Denison annually recognizes graduating seniors who have demonstrated exemplary leadership and service to the University through their involvement in student organizations, in co-curricular activities, on Denison’s staff, and as athletes and scholars. Nominations of deserving students are made by faculty, staff, and student peers. In selecting the recipients, we look for evidence of an enduring commitment to enhancing the quality of life in our community. The students we honor today have made a clear, noticeable and lasting impact on Denisonians’ lives through their leadership efforts.
B.S. Mathematics
- Black Student Union
- Denison Venture Philanthropy Club
Faculty, staff and students have come to recognize you as a highly reflective student-leader. You are task-focused and persuade people through rational argument, not ego or force. A model critical thinker, you ask hard questions about our institutional values and offer your own vision of what may be required to become a dynamic, healthy campus community.
From academic panels on navigating the internship process, to mentoring first-year students by serving as ambassador for the Paving the Way Pre-Orientation, you never hesitate to offer your Denison experience as a text to others seeking to find their place and make their mark at Denison.
Your mentorship of men of color on our campus has helped us retain students by providing a model of encouragement and diligence. You are a dependable member of our campus community who constantly thinks about how your actions affect others. Your work with Denison Venture Philanthropy extends that commitment to the larger community. In all, you demonstrate resolute integrity, as well as wisdom and maturity.
We thank you for your commitment to the College and most importantly to your peers. For this, we proudly recognize you today as a distinguished leader.
B.A. Cinema and History
- Outlook, FYRE, Coordinator, President
- Denison Film Society, Vice President
- OCS, Ambassador
Who here has not benefited from having you in their corner?
You have a tremendous following of peers who respect you for your genuineness and for leaving this campus a better and more humane place. As a history and cinema double major, you appear in the projection booth for the Denison Film Society (DFS), behind the mic for WDUB campus radio station, in the DCGA (Denison Community Governance Association) as a regular observer and now senator, and serving as an ambassador for our off-campus study programs.
As president of Outlook this year, you have sought to empower members, reconnect with alumni celebrating a milestone anniversary, and make your own mark on the organization.
You wrote, “I cannot get any better as a human unless I make the effort to learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.” You model the way to achieve this, listening with acuity and responding generously where the need is greatest. You take risks and ask really good questions. You fight for a community and world that values equity, inclusion, goodwill and kindness.
Thank you for your commitment to our community over the past four years.
B.A. Environmental Studies
- University Programming Council, Director of Operation
- Chi Sigma Tau National Fraternity Inc, Vice President
- D.U. Lead, Club Leader
You have been a steadfast and dedicated leader within University Programming Council, providing a unifying presence to guide UPC towards a productive future and creating social events in pursuit of a more cohesive campus community.
You were instrumental in planning WinterFest, establishing an inclusive vision for this event, inviting other organizations in, to join and celebrate together.
You’ve made it your personal mission to help younger students transition smoothly to Denison and build connections through the mentorship you provide as vice president of your fraternity, Chi Sigma Tau, and as DU Lead Club Advisor.
One nominator writes that you’re deeply committed to inclusivity and that you bring a cross-cultural perspective to everything you do—whether in your role as head lifeguard in the Aquatics Center, as C3 Liaison in La Fuerza Latina, or as a volunteer within Habitat for Humanity.
Chris, thank you for the humble, selfless way you’ve worked to build community and the ways in which you’ve helped your peers find a sense of belonging.
B.A. Political Science
- Sustained Dialogue, President, Treasurer, VP of Public Relations, Moderator
- RED Corps, Fellow
- The Newark Hull House, Co-Founder
Andrew, a lovely thread runs through your time at Denison. Your advocacy for positive change has relied on a set of tools that you have honed through use: disciplined listening, deep and genuine curiosity about the lives of others, and the will to situate others’ experiences as the starting point in change.
As president of Sustained Dialogue, you worked to expand dialogue on campus about student experience. A co-founder of this year’s Hull House experiment in living in community, you leapt into the unknown with the strong tethers of conviction that students could support positive change within the Newark community.
Your involvement in RED Corps reflected your goal of bringing student voice to the building projects in design for students.
We rarely see such consistency of focus, but that clarity in approach has enabled you to have visible impact in each of these venues, and it has won you deep respect and care.
Thank you.
