Medical Office Technology Concentration Student of the Year
Sondos Mamlouk
HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT AWARD
Culinary Arts Concentration Student of the Year
Rachel Drees
CRIMINAL JUSTICE AWARD Criminal Justice Associate of Science TTP Degree
Kalyn Evans
Alvin Glover
COMMUNICATIONS, GRAPHIC, AND FINE ARTS AWARDS Outstanding Communication Students
Ivy Glover
Quinteria Taylor
Outstanding ESL Communication Student
Keyla Perez Gurrola
Outstanding Fine Arts Students
Kaitly Morgan
Aaron Ransom
Outstanding Graphic Arts Technology Student—Production
Hannah Drees
Outstanding Graphic Arts Technology Student—Interactive Multimedia
Isabella Albert
Outstanding Music Student—Piano and Music Technology
Isabella Santos
Outstanding Theatre Student
Crystal Curtright
LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE AWARDS
Developmental Writing, Academic Success, Persistence Award
William Jensen
English Composition I Writing Award
Angie Maldonado Arita
Excellence in Writing: English 1020
William Turner
Excellence in Writing: Early World Literature
Emma Allred
Excellence in Writing: African American Literature
Erika Konig
Lauren Mason
SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES AWARDS
SBS John P. Bacon Academic Achievement Award
Jordan Victor
Madison Ezell
Makayla Lindsey
LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE AWARDS
RISING SALUQI OF THE YEAR
Jacqueline Booker
STUDENT CLUB OF THE YEAR
Student Government Association
STUDENT LEADERSHIP AWARDS
Tyrek Gatewood
Angelina Rose
Asia Johnson
CAREER SERVICES INTERNSHIP CERTIFICATE
Robert Biederstadt
Zeynab Fall
Tamitha Richardson
Rachel Tines
OUTSTANDING PEER TUTOR
Micki Lucas
VA STUDENTS ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AWARD
Marissa Bloodworth
Maria Garcia
Lauren Herbert
Sanaa Lewis
Moesha Moore
Rebekah Rubio
Jalen Stamps
PROJECT M.O.S.T. AWARDS
THE ALL M.O.S.T. AWARD
Anthony Washington
GRIT AWARDS
Eleazar Houston
Carl Slappy
Ikenna Ugwuanyi
BLACK DIAMOND AWARDS
Bryan Anderson
Ryan Chenault
Tony Coles
Lunnie Gross
Thomas Hampton
Joseph Hawkins
Riley Holmes
Jordan Swift
Olowookere Temitope
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
Christopher Banks
Myles Bougard
Noah Boyd
Israel Cobbs
William Farris
Kamrin Jones
Zuri Muhammad
Marcus J. Taylor
Ikenna Ugwuanyi
Tramond Vaughn
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
Tyrek Gatewood
Marcotis Hall
Antonio Hill
Eleazar Houston
Taurus McDaniel
Denzel Relliford
Mario Scruggs
Austin Trosclair
Karl Williams III
In This Issue...
- From the President
- Dr. Shelia Bouie named to Memphis Business Journal’s Woman Leading in Nursing
- Welcome Aboard!
- Southwest introduces new offboarding policy
- Southwest athletics continue to rack up post-season accolades
- Southwest reimagines career pathways; launches Southwest Workforce Solutions Center
- Southwest’s Chris Camp receives the distinguished Dale P. Parnell Faculty Distinction Recognition Award
- Southwest physical therapist assistant student Eboni Benson finds purpose in helping others
- Stan Bell returns to Southwest as master of ceremonies for the 2023 Faculty and Staff Awards
- Communication, Fine Arts and Graphics department expands curriculum with sought-after industry credentials
- Go Red at Southwest campaign yields a year of heart-smart choices
- Southwest celebrates Saluqi baseball’s record-breaking season
- Southwest’s Entrepreneurship Day celebrates local businesses in Memphis
- HONORS ACADEMY ALUMNI: Where Are They Now?
- Southwest welcomes 39 inductees into the National Society of Leadership and Success
- Southwest taps Dr. Carol Ash as Vice President of Academic Affairs and Workforce Development
- Southwest hires Jeremy Shirley as Associate Vice President of Strategic Marketing and Communications
- Alma Rutledge named Dean of Students
- Summer Institute 2023 focuses on reimagining Southwest
- Southwest’s Phi Theta Kappa inducts 16 members in candlelight ceremony
- Project M.O.S.T. celebrates the 11th annual Men in Black Awards
- Q & A with Admissions Recruiter Elizabeth Clark
- More than 1200 credentials conferred at twenty-fifth Commencement
- Southwest Professor Dr. Marcia Hunter debuts book on fulfilling one’s dreams
- Employees preview a reimagined student experience at College’s Gallery Walk
- Southwest’s stellar scholars honored at 2023 Student Honors & Awards Convocation
- Memphis Light, Gas & Water, AT&T and Comcast launch workforce pipeline partnership with Southwest
- President Tracy D. Hall named a top 100 Leader in the Memphis community
- Southwest hosts caring conversations in wake of Tyre Nichols’ death