Communication Students Recognized in Honors and Scholarship Ceremony

School of Communication students at Western Michigan University were recognized during a March 27 celebration inducting new honor students into the Eta Rho chapter of the Lambda Pi Eta Communication Honor Society and awarding 2015-16 school scholarship recipients. 

2015 Lambda Pi Eta Communication Honor Society inductees

Members of Lambda Pi Eta, an official honors society established in 1985, are undergraduates who have declared a communication major and achieved a high level of academic excellence.

To be eligible, students must have completed 60 hours in undergraduate credit courses, have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0, have completed 12 semester hours in courses in the field of communication, have a grade point average of at least 3.23 in these required courses, be in the upper 35 percent of their graduating class and be currently enrolled as a full-time student in good standing.

The purposes of the honor society is to recognize, foster and reward outstanding scholastic achievement, stimulate interest in the field of communication, promote and encourage professional development among communication scholars, provide an opportunity to discuss and exchange ideas in the field of communication, establish and maintain close relationships and mutual understanding between faculty and students and explore options for further graduate education.

Scholars from the School of Communication inducted into Lamda Pi Eta include:Alexis Baker, Claire M. Baumhardt, Madison Bennett, Elizabeth Ann Blasko, Breanna K. Bundle, Justice Carissimi, Crystal Ann Deel, Grace Ann DeMeulenaere, Dayna Bianchi Deridder, Paige Dotson, Candace Faistenhammer, Logan Hunter Fielding, Alexa Foy, Michael Giguere, Evelyn Gordon, Lori M. Gottschling, Jacki Haney, Cassie Mae Hess, Valerie Horwath, Shekinah Janae Hudson, Domenica LaMilza, Cyndi Law, Laura Rowena Laws, Frangely L. Vargas, Laura M. Mullen, Kathleen M. Murphy, Michael A. Newson, Anna E. Oswalt, Elena Josephina Perez Gomez, Trindad Aimee Perez-Miranda, Tavia B. Pipkins, Priyatharsini Ramasamy, Adam R. Reid, Jennifer Nicole Reiter, Joseph M. Rodriguez, Emily A. Rouleau, Francisco A. Sanchez Vasquez, Scott Shank Jr., Caroline Ross Starke, Laura Rochelle Steffer, Javier A. Villaman, Casey L. Watts, Aaron J. Wedel, Erin M. White, Donald Bryant Wirtz III, Alexa Zmich

Presidential Scholar and School of Communication Scholars

Each year the WMU Faculty Senate and the Office of the President recognize outstanding undergraduate students through the Presidential Scholar awards. Each department is asked to select one undergraduate for this high honor. The criteria for the award are senior status and a record of academic and artistic excellence in the student’s program.

Faculty in the School nominate students for this honor and then select the individual to receive this award. Because the school has many outstanding majors, this is a very difficult task. Because the school may only name one Presidential Scholar, it honors the other excellent nominees with a School of Communication Scholar award.

• This year’s school scholars are Joseph Starr, Taylor Larson, Emma McLaren and Adam Reid.
• This year’s Presidential Scholar is Scott Shank Jr.

The Evelyn Burke Scholarship

This scholarship was established by Evelyn Burke in her own name and in honor of her parents, Judge Lawrence and Mrs. Clara Burke. Burke received her teaching certificate in 1925 and her BA in 1929 from WMU. Ms. Burke was a high school teacher who spent the majority of her long career at Battle Creek Central High School, from where she retired in 1971. Throughout her career Ms. Burke was the advisor for the school newspaper and for many of those years she also served as the yearbook advisor. Hence, her interest in and desire to support aspiring journalists through this scholarship.

To receive the Evelyn Burke Scholarship awardees must have a record of scholastic achievement and of outstanding potential in the field of journalism as deemed by the journalism faculty.

• This year’s Evelyn Burke Scholarship recipients are Casey L. Watts and Erin M. White.
  
  

The Roslyn M. Abrams Scholarship

Roslyn Abrams is an alumnus of the School of Communication who has had a very successful career in broadcasting and she is one of the first school alumni to establish a scholarship. The expressed goal of this scholarship is assist undergraduate students whose life experiences are similar to her own experience as an undergraduate at WMU.  Her desire is to support students studying communication who have overcome obstacles such as socioeconomic or educational disadvantages or disabilities or who are the first generation in their families to attend college.

• This year’s Roslyn M. Abrams Scholarship recipients are Thuy Nyugen, Brandon Paschall, Walter Robertson and Felecia Weathers.

The Peter and Laurel Northouse Endowed Leadership Scholarship

Dr. Peter Northouse, emeritus professor of the School of Communication, and his spouse, Dr. Laurel Northouse, have established this award to recognize students who exhibit good citizenship in the classroom through their participation, community mindedness in class and their general contributions to the well being and learning environment of the classroom.

• This year’s Peter and Laurel Northouse Endowed Leadership Scholarship recipients are Sarah Mead, Sean Boeberitz, Logan Hunter Fielding and J. Gabriel Ware.

Marc Henry Simon Memorial Scholarship

Marc Simon graduated from Western Michigan University in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in communication studies. Simon passed away in November 2013 in East Lansing.

To honor his memory, the family and friends of Simon have established this scholarship fund in his name and this is the first year it has been awarded. Simon's family and friends want this scholarship to honor a student who demonstrates a capacity for leadership at the university and in the community. Read more about the scholarship and its first award recipient.

• This year's Marc Henry Simon Memorial Scholarship recipient is J. Gabriel Ware.