B.A. Communication
- Varsity Track and Field, Captain
- First-Year Student Athlete Panel, Moderator
- Diversity and Inclusion Group (DIG), Member
David, whether you are on the athletic field, where you’ve been a standout in both football and track, in the classroom, or representing the Denison community on a national stage, you have shown how focus, hard work, and dedication can overcome the inevitable setbacks, challenges, and hardships that we all face.
Not satisfied with merely letting your on-field performance speak for itself, you have sought out additional responsibility. While your athletic accomplishments are undeniable, the leadership and engagement you have provided while representing Denison demonstrates how you have embodied the spirit of this award.
More than just a record holder, a multiple-time NCAC champion, and an All-American in Track and Field, you were twice chosen to speak at the National Black Student-Athlete Summit on social issues faced by student-athletes of color.
Your work with Denison’s Diversity and Inclusion Group and the Denison Student-Athlete Advising Circle has provided you an opportunity to apply your experiences and acquired knowledge, and to have a positive impact on those who follow you.
Thank you for your leadership.
B.A. Communication
- The Bullsheet, Managing Editor
- Burpee’s Seedy Theatrical Company, President
- August Orientation, Co-Coordinator
To watch you over four years has been to witness energy in motion, bringing spirit and light as you go.
As a leadership fellow, you planned the Leadership Institute that asked students how their personal identity might inform their leadership vision. On stage with DITA (Denison Independent Theatre Association) and the Burpees improv group, you showed how vulnerability can be safe and even fun. In August O, you mentored first-year students to make their own distinctive marks on the campus. As editor of the Bullsheet, you created a space where wit is celebrated, and issues are treated seriously.
You wrote that “leadership is not about being the loudest voice in the room. It’s about being the one who is able to make everyone else in the room feel important. Being the leader doesn’t mean that I’m the smartest one with the best ideas, it simply means that I have the most power to let ideas come to life.” A nominator says that “your contagious enthusiasm, positivity, authenticity, and resolute integrity” are your legacy. But Maggie, we’ve also loved you when you’ve been loud and gratified when you’ve shared your smarts. You’ve made Denison a better place to be.
B.A. Anthropology and Sociology
- Asian American Association, President, Treasurer
- WDUB The “Doobie”, Radio DJ
- Paving the Way Pre-Orientation, Programs and On-campus Mentorship Coordinator and Ambassador
Relationship-building is a common thread running through your leadership story. You have served the Paving the Way Pre-Orientation with integrity as both an ambassador and later programs and on-campus mentorship coordinator; intentionally connecting first-year students to committed upper-class students and reliable resources.
Your uncanny ability to make connections and lift voices is evident in your work with the Asian American Association and WDUB. You facilitated weekly meetings and designed programming that helped educate our community about the political, social and cultural challenges experienced by Asian American students. You also produced a weekly radio show showcasing music created by and discussed with women of color. Creativity and collaboration have been key elements in your plan to make Denison a more inclusive place.
From your independent study project focused on the impact of urban art education on young people’s socio-emotional growth and development to your induction in Kappa Pi, you have taken the Denison mission and made it your own. We look forward to hearing what you commit yourself to next, confident that your impact will be remarkable.
B.S. Biology
- Residential Communities, Community Advisor, Resident Advisor
- Alliance for Disability Awareness and Activism, Treasurer
- Modern Languages Department, Teaching Assistant, Tertulia Leader
Jorge, you radiate positivity everywhere you go — infusing your energy in the classroom as teaching assistant in biology and Spanish, in the lab conducting research in biology and chemistry, or on the Quad or in the dining halls greeting peers.
As a three-year community advisor, you have distinguished yourself as a resource, ally, and mentor to many, across class years, academic disciplines, and social identities. Through your warm communication, radical presence, and willing vulnerability, you’ve built exceptionally strong relationships and communities. A nominator writes that you are “unmatched in your ability to make people comfortable and at home.” In your own reflection, you write that leadership is “acting on the many daily moments in which someone else’s experience can be improved.”
Jorge, we are grateful for your commitment to acting on the moments of each day to improve the lives of our community, through the individual attention you give and the ways in which you make others feel welcome and seen.
B.S. Biochemistry
- A Noble Cause, Community Partners Coordinator
- DCA Cabinet, Education and PR Chair
- Big Brothers Big Sisters, President
There are students who “perform volunteer work,” where the idea of performance is key. You, on the other hand, have embraced community work with your whole being.
