Outstanding Senior
Katelyn Milligan
The Lamb School has many terrific seniors, but this award singles out just one. The award is based on grades, faculty input, and student activities both academic and extracurricular. This year’s Outstanding Senior is Katelyn Milligan, who majors in Public Relations & Strategic Communication.
Katelyn has collected communication experiences both in and out of the classroom. In addition to her excellent academic record, her class projects in communication have resulted in published travel writing, the broadcast of Purdue’s homecoming parade, and a reputation management campaign for an Indiana small town. While studying abroad in London for a summer, she interned for a non-profit TV channel promoting its programs. Outside of classes, she has maintained her commitment to growing in communication skills. She has had internships both on campus and in her hometown of Muncie, and she served as Director of Spirit and Traditions for the Purdue Student Union Board. In this role, she planned Homecoming week activities such as the parade, and she also helped orchestrate some of the festivities surrounding the PMU Christmas tree. Faculty members praised her for her hard work, leadership, and impressive results.
Bruce Kendall Award
Sara Cunningham
The Bruce Kendall Award highlights a senior who has demonstrated an impressive degree of involvement on top of a strong academic record. This year’s Kendall Award winner is Sara Cunningham, also majoring in Public Relations & Strategic Communication. Sara has interned at Lockheed-Martin and spent a semester at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. She is part of Purdue’s Marching Band color guard and president of PRSSA, and she has worked or interned for the CLA career center and Lafayette’s Imagination Station. After graduation, she will be working with Lockheed-Martin, Ft. Worth, Texas. Endorsers called her “a smart and kind leader,” and “one of the most impressive, multi-dimensional undergraduate students with whom I have worked.”
Distinguished Seniors in Communication
These seniors all earned high GPAs and collected a wide range of experiences and accolades. Here they are, in alphabetical order:
J. D. Arland
General Communication: J.D. is completing his degree in three years, and he has still found time to intern at WLFI and be an in-game host for Purdue Athletics and the Lafayette Aviators baseball team.
Micaela Bonifaz
Mass Communication: Micaela is also completing her degree in three years, and she has also been an intern at Gray Group (Peru), an intern at WBAA, and a member of the CLA International Student Council.
Yulong Gong
Public Relations & Strategic Communication: Yulong minored in economics and had an internship at Great Wall Life Insurance.
Reece Grapenthien
Public Relations & Strategic Communication: Reece was an intern at Neuhoff Media and at Lafayette Parks & Recreation.
Jackie Ham
Public Relations & Strategic Communication: Jackie has been active in Purdue’s Dance Marathon, and she has quite a collection of internships: Pod Foods, NIPSCO, the Anti-Cruelty Society of Chicago, and the office of the president at Purdue.
Yihan Jia
Mass Communication: Yihan is part of the CLA International Student Council, has interned at Purdue’s LGBTQ Center, and has worked on two Wilke research internships.
Kaleigh Karageorge
Corporate Communication: Kaleigh has also been a Wilke research intern, as well as an intern for North American Dental Group, SDI Innovations, and our own Center for C-SPAN Scholarship and Engagement.
Abigail Kuenster
Public Relations & Strategic Communication: Abigail directed PRSSA’s COM Day and has been Firm Director in Boiler Communication. She has also interned at SDI Innovations and Purdue Marketing and Media, all while being a Purdue cheerleader. She has been chosen for the prestigious Orr Fellowship and will be working at Haven Technologies after graduation.
Ranxin Quan
Public Relations & Strategic Communication: Ranxin studied abroad for a semester at Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. She also completed an internship in China and wants to work in branding.
Brooke Stephens
Public Relations & Strategic Communication: Brooke will graduate in 3 ½ years, during which time she has been a major contributor to Purdue Galleries and the Department of Theatre. She has worked for Elliott Hall, the Student Concert Committee, and as a gallery attendant. She also interned at Eli Lilly.
Alexa Struss
Public Relations & Strategic Communication: A member of the Purdue Dance Team, Alexa interned in Indianapolis and with the Purdue Peace Project, and she coaches the dance team at Harrison High School.
