APU Careers & Learning Online Learning Original

Announcing APUS's 2018 Student Organization and Alumni Award Winners

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By Melanie Conner, American Public University System Alumni Relations Outreach Liaison and Jennifer Souza, Student Affairs Liaison

Congratulations to our 2018 student organization and alumni award winners! We are proud of you for your significant contributions to your community and to our university. It’s with great pride that we honor each of these organizations and individuals for their distinguished service, their merit, and their commitment to going the extra mile.

Outstanding Student Organization Leadership Award: Joshua Adams, Hannah Emmett and Anne Midgley

The 2017 recipients of the Outstanding Student Organization Leadership Award are Joshua Adams, Hannah Emmett and Anne Midgley. This award recognizes student leaders who have contributed significantly to an organization, going above and beyond to engage members.

Joshua Adams served as the 2017 Alpha Phi Sigma Vice President. He is an active-duty soldier and APUS alumni who volunteered to serve on the board of the Kappa Kappa chapter for the past two consecutive years.

Joshua’s commitment to this organization has been invaluable. His work resulted in many achievements, such as Alpha Phi Sigma earning a Gold Standing for three consecutive years and ensuring it is well on its way to earning another Gold Standing for its fourth year.

Hannah Emmett served as the 2017 Active Minds President. She has fearlessly led by example for student leaders and members.

Hannah is very active on social media. Also, she spearheaded a speaker series by coordinating a talk with Dr. April Foreman, who serves Veterans as a Suicide Prevention Coordinator with the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System.

Anne Midgley served as the 2017 Newman Center President. Anne’s leadership has been the driving factor in steering the Center through many community outreach programs. These programs included:

  • Wreaths Across America
  • The adoption of pro-life and women’s shelters
  • Food and clothing donations
  • Visits to shelters, hospitals and prisons during the “Living the Beatitudes” program
  • Volunteer work at local blood drives during the recent round of hurricanes

Chapter Advisor of the Year Award: Dr. Elizabeth Pearsall

The 2017 Chapter Advisor of the Year is Dr. Elizabeth Pearsall, who has been a Chapter Advisor for Women in STEM (wSTEM) since 2016. This award is presented to an individual who sets a high standard and provides exemplary service to the organization they serve and its leadership team. Dr. Pearsall has worked with the chapter to achieve Gold standing in the chapter standards program for 2017 through her guidance and various projects.

At Commencement 2017, she and the wSTEM student president participated in the Alumni Rally and Rise against Hunger, along with other student members. This student group also participated in eCYBERMISSION, with student members as student judges, where Dr. Pearsall served as a virtual judge for STEM-based projects.

eCYBERMISSION is a web-based STEM competition for students in grades 6-9 to help them understand various STEM fields. It is completed in conjunction with the Army Educational Outreach Program.

In addition, wSTEM participated in two cross-chapter events: The Backyard Campout with the Wildlife Society and the exploration of Mars with Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS). wSTEM also participated in Thanking Those Who Serve and Wreaths across America.

Chapter of the Year Award: Alpha Phi Sigma

The 2017 Chapter of the Year Award recipient is Alpha Phi Sigma. Through its activities and traditions, Alpha Phi Sigma’s purpose is to promote the advances in scientific research and elevate the ethical standards of the criminal justice profession.

Alpha Phi Sigma has been very active with the respective communities in which its members reside, other student organizations at the university, the national Alpha Phi Sigma office and its active members. Also, Alpha Phi Sigma was involved in many volunteer and service-oriented events during 2017.

Several of its members participated in Wreaths Across America as both volunteer site coordinators and volunteers. A few of the officers participated in the Influencer program on LinkedIn.

In addition, Alpha Phi Sigma sponsored National Police Appreciation Month in May to coincide with National Police Week.

Outstanding New Student Organization Award: The Newman Center

The Newman Center is the 2017 recipient of the Outstanding New Student Organization Award. This award recognizes a recently established student organization that exhibits initiative in organizational development and a strong potential to contribute to the quality of campus life.

The Newman Center’s purpose is to provide a forum by which university members can grow in their Catholic faith. In the short time since chartering, The Newman Center has been a part of many great initiatives, such as:

  • The National Day of Service
  • Rise Against Hunger
  • Thanking Those Who Serve
  • Virtual Blood Drive
  • Their service event, The Corporal Works of Mercy

This organization’s current chapter advisors are Cynthia Nolan, Mark Bowles and Robert Smith.

Alumni Public Service Award: Lindsay Vani

Lindsay Vani is the 2018 Alumni Public Service Award recipient. This award recognizes an alumnus who dedicates personal time and energy towards their community and uses their education and experiences gained at APUS to promote public service causes.