You have served for three years on the DCA (Denison Community Association) cabinet, where you facilitated the involvement of Denison students in Licking County programs and services. The needs of children in economically vulnerable communities have animated your work. Big Brothers/Big Sisters is DCA’s largest committee, and as its leader you managed the training and activities of over 160 volunteers. You are a star in the eyes of our community partners, who say your impact on the program has been dramatic, matched in scale only by your impact upon your own “Little.”
The same is true of the after-school program you have built for A Noble Cause, a program affiliated with Par Excellence Academy. Six months ago, there was no program. Today, there is a well-functioning structure that brings tutoring, crafts, engagement with inspiring guests and, especially, the devoted time and attention of a college mentor into the lives of young students.
As you look back, you can see evidence of transformational change. We do too, and we acknowledge and thank you for it.
B.A. Psychology
- Office of First-Year Programs, Transfer Student Coordinator
- RED Corps, Fellow
- Office of Admission, Senior Interviewer, Tour Guide
As a transfer student, you embraced the Denison community, and you have committed yourself to helping others through that same process. As an Admission Office intern, tour guide, host, and senior interviewer, you have shared your Denison experience with countless prospective students.
You made a mark in the First Year Office as well, where you dedicated innumerable hours to improving the orientation experience of incoming transfer students. Your innovative programming, attention to detail, and ‘self-starter’ attitude made you the perfect fit for that role.
Your impact on campus extends beyond your support of students transitioning to Denison. You have been a member of the NERDS Neuroscience Club, the American Chemical Society, and the Pre-Health Club, served as a DCGA (Denison Community Governance Association) class senator and a member of the University Conduct Board, University Council, the Student Philanthropy Council, the Senior Class Gift Committee and as a RED Corps member.
Although your time at Denison has been shorter than most, you have made the very most of it. When reflecting on leadership, you recalled that your grandfather said, “Leadership is a choice, not a position.” Your good choices have made Denison better for many.
B.A. Educational Studies
- Office of Admission, Senior Interviewer, Tour Guide
- Kappa Alpha Theta, Chief Administrative Officer, Human Resources Director
- Denison Community Association, Vice President, Events Co-Chair
Emma, your tireless work ethic and dedication have made you a role model for members of our community, both on and off campus. While you say that you never envisioned yourself as a leader, your impact on the lives of others is undeniable.
Beginning with your work as a member and then chair of the DCA (Denison Community Association) events committee, and as a leader within Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority, you have shown the ability to motivate and lead others to achieve a common goal. Most notable in your career at Denison is your work with Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Not only have you recruited several Denison students to help in this cause, but you have dedicated yourself to mentoring and supporting an at-risk student at a local school for the past four years.
Whether you are personally impacting others or motivating members of our community to become more engaged, you are the embodiment of leadership and a testament to the core values of Denison. Thank you for your contributions.
B.A. Biology and Environmental Studies
- Varsity Field Hockey, Captain
- Women’s Varsity Lacrosse
- Denison Student Athlete Advisory Council, President
As an exemplary student athlete, you have proven yourself to be a leader on the field, in the classroom, and in the community.
You wrote in your reflection that strong leadership requires mutual respect between yourself and those you lead. That standard certainly holds true in your interactions within Denison athletics. One of your nominators wrote that you ”have shown the ability to deliver management decisions to the players without abdicating responsibility.” As captain of the field hockey team, a member of the lacrosse team, and secretary, then president of the Denison Student Athlete Advisory Council, you have learned the importance of both personal and shared accountability.
And your successes are not limited to athletics; you are an engaged student who has brought love of sport to the classroom in meaningful ways. Your research in environmental studies informs fellow student-athletes on the importance of supporting local food sources for nutritional, economic, and environmental reasons. Your work with local farms to organize service and educational events built important bridges within our community.
You have truly embraced the liberal arts and have led in the key domains of intellectual life, service, and sport. Thank you for your contributions across all three.
B.A. Data Analytics
- Office of First-Year Programs, Art Orientation Leader, June-O Leader
- RED Corps, Fellow
- Kappa Alpha Theta, COO, Recruitment Data Assistant
You have been an engaged member of our campus community: a welcoming face for so many prospective and new students through your work as a Senior Interviewer, an Art O and June O staffer,and a DU Lead advisor. As chief operating officer, you are a valued leader within Kappa Alpha Theta. You are an inaugural member of RED Corps, contributing valuable insight and guidance on issues central to student life.
