As the 2019-20 school year wraps up, Purdue University Forestry and Natural Resources would like to recognize the department’s student award winners.
Academic merit awards are given to a sophomore, junior, and senior within each major who has the highest academic achievement (cumulative GPA). Each major also selects one senior for the senior leadership award who has been exemplary within their major or the department as a whole.
The Outstanding Camper awards are voted on by their peers at the summer practicum for those who help make summer camp an enjoyable experience for everyone.
In addition, each major puts forth a nominee for the Stanley Coulter Leadership Award, which recognizes the department’s outstanding student leader. It carries the name of Stanley Coulter, former Dean of Science, who initiated Purdue’s forestry program in 1914. Mr. John Sample and other early forestry graduates established the Coulter Fund in honor of Dean Coulter, and to recognize the achievements of students in Forestry and Natural Resources. The winner of this award has demonstrated strong leadership and responsible citizenship in activities at the department, school, university, and community level.
The 2019-20 Stanley Coulter Leadership Award winner is Amanda Heltzel.
The FNR faculty also presents the Undergraduate Engagement Award, which recognizes a senior who has demonstrated excellence in engagement. The student receiving this honor have shown the greatest potential for fulfilling the Extension and research components of the Land Grant Mission.
The 2020 recipient of the Undergraduate Engagement Award is Emi Chan.
The Undergraduate Research Award was established in 2001 to recognize the undergraduate in the department who, by virtue of contributions made independently or in conjunction with ongoing studies, shows the greatest potential for future success as a research scientist.
The 2020 recipient of the Undergraduate Research Award is Emily Musenbrock.
These awards are in addition to the Outstanding Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior awards, which were announced earlier in the year.
Margo Taylor, FNR Outstanding Freshman
Emilie Washer, FNR Outstanding Sophomore
Brandon Sosa, FNR Outstanding Junior
Alexandra Verdeja-Perez, FNR Outstanding Senior
Forestry Awards:
Senior Leadership Award: Kellee Edington
Sophomore Academic Merit Award: Lina Bernabe
Junior Academic Merit Award: Esther Mussman
Senior Academic Merit Award: Kellee Edington
Stanley Coulter Nominee: Cassidy Robinson
Outstanding Camper: Charles Warner
Aquatic Science Awards:Senior Leadership Award: Tevin Tomlinson
Sophomore Academic Merit Award: Emilie Washer
Junior Academic Merit Award: Logan Halderman
Senior Academic Merit Award: Tevin Tomlinson
Stanley Coulter Nominee: Tevin Tomlinson
Outstanding Camper: Grace Walker
Wildlife Awards:Senior Leadership Award: Garret Cooney
Sophomore Academic Merit Award: Jada Laycock
Junior Academic Merit Award: Samantha Smock
Senior Academic Merit Award: Breanne Weida
Stanley Coulter Nominee: Amanda Heltzel
Outstanding Camper: Amanda Heltzel and Sean Fulp
In addition to the academic merit, outstanding camper and leadership awards, the Wildlife major also gives out four other awards: the Durward Allen Memorial Award, the Kirkpatrick Memorial Graduate Student Award, the L. David Mech Distinguished Undergraduate Research Award and the William A. Rafferty Award.
Durward Allen Memorial Award
Durward Allen was a distinguished member of the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources and internationally recognized as one of the nation’s leading wildlife authorities. In honor of Dr. Allen, this award is presented to an outstanding junior majoring in Wildlife.
The 2019-20 honoree of the Durward Allen Memorial Award is Amanda Heltzel.
Kirkpatrick Memorial Graduate Student Award
This award was established by the widow and two daughters of Charles Kirkpatrick, with money donated for that purpose and supplemented as needed by the daughters. The wildlife faculty nominates and evaluates possible candidates. The recipient must be a wildlife graduate student within one year of graduation (either before or after).
The 2019-20 honoree of the Kirkpatrick Memorial Graduate Student Award is Logan Billet.
L. David Mech Distinguished Undergraduate Research Award
This award is named in honor of Dr. L. David Mech, recipient of a PhD in wildlife ecology from Purdue in 1962. Dr. Mech, a research biologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, is the world’s foremost authority on wolf ecology. In 1995, Dr. Mech was named a Distinguished Alumni of the Purdue University College of Agriculture. He is also a recipient of the Aldo Leopold Award, the highest honor bestowed by The Wildlife Society.
This award was established by the faculty in wildlife to recognize a senior who has, by virtue of contributions made independently or in conjunction with ongoing studies, shown the greatest potential for future success as a research scientist. Selection is based on the student’s curiosity, intellect, perseverance, problem solving, and communication skills.
The 2019-20 recipient of the L. David Mech Distinguished Undergraduate Research Award is Anna Downing.
William A. Rafferty Award
William A. Rafferty was a friend of Purdue University’s College of Agriculture who operated a large farm near Morocco, Indiana. He bequeathed a sum of money to the college to be used at its “uncontrolled discretion.” Mr. Rafferty believed in the ideals of honor, integrity, and patriotism. To commemorate William A. Rafferty, this award was established to recognize the potential for citizenship and leadership in a senior Wildlife student.
The 2019-20 recipient of the William A. Rafferty Award is Rachel Brummet.
