Matt Rygg

Leadership Awards Banquet Honors 2018-2019 Student Leaders

April 18, 2019

The second annual Leadership Awards Banquet was hosted by the Division of Student Affairs and the Associated Students of the University of Portland on Friday, April 12. A group of 250 student leaders and staff attended the dinner and awards ceremony, which honored students and student affairs staff who have exemplified leadership and significantly contributed towards the University’s mission during the 2018 -2019 academic year.

The event was emceed by Matt Rygg, associate vice president of student development, and senior Chloe Tanega. Rev. John Donato C.S.C., vice president for student affairs, offered remarks to honor the contributions and accomplishments of all of the student leaders on The Bluff, and University president Rev. Mark L. Poorman, C.S.C., presented the highest Student Affairs student leadership award, The Rev. John Van Wolvlear C.S.C. Award For Outstanding Involvement in Student Affairs, to Annie Voegele ’19 (pictured).

This year, the Division of Student Affairs introduced their own Leadership Pin worn by those who have given a year or more of leadership service in a student organization. Students wearing this pin have performed one year or more of selfless service.

For a full listing of categories and winners, please use this link. For photos from the event, use this link.

SimonMary Asese Aihiokhai, theology, reviewed and endorsed book manuscript: Mother Earth, Mother Africa & African Indigenous Religions. Edited by Nobuntu Penxa Matholemi, Georgina Kwanima Boateng, and Molly Manyonganise. African Sun Media, 2020. ISBN: 9781928480730. He also served as reviewer and endorser of manuscript: “Women and the Shame and Pain of Infertility” by Damasus C. Okoro, Wipf and Stock Publishers, July 2020.

Corey Pressman, nursing, had his poem, Quarantine Circuit, published in September 13th “Introspection” issue of the Lucky Jefferson Literary Journal. You can listen to a reading of the poem here.

Dawn Garzon Maaks, nursing, wrote “A cost-effective solution to video debriefing and livestreaming in simulation” (with Douglas Hughley) in Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 48 (November 2020), 15-19.

Kevin Jones, social work, had a poem, “A Painting of a Painting on Fire,” published in The Ekphrastic Review, an online literary journal dedicated to poetry inspired by visual art. Jones is currently working on a research project exploring the therapeutic effects of poetry writing for youth who have experienced trauma.

Jakob Kotas, mathematics, contributed “Specifications-based grading reduces anxiety for students of ordinary differential equations” (with Mel Henriksen, Mami Wentworth) to CODEE Journal: Vol. 13, Article 1, September 2020. Available at this link.

Buck Taylor, chemistry, contributed “Metal/Organosilicon Complexes: Structure, Reactivity, and Considerations for Catalysis” (with Matthew Whited) to Comments on Inorganic Chemistry, August 2020, 40, 217–276.