In both DITA (Denison Independent Theatre Association) and Ladies Night Out, you’ve shown your talents in the arts. You are also an exemplary student of data analytics whose accomplishments led to your selection as a T.A., a departmental fellow, and a member of Mortar Board, Phi Society, and the Order of Omega Greek Leadership Society.
Morgan, you are a leader on this campus, but you are also a fine student, a mindful community member, and a dear friend. Always smiling, your positive energy and kind demeanor are infectious. A nominator wrote that you are skilled in your “ability to disagree with a person gracefully and offer a different point of view.” Your talents are much in need in the world today. We hope sincerely that the prospective students you have met as a Senior Interviewer understand the model of a great Denisonian you represent.
B.A. Global Commerce
- Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Pi Kappa Chapter President
- Office of Admission, Senior Interviewer
- Global Commerce Department, Fellow
During your career at Denison you have demonstrated that you are a hands-on leader who is willing to do the heavy lifting. As the president of your sorority, you were the driving force behind a successful Delta Week, featuring programs on human trafficking, cultural awareness, life balance, professional etiquette, and commitment to service through St. Jude.
In the classroom, your constant drive for improvement has helped to shape the new global commerce major. During a successful semester abroad, you applied your unique skills to an emerging trend and examined how cultural and social-economic stratification has impacted African immigrants in major Spanish markets.
This ability to not only identify issues, but to search for answers and work toward a solution is characteristic of you, whether in your major, in student organizations, or in encounters across campus where you see opportunities for improvement. You share your views with diplomacy but conviction, a trait that will support your leadership after college. We are proud that Denison has been a training ground for achievements that will surely continue. Congratulations.
B.A. Communication and International Studies
- Refugee Awareness Week, Creator
- Global Fellows Committee, Chair
- Office of Admission, Senior Interviewer
As a first-year student and proud Posse scholar, you took up the charge of helping our community understand the plight of refugees in Iraq. Since 2015, your commitment to the global refugee crisis and subsequent Refugee Awareness Week programming has been both collaborative and eye-opening.
Your goal of global awareness continued off campus in your work as an alumni intern for the Council on International Educational Exchange and an English Language teacher for The Islamic Republic of the Afghan Embassy in Tajikistan. You helped to facilitate language acquisition for Afghan diplomats and college students, and in so doing fostered clearer communication across cultures and traditions.
Your quest to promote understanding and find sustainable solutions guided you to become a RED Corps member. You have worked hard to translate the needs and concerns of students in ways that have contributed to the design of dynamic residential and wellness facilities. Madina, you have been a bright light on our campus, burning with a passion for positive change, for hearing marginalized voices, and for enhancing understanding between people.
B.A. Psychology
- Denison Community Association, Chair New Beginnings Women’s Shelter
- Office of Gender and Sexuality, Program Assistant
- Academic Resource Center, Head Tutor
You are an exemplary student, a fellow in two departments, and a head tutor covering several academic subjects. A “born organizer” who can pull people together to make things happen, you offer that most-desired combination of creative vision and ability to execute. In your stewardship of Love Your Body Week, you set a new standard of campus programming success, and not just because you shared your personal hero with the rest of us.
Your impact has also been felt off campus, as president of the New Beginnings DCA (Denison Community Association) committee, and as a Big Sister. The magic of having you as a Big Sister to a first-grader is a joy to contemplate.
You were praised in your nominations for the quality of your work, your reliability, your excellent communication, and the avid interest in people that leads you to form strong relationships. Yet somehow, those compliments don’t do justice to the sheer power of your presence. It is your smile, your friendliness, your intelligence, the way you hear beyond the words, your capacity for effective planning and action. You have never been failed, you wrote, by approaching a situation with care for those around you. If empathy could be conjured into human form, she would look just like you, Julia.
B.A. Black Studies
- First-Year Office, Peer Advisor
- Community of Christian Athletes, Co-Founder, Co-Leader
- Office of Admission, Senior Interviewer
You have found ways to get involved and exhibit leadership in many different venues on campus and beyond The Hill.
