On Wednesday, April 9, the 47th annual Elizabethtown College Student Awards Ceremony was held on campus to celebrate student achievement. The event awards different students for helping mentor other students. Assisting faculty and other administrators, and those who help the community both presented and received awards. Overall, this event showcases the true meaning of Etown’s motto, “Educate for Service.”
“This is an event that I am always happy to attend because it highlights the amazing work of our students, outside of their primary experiences in the classroom and on the athletic fields,” Elizabethtown College President Betty Rider said. “It is an inspiring evening to hear their stories and celebrate their accomplishments.”
Rider gave out the last award of the night, the Points of Distinction Award, an award highlighting one’s achievement and service above all others in their class.
Senior occupational therapy major and human services minor Samantha Machmer received the award for her time on campus. Machmer founded the Dogs in the Dell program, which pairs students with service dogs in training from Susquehanna Service Dogs (SSD).
She also works as a Resident Assistant, and volunteers her time in many different areas off campus.
Assistant Teaching Professor of Public Health Robert Aronson expressed his love and admiration for his students.
“I like to go to the student awards night to support my students,” Aronson said. “Because I have so many students taking my core courses PBH 111 and PBH 211, I often know many of the students getting awards. But I am especially there for the students majoring or minoring in public health.”
This year, Aronson nominated senior public health major Maura Bradney for a Teacher’s Assistant (TA) Award.
“She really stepped up to help an adjunct professor who was teaching epidemiology, and it was her first time teaching a course on her own,” Aronson said. “Maura helped by assisting with all of the lab activities, helped by grading the labs, and providing tutoring sessions on content from the course and on the use of SPSS for data analysis.”
Aronson said five out of eight graduating public health seniors received awards.
“It is both fun and gratifying to watch students as they learn and grow professionally over 3-4 years,” Aronson said.
Aronson was one of many educators there to support and personally congratulate and award different achievements in their fields.
In addition to student awards, the 125th Anniversary Impact Award, an award given to those who have made a transformative impact upon the college through service and/or leadership, was given to David L Stewart. Stewart helped establish the Mosaic Scholars Program and brought in different community partnerships to help enrich the student’s lives and education. He currently serves in the education field, helping bring help and attention to postsecondary education and whatever it may need.
Students received awards in mentorship, helping faculty, helping build the school’s community and many others. Junior music education major Zachary Deah won the Student Employment Award for his exemplary work as a student assistant for the music department.
“I am honored and grateful to have received this award, especially in relation to my work as a Music Department Student Assistant,” Stewart said. “It’s a lot of logistical, background work, which, while stressful or tedious, is also rewarding. It is also a great opportunity to connect with faculty, staff, and students alike. Awards in this vein are appreciated because they provide recognition at the college-level of the work that student assistants/employees do to keep this campus running.”
Students do so much around Etown’s campus, from jobs that are out front and center to employees who work behind the scenes, along with helping to enhance themselves through their scholarship and community activism. As the campus heads towards graduation, it’s important to recognize and honor all of the work done by the student body.