Liting Wang
Public Relations & Strategic Communication: Liting is currently applying to graduate schools in the U.K. to study human resources.
Distinguished New Communication Major
Anna Szolwinski
This award is only open to students who received an A- or better in all three pre-communication classes, so the applicants for this award are a small group of exceptional students. This year’s distinguished new communication major is Anna Szolwinski. She started at Purdue in exploratory studies and then found COM. Her plan for the summer is to be an intern at the Western & Southern Open Special Events. The “A+” grade at Purdue is symbolic—it doesn’t add any points to a GPA. But in most cases, it recognizes a student at the very top of a class. Anna earned an A+ in all three pre-communication classes.
McDowell & Gilliam Scholarship,
Planck Study Abroad Scholarship
Giovanna Salazar
The 2020 recipient of both the McDowell & Gilliam Scholarship ($2,000 scholarship to support studying abroad) and the Planck Study Abroad Scholarship ($1,400 towards study abroad for an Indiana resident who has demonstrated leadership on campus) is Giovanna Salazar who is majoring in Public Relations & Strategic Communication. Giovanna plans to spend a semester studying in Barranquilla, Colombia. During her short time at Purdue, she has already worked with the Latinx Student Union and Boiler Success Team. She has demonstrated leadership as a diversity ambassador for CLA.
William Wigglesworth Communication Scholarship
Anna Szolwinski
This scholarship provides $1,600 for a student in one of the Lamb School’s smaller majors or concentrations. This year’s William Wigglesworth Communication Scholarship is awarded to Anna Szolwinski who has chosen Business Communication for her concentration. In her application, Anna wrote that the most important thing she has learned so far in the Lamb School is how communication can empower females.
Lamb Scholars
Each Lamb Scholar is an Indiana resident who has been a leader involved in their community. These students earn $2,000 each.
William Oberndorfer
William (Carmel) has been involved with youth sports, church, and projects to raise money and awareness for diabetes.
Jared Huber
Jared (Fair Oaks) interned at the state house for a semester and is involved with Purdue Student Government.
Morgan Pierce
Morgan (Pittsboro) is a member of the Purduettes and has been a Wilke research intern. She has also worked with Purdue Admissions and suicide prevention.
Communication Service Award
Sapphire Lai
Sapphire has been very active in the CLA International Student Council, planning and/or participating in 43 events! Her outstanding record of helping and supporting students from across cultures led to her being nominated for the Jischke Outstanding Undergraduate International Student Award.
Dr. Albert J. Weitz Scholarship
Alicia Frazier
The Dr. Albert J. Weitz Scholarship awards $1,200 to a Com student who is a member of the Honors College and is presented this year to Alicia Frazier. Alicia has completed three honors classes and wrote in her application that a good honors class should be tailored to students and have higher expectations than a regular class.
Degree in Three Summer Scholarships
The Degree in Three Summer Scholarships provide $2,000 to be used for summer tuition for students who are working toward a Degree in 3 and have completed a Degree in 3 learning agreement. The Lamb School has never had to decline an application for this scholarship! So, if you are a Degree in 3 student or if you’re considering Degree in 3, this scholarship might factor into your plans for next summer. The 2020 Degree in Three Summer Scholarship winners are: Tori Chodzinski, Michelle Koo, Sebastian Reimer, and Danielle Rothchild.
Outstanding Sophomore
Anna Szolwinski
This is the first year the Lamb School has been asked to name an Outstanding Sophomore, so our inaugural recipient is Anna Szolwinski. In addition to concentrating in Business Communication, Anna is also minoring in Management, Spanish, and Women’s Studies. In her first two years, she has been involved in Boiler Gold Rush and mentoring Honors College freshmen. But the biggest mark she has already left on campus is serving as Directing Chair of Rising Professionals. This sister program to Old Masters brings several successful alumni to campus who aren’t that far removed from their college experience. Anna led the whole process as a sophomore, not just taking care of this year’s program, but also making changes to help the program be more successful and sustainable in the future.