You enjoy serving as a peer mentor for the First Year Office and take the role of mentoring the newest members of our community seriously. You have helped the inaugural Denison-Columbus Alliance cohort of students transition so very well to Denison. You represent our community to prospective students as a senior interviewer for the Office of Admission.
Your wide-ranging talents are expressed through Ladies Night Out, Moot Court, Mortar Board and in the Black Studies department. In 2017 you co-founded the Community of Christian Athletes and have sustained a commitment to facilitating weekly Bible studies, the foundation for building community alongside a dozen or more members.
You embrace your introversion, and celebrate all the ways that trait has helped you face down even rooms full of extroverts. In short, you have appreciated your strengths and given them voice. Thank you for all you have done to bring Denisonians together in song, in study, and in service.
B.A. History
- Men’s Varsity Lacrosse, Captain
- Burpee’s Seedy Theatrical Company, Treasurer
- Knowlton Center for Career Exploration, Peer Advisor
Tommy, your leadership at Denison has spanned numerous parts of our co-curricular campus life including student government, athletics, honor societies, and the arts. You have accomplished all of this while excelling academically in both the pre-med track and your history major. Whether advising peers in the Knowlton Center, encouraging a lacrosse teammate on and off the field, or performing in an improv skit with the Burpees, you have served as a caring and collaborative leader.
Importantly, you wrote that leadership is about “hearing different perspectives, accepting critiques, and working to create compromise.” Your nominators consistently highlighted your listening skills and your genuine enthusiasm for everything in which you engage. One nominator made a particularly important observation: “In addition to the things he signs up for, I believe that Tommy stands out because of the events he attends that he does not sign up for. Every academic lecture, club program, concert, or sporting event that he can attend he will, and it is evident that he wants to support everyone here at Denison.”
Your impact has been significant, Tommy, and we appreciate your genuine and sustained caring for this community.
B.A. Environmental Studies and Political Science
- SHARE, President, Education and Outreach Coordinator
- DCSR, Internal President
- DCGA, Policy Chair, Community Senator
We are deeply impressed by your dedication to improving campus culture at Denison.
Your leadership of SHARE during a time of transition was marked by resolute commitment to the group’s ideals, and fierce integrity. A clear-eyed focus on creating a better, safer, and more respectful Denison has guided your work in DCSR (Denison Coalition for Sexual Respect), on the Steering Committee for the recent Sexual Respect Dinners, in DCGA (Denison Community Governance Association) and its policy committee, in your environmental studies and political science majors, and as a writer for the 127 blog. You are a skilled facilitator and trainer on bystander intervention, conflict resolution and sexual assault awareness.
At a time when you could have retrenched, a senior who had done enough, you seemed to double down, ensuring that the next generation of change agents would have the needed skills to sustain momentum.
You bring enthusiasm and optimism, but also a sense of urgency that we are all drawn to respect. You know you can’t solve every problem, but you don’t walk away from many. Your skills begin with active listening and creating spaces for genuine discourse.
Elena, you are richly deserving of this award, but we know it is only a nod to your beginnings. What you’ll do with your law degree — you, in a courtroom? — is a truly humbling thought.
B.A. Theatre
- Burpee’s Seedy Theatrical Company, Member
- Theta Alphi Phi, President
- Genital Monologues, Head Producer
Meg, you are a creative, talented, and honest individual who pushes others to better themselves while celebrating them for who they are now. You seek to understand and encourage others: to do better, to think more deeply, to try new things. Your welcoming nature and generous spirit have made you an important member of the Res Comm, August Orientation and Knowlton Career Center student staffs.
Perhaps your most significant impact has been in the arts. You are a member and officer of both Burpee’s improv troupe and Denison Genital Monologues, serve as president of Theta Alpha Phi (Theatre Honorary Society), and perform in a show (or two) on campus virtually every semester. Your love of the arts extends beyond performing, however. You developed a peer mentorship program for theater students that now provides structured support for first-year students. You co-founded and serve as choreographer of a show choir at Heath High School. Guiding others in identifying their own strengths, and empowering them to nurture those strengths, is a hallmark of your leadership. Thank you for the lasting impression you have left on our institution and our local community.
B.A. English Literature
- The Newark Hull House, Co-Founder
- Denison Student Union
Kellon, you’ve consistently demonstrated your commitment to community and economic issues through your involvement with the Newark Think Tank on Poverty, Denison Student Union, and St. Vincent de Paul.
