Students’ many achievements and contributions at Highline College took center stage at two annual award ceremonies this spring.
Both events allowed friends, family and Highline staff and faculty the chance to applaud the hard work of students during the 2015–16 academic year. In all, 89 students took home 95 awards.
On May 11, the Pure and Applied Science division held its annual awards presentation at the Des Moines Activity Center. Awards for academic excellence went to 31 students in 16 categories from the five division departments:
- Computer Science/Computer Information Systems
- Engineering
- Life, Ocean and General Sciences
- Mathematics
- Physical Science
The division has been holding the event since at least 1988. Having a ceremony distinct from the all-campus awards allows for a shorter and more intimate event, according to John Pfeffer, who has been teaching chemistry at Highline since 1988.
On May 25, 65 students were honored during the Highline Student Awards Ceremony in the Highline Student Union.
Andreas “Andy” Satkowski
A tradition that began in 1999, the awards recognize students from a range of areas. Each academic department could select up to two students whose efforts during the year were especially notable. Winners were also chosen from leadership programs and clubs that are funded by student activities fees.
During the event, 10 programs honored 18 students for their outstanding scholastic achievement and 47 students were recognized in 35 areas for their campus involvement and outstanding contributions.
Andreas “Andy” Satkowski was one of two students earning two awards, recognized for his contributions to the ACHIEVE program and the Urban Agriculture program, which brings classes and resources to area residents to increase access to healthy food.
Satkowski works part time in the college’s edible garden, a new campus feature giving students hands-on practice growing and harvesting fruits and vegetables.
The May 25 event was funded by Student Services and Activities fees and sponsored by the Associated Students of Highline College with the Center for Leadership and Service.
Nearly 17,000 students attend Highline each year.
Awards for Academic Excellence
| Pure and Applied Science Division | Award Recipient(s) |
|---|---|
| Computer Science/Computer Information Systems Department | |
| Bachelor of Applied Science | Eric Garay |
| Computer Science | Apars Walia |
| Data Recovery Forensics | Hung Hsieh |
| Networking | Spencer Stenger |
| Web Database Developer | John Snyder |
| Engineering Department | |
| Engineering | Garret SanLuis Jagbir Singh Kevin Smith |
| Life, Ocean and General Sciences Department | |
| Biology Majors | Mariam Farhat Christean Jenkins Allie Johnson Christina Kim Ben Simpson |
| General Education Science | Cassandra Bennett Margaret Dycus Nibras Meften Chantel Trainer Tracie Wrolson |
| Pre-Allied Health | Hyun Joon Cho Gina Helms Hawa Jagana |
| Mathematics Department | |
| Mathematics | Irina Golub Kathryn (Katie) Howland* |
| Mathematics Tutor | Irina Golub* Hanh (Cindy) Pham* |
| Richard Plagge Scholarship | Apolonia Hall Yasutaka Odo |
| STEM Persistence | Luis Brito Santana |
| Physical Science Department | |
| Chemistry | Heather Meadows Allie Johnson* |
| General Chemistry Series | Minju Park |
| Physics | Irina Golub Kalvin Hallesy Ting-Kai (Eric) Huang |
| *Student was also recognized during the Student Awards Ceremony on May 25 | |
Awards for Outstanding Program Contribution
| Program | Award Recipient(s) |
|---|---|
| ACHIEVE | Isabel Flores Andy Satkowski |
| Associated Students of Highline College | Richelle Enriquez |
| Center for Leadership and Service & Multicultural Affairs Leader of Excellence | Cody Scott |
| Center for Leadership and Service & Multicultural Affairs Leadership Initiative Team | Shijuan Haynes Jamar Wells |
| Center for Leadership and Service Design Team | Samantha Montes de Oca |
| Community Leadership Consultant | Angelia Miranda Aundrea Voegtlin |
| Community Resource Consultant | Dulce Armas Dinh Chung |
| Cooking Club | Byron Patten Yesenia Ruiz |
| Empowered People Club | Victoria Gomez |
| Environmental Club | Uuriintuya Batbayar |
| Financial Aid | Sandy Gomez Iris Thiel |
| First Nations & Indigenous Peoples Club | Valerie Castillo-Warner |
| Highline Table Tennis Club | Rachmiel Kaipo Mendoza Duran Paul Fernando King-Sanchez |
| Honors Leadership Team | Vanessa Primer |
| Inter-Cultural Center Student Leader | Ederly Beausilien Cinthia Velez-Regalado |
| Latin@ Center for Higher Education | Cesar Mendoza Leslie Velez |
| League of Legends Club | Kevin Burton |
| Math Resource Center | Irina Golub Hanh (Cindy) Pham |
| Movie Appreciation Club | Chloe McDougall Amelia Strayer |
| Music Department | Alexander Crawford |
| National Poetry Month | Angelia Miranda |
| National Society of Black Engineers | Jered Ataky |
| Non-Traditional Student Club | Julie Bradbury Heather Cade |
| Nursing | Pauli Lavochin |
| Orientation Mentor | Jacobi Boudreaux Andrew Vo |
| Outreach Student Ambassador | Aminata Drammeh |
| Peer Navigator | Anatoliy Voznyarskiy |
| PRCCDC | Eric Garay |
| Student Employee of the Year | JaeLeesa Smith Angelica Somera |
| Thunderword | Jessica Strand |
| TRiO Student Support and Retention Services | Alexandra Houle |
| Universal Studios Club | Tony Pai |
| Urban Agriculture | Andy Satkowski |
| Voice Communication Club | Ariana Thomas |
| Yamato Taiko Club | Christian Napper-Mercer |
Awards for Outstanding Scholastic Achievement
| Program | Award Recipient(s) |
|---|---|
| Business | Wintana Dawit Christine Evans |
| Business Technology | Suong Ha Francis Hernandez Torres |
| Chemistry | Allie Johnson |
| English Department and Writing Center | Emily Barrick Wei-Chen Chin Baljeet Kaur Julius Carlo Olavario |
| Global Trade & Logistics | Jose Ramos Gursharanjit Singh |
| Hospitality and Tourism | Ashley Bowder Lisa Burr |
| Journalism | Olivia Sullivan |
| Life, Ocean & General Sciences | Matt Wilson |
| Mathematics | Kathryn (Katie) Howland |
| Psychology | Indpreet Kaur Jamie Urban |