Outstanding Student Awards

Hunter Johnson is from the Dayton region and says he is very glad he chose the Urban Affairs program at Wright State as it allowed him to grow in his passion for public service while also serving his community.

Alexandria Hines started her academic career about six year ago with the intentions of receiving an undergraduate degree in nursing.

Alex Bylczynski graduated from WSU with a double major in Liberal Studies and Sociology and has been selected as the Outstanding Graduate for both!

Taylor Ronnebaum is a Political Science graduate. Born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, Taylor first became interested in politics when Obama ran for office in 2008.

Megan McKarns graduated with majors in both Spanish and International Studies. Megan started learning Spanish in high school and grew not only a passion for the language but as well as the culture and the people who speak it.

Alexis Voisard is considered by the English faculty to rank among the very best students that they have taught in recent years.

Kennedy Fitzgerald graduated Spring 2021 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Crime and Justice Studies and a minor in Psychology. She transferred from Bowling Green University to Wright State in the fall of 2018.

Anna Fox graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in both Anthropology and Art, and aspires to earn a certificate in museum management as well as a master’s degree to become a Biological Anthropologist.

Ninad Inamdar earned his degree in geography at Wright State University, after transferring from Sinclair Community College.

Before returning to Wright State to work on his Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting degree, Matthew Weaver taught band in the Mt.

During Jacob Shade’s time in the dance program at Wright State University he has had the privilege of working with world renowned choreographers such as Dwight Rhoden, Ray Mercer, Christian Denice, and Lloyd Culbreath from the Fosse Legacy.

Petey Sanchez (he/him/his) believes majoring in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies was one of the best decisions he ever made, as it opened him to valuing everyone no matter their differences.

Graduating in May with a B.A. in Classical Languages and Cultures and a minor in International Studies, Lee Huntsberger has unflaggingly maintained his passion for Classics.

Abigail M. Lionberger earned a degree in French and a minor in Political Science while working two jobs and serving as French club president.

During her studies, Megan O’Connor developed a passion for investigating and telling the stories of ‘ordinary’ people in America’s past, especially through historical fashions and textile manufacture.

When a professor encouraged Sarah Cavender to get involved with the student newspaper everything came together.

After high school, native Daytonian Michael Krieger spent several years in New York City with street punks, squatters, and fringe artists, which helped steer him to take his passion for art and acquire formal education seeking a degree.

Uriah Anderson came to the Wright State MPA program looking for a change of career.

Rachel Canter will begin a PhD program in English Literature at George Washington University fall 2020. She is interested in late eighteenth and early nineteenth century novels and translation studies.

Macau native Ka-Lei (Emily) Au earned a master’s degree in piano performance.

Focusing on twentieth and twenty-first century German literature, including the works of Bertolt Brecht, Wolfgang Borchert, and the contemporary authors popularized during Germany’s reunification such as Thomas Brussig, Jill Jackson finds studying

Megan Barrett was born and raised in Dayton and graduated from Chaminade Julienne High School in 2014. In high school she was a member of the National Honor Society and took multiple AP classes, most of which were in History or Government.

Kelly Bledsoe has always loved making art, but his career interest turned to music as a junior high student when his school offered band but not art classes.

Joshua Chenault is a graduating Mass Communication major. He chose to enter the Mass Com degree program because working in the media industry has always been his main goal.

Michaela Kaiser came to Wright State as a transfer student with many different interests.

Francisco Marques-Vuelta obtained a degree in private investigation from the University of Barcelona and developed a career as a private detective in his native Spain.

Janice Sikon is completing a B.A. in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies as well as a B.S. in Chemistry.

In September 2014, Constantine Tolias graduated from United States Army Basic Training in Fort Benning, Georgia as an infantryman in the Ohio Army National Guard.

Brittany T. Williams is a 22 year old senior Theater Studies major with a minor in African and African-American studies.

Kathryn “Katie” Chaney is a graduate of both Wright State (International Studies) and the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. Her M.A.

Katherine Margaret Peden was born and raised in Huber Heights, and graduated from Wayne High School, after which she attended Sinclair, completing prerequisites that would enable her to enroll at Wright State.

Dan Schack is graduating with a Master of Arts in English Literature and a certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Devonn Wood received her Bachelors degree in Organizational Leadership from Wright State in 2015, graduating Cum Laude, and entered the Master of Public Administration Program (MPA) in Fall 2016.

Sarah Bostic will be graduating summa cum laude with a double major in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Sociology. Last year, she was the recipient of the award for Outstanding Senior in Sociology.

Emily Hayslett received her associate’s degree in Communication from Sinclair in 2015, graduates with a Communication Studies major.

Renee Jutte is completing her Bachelor’s degree in Urban Affairs with a concentration in nonprofit management.

Kara Lynch is from Dearborn, Michigan. In 9th grade, she filled a hole in her class schedule with an intro to movie making class, marking the beginning of her journey in filmmaking.

Stephen Monath is an active performer and educator. On campus, he has served as principal percussion of the Wind Symphony, performed with the Chamber Orchestra, worked as a member of the pep band, and won the WSU Young Artist Competition.

Olivia Stidham was selected by the history department as their outstanding student for her enthusiasm and strong record in her history courses. Her professors have noted in particular her original thinking and incisive writing.

Aurylia D. Tracy, whose chosen name means “golden,” has in the classroom distinguished herself not only as a meticulous, elegant, and imaginative thinker, but also as a talented writer.

Lukas Wenrick has been an Honors student since he arrived on campus. By the following year, he was the Head Resident Assistant, showing his outreach to help other students. He worked as a tutor and a peer mentor.

Carole Ahossin is an international student from Benin, West Africa. She is a conscious, hard-working young lady, who strives to do her very best academically.

Hadley Drodge is an outstanding scholar in the classroom and an excellent teaching assistant; even more impressive is her service engagement with the broader community.

Brittany Jackson is an all-round student in the Master of Social Work program. She is reliable, punctual, and insightful in her contribution to course work as well as the larger field of social work.

Isaac Knapp began the M.A. program with a strong interest in Victorian literature, and while that interest still holds, he has also developed an affinity for postcolonial literature and modernist novels.