As co-founder of the Denison Hull House, you’ve prototyped a model of student engagement that embodies the distinction between volunteering and living a life of service. In narrative journalism, you inspired the “Get off the Hill” course and your vision of empathetic, social justice-oriented writing has drawn students to the concentration.
Inside and outside the classroom, you’ve pushed your peers to cast their gaze beyond Denison’s campus to the issues facing the people of Licking County. Yet in your reflection, you dismissed the notion that you have led, offering instead that you have been “an exceptional helper.”
You have invested in the needs of others, you have stood with rather than before. And, you have exemplified generosity, humility, and the will to find a “yes.”
We can all agree on this: You are rightly “proud of your changing mind,” as this is the greatest goal of education. In your case, this was an education crafted on your own terms, and always with others in mind.
B.A. Communication
- Office of Admission, Senior Interviewer, Hosting Coordinator
- Outlook, President, Education and Advocacy Coordinator
- Pre-Orientation for Students Coming From Abroad, Co-Coordinator
Four years ago you came to us from Mumbai and began your Denison leadership journey. After your first year, you reflected on your experience, good and bad, and then set out to improve the process of transitioning onto Denison’s campus. You subsequently served with distinction as an admission host coordinator and senior interviewer. You made outstanding contributions to the International Student Orientation program during a critical time of growth in our international student population.
You care also about the experience of marginalized populations and have led alongside others who want to improve the Denison experience for all. As president of Outlook when the college was exploring ways to re-imagine community gathering spaces, you did difficult work of diplomatic negotiation and translation.
Across your work, your character — your essential goodness, trustworthiness, and depth of personal commitment — have shone brightly. You seek to nurture relationships so that all feel connected, included and safe. You value the potential of every interpersonal interaction and your outgoing style draws people to you.
You have received an elite fellowship in the Student Affairs Office. We are thrilled to follow your future accomplishments as you decide where to apply your talents in higher education. Meanwhile, we honor all that you have done here. It will endure after you graduate. Congratulations and thank you.
B.A. Psychology
- Denison Community Association, President, Events Co-Chair
- Big Brothers Big Sisters, Volunteer
- D.U. Lead, Club Advisor
Over the past four years, you have shown that, as a leader, it is often more important to be willing to observe and listen, than it is to blaze a trail.
No place was this more evident than your leadership of Denison Community Association. Not satisfied merely to direct or oversee the established practices of the DCA, as president you introduced a new approach intended to increase inclusion and to prompt meaningful discourse about community-based work. As a result of your leadership, DCA members had new ways of engaging and having their voices heard, and you promoted an atmosphere designed to stimulate thinking and have relevance to the individual committees.
Your work with the 9/11 Day of Service, Make a Difference Day, MLK Service Challenges, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the Salvation Army and local food pantries has extended your reach well beyond the boundaries of our campus. Your sense of service and commitment to diversity and inclusion has had an undeniable impact on countless people, on and off campus. Thank you for your imaginative and pioneering work.
B.F.A. Studio Art
- La Fuerza Latina, President
- Studio Art, Teaching Assistant
- Paving the Way Pre-Orientation, Co-Coordinator
As Paving the Way Pre-Orientation ambassador and later co-coordinator, your mentorship of first-year students and your innovative programming ideas have broken down barriers and built up bridges that have shaped the expectations of new Denisonians, as well as their cross-cultural engagement.
As president of La Fuerza Latina, you earned the respect of fellow students, in part because of your inclusive work ethic. You consistently bring yourself to the table as a concerned community member and burgeoning change-maker. Your focused and intentional leadership is an example to students across campus.
You make the process of developing cross-cultural competence in our student body possible through your astute attention to detail and ingenuity. Your thoughtful questions not only assist Denison faculty, staff and students with expressing and exploring culture and identity, but also challenge us to analyze critically and explore intellectually what might be unfamiliar territory.
You are widely respected on this campus, probably far more than you realize. We wish you luck as you begin your graduate career at The Ohio State University. Rest assured that you have made a mark on our campus and we are proud to call you our own.
B.A. Communication and International Studies
- DCGA, Vice President, Engagement Chair
- Kappa Alpha Theta, Chief Panhellenic Officer
- Committee on Residential Life, Chair
Lexie, you wrote in your reflection that, “to be a leader you must be willing to sacrifice your free time, your weekends, and occasionally your sanity to be there for others and get the job done.”