Lindsay is a graduate of American Military University. She holds a bachelor’s degree in management and a master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in nonprofit management. She serves her community as a volunteer in various positions dedicated to economic growth, crime prevention, health and safety.

From 2008 to 2012, Lindsay served on the Board of Directors for the Greater Topsail Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, supporting local businesses and encouraging economic growth. She joined the Board of Directors of Jacksonville/Onslow County Crimestoppers, a nonprofit organization that uses donations to pay cash rewards for tips that assist local law enforcement.

In 2015, Lindsay found her true passion in volunteering for Onslow County Fire/Rescue Station 2 Bear Creek. Since joining, Lindsay has deployed to the Party Rock Fire in Western North Carolina in November 2016 and completed her training as a North Carolina certified firefighter in 2018. She continues to work towards earning additional certifications.

Distinguished Graduate Award: Kevin Dougherty

Kevin Dougherty is the 2018 Distinguished Graduate Award recipient. This award recognizes graduates who have made extraordinary contributions to the nation and their community. It honors character, accomplishment, and service that represent the university’s mission of service and leadership in a diverse global society.

Kevin is a graduate of American Military University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in transportation and logistics management and a master’s degree in transportation and logistics management.

Currently, Kevin is employed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a Voluntary Service Specialist and Events Coordinator. He improves the lives of hospitalized veterans by taking them to activities and events where they are honored for their service and sacrifice.

Kevin has won additional awards, including;

  • The 2018 Greater Boston Federal Executive Board Excellence in Government “Unsung Hero Award”
  • The 2017 Massachusetts Disabled American Veterans “VHA Employee of the Year”
  • The 2015 VA National Creative Arts Competition – First Place for Multi-Media Video and Original Song “She’s a Veteran Too.”
  • Numerous U.S. Navy Achievement Awards for Outstanding Performance and Leadership

Alumni Education Award: Captain S. Robert Herring, IV

Captain S. Robert Herring, IV is the 2018 Alumni Education Award recipient. This award recognizes an alumnus who dedicates time and effort towards lifelong learning and who strives to impact the educational community, as a whole and/or in their particular field.

Capt. Herring is a U.S. Air Force officer stationed at the United States Strategic Command Air Forces Air Operations Center. He graduated from American Military University in 2015 with a master’s degree in intelligence studies.

While completing his degree, Capt. Herring served as a full-time watch stander in the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) Command Center. Also, he completed the Intelligence Community Advanced Analyst Program.

To facilitate learning, Capt. Herring instructed multiple trainees on the NORAD and USNORTHCOM Operations Intelligence Watch. To advance their learning, he created a training library that assists the trainees during their certification and qualified duty. Capt. Herring created evaluation scenarios that assess specific subject matter knowledge for multiple crew positions.

In addition, he conducted crew evaluations of the NORAD and USNORTHCOM Command Center, evaluating two leadership crew positions, domain crew coordination and actions of the command center crew. His work led to 150 crewmembers earning their crew certifications during a realistic evaluation scenario.

Since graduation, Capt. Herring has continued his education through a Ph.D. program in business administration, specializing in homeland security leadership and policy. He also completed the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Professional Analyst Career Education (PACE) essentials program.

Alumni University Service Award: Kimberly Trenner

Kimberly Trenner is the 2018 Alumni University Service Award recipient. This award recognizes an alumnus who dedicates time and energy to the APUS community in an effort to advance university efforts, promote student success, and build the APUS culture in a positive way. It honors graduates whose selfless commitment and consistent involvement to the university as a whole have exemplified the university’s ideals.

Kimberly is a graduate of American Military University with a master’s degree in history. While she was at AMU, Kimberly joined the historical society school organization, Saber and Scroll. She acted as Membership Secretary for two years.

During that time, Kimberly joined individuals who wanted to create another organization that would be exclusive to history students who showed above-average grades. With the school’s help, Saber and Scroll formed the Historical Studies Honor Society (HSHS). Kimberly has been involved in forming the charter as well as fulfilling all of the school’s requirements for the formation of a new organization.

Please join us in congratulating the recipients of the 2018 Chapter Standards and Alumni Awards. Their dedication to excellence and their selfless commitments are what we value in our students and in our alumni. We are proud of the APUS values that they demonstrate in their daily lives.

Melanie Conner is a Student and Alumni Affairs Liaison at the university. Having worked in higher education for almost 10 years, Melanie enjoys cultivating relationships with students and alumni. She has undergraduate degrees in education from Germanna Community College and in sociology from the University of Mary Washington.

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