You have been DCGA’s (Denison Community Governance Association) engagement chair and vice president. You chaired the Committee for Residential Life, with additional responsibility for the Housing Master Plan Team.
You are a cherished leader of Kappa Alpha Theta, and a valued Senior Interviewer for the Admission Office.
Your support of students in their residential communities is especially notable. As an RA and then head resident, you helped to transform cultures and build community on three of our four quads.
Equally striking is your attention to global concerns. As an ESL (English as a second language) tutor and mentor at CRIS (Community Refugee & Immigration Services), you helped immigrants adjust to American life and pursue citizenship. As a global leadership fellow, your water purification project in Ghana was a Davis Projects for Peace Finalist. Your internships at the GRI Club and ENDA Lead Afrique Francophone helped you to gain professional skills while pursuing noble development goals.
We’re glad you retained your sanity, as well as your spirit and your convictions. You have truly embodied Denison’s aim to nurture active citizens of a democratic society. We’re prepared to be dazzled by your future entrepreneurial endeavors and demand postcards from your world travels.
B.A. Chemistry
- The Muslim Student Association, President, Secretary, C3 Liaison
- The Open House, Event Coordinator, Receptionist
- University Programming Council, Programming Director
Hamna, you are described as a “bridge-builder,” “connector,” and “bearer of constructive pluralism.”
You stepped into a leadership role early on at Denison. Challenges in your own transition to Denison catalyzed you to raise campus awareness about Islam and the experiences of Muslim Students. You have led conversations to help bring Halal and Kosher food options to campus, and as President and Secretary of the Muslim Student Association, you started Friday prayer at The Open House, creating a faith community and an opportunity for shared practice.
Not only do you lead within your religious group, but you also reach across groups, supporting others in times of need, and initiating the Human Rights Week and Ball. You’ve established yourself as a hard-working and reliable leader of The Open House team. Your leadership in the University Programming Council has won you accolades from students and staff engaged in wide-ranging activities and interests.
As a poised and thoughtful leader, you don’t let obstacles overcome you, and you fight to remove them from the paths of others. Thank you for making Denison a more welcoming and vibrant community and for using your gentle spirit and insistent drive for change to educate, raise awareness, and make a positive impact.
B.S. Physics and B.A. Cinema
- Redtech, Co-President
- Red Noise Pep Band, Founder
- MSLA Tutoring, Co-Founder
It’s not an exaggeration to say that your leadership at Denison created a good deal of noise on campus!
You single-handedly started the Red Noise Pep Band as a first-year student and began leading RedTech Sound Productions in your sophomore year. You noted in your reflection that the latter experience was one “in which all the mistakes I made as a leader were literally amplified!”
You led in softer endeavors as well…co-founding a tutoring program in South Africa, serving as a stalwart member of the Admission Tour Guides, and tutoring fellow students on campus, an experience that reflected your observation that leadership “is not about making yourself greater, but attempting to make the others around you reach their full potential.” A physics professor noted that those whom you helped came away with a better understanding, not just the answer to the problem.
You concluded your leadership reflection with this: “As I leave, I hope I did good, and as I go, I hope I do good.” Nick, you did good…and we know you will do good in the future. Thanks for your noisy and quiet leadership that made Denison better.
B.S. Biochemistry
- Varsity Football, Captain
- Office of Admission, Senior Interviewer
- Alpha Epsilon Delta, Treasurer
David, you have been recognized as an authentically empathetic, welcoming, and inclusive role model in many areas of campus life.
Athletics staff widely regard you as a team “rock star,” a sentiment echoed by your teammates, who selected you as a football team captain. Your work in confidently representing Denison through the Office of Admission grew in scale and impact throughout your time at Denison, starting as a tour guide, transitioning to training your peers, and finally as a Senior Interviewer.
As a leader for Christian Athletes on campus, you demonstrate thoughtfulness and humility in your connection to communities of faith. Selfless and compassionate, your commitment to service remains the backbone of your approach to life and leadership, with active involvements such as Habitat for Humanity, Medical Brigades, and the Ronald McDonald House.
Since you stepped foot onto Denison’s campus, you have been a strong leader athletically, academically, and organizationally. Thank you for being the leader you are, and for giving the Denison community so much warmth and commitment.