April 18, 2005
Purdue students honored at annual Honors Convocation
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue students were recognized for their academic achievements and leadership on Sunday (April 17) during the university’s annual Honors Convocation at the Elliott Hall of Music.
Anthony Gregory, an aviation technology major from Hurricane, W. Va., received the $500 G.A. Ross Award for the outstanding graduating man. A participant in the professional pilot program, Gregory has served as student chair of the Purdue United Way Campaign, alumni chair of the Mortar Board Senior National Honor Society and vice president and treasurer of the Aviation Technology Student Council. Gregory also received a Charles O. McGaughey Leadership Award at the convocation. The R.A. Ross Award is made possible through a gift from Ross, a 1916 alumnus and benefactor of Purdue.
Emily Gurry, of Atlanta, received the $500 Flora Roberts Award for the outstanding graduating woman. Gurry, who will graduate with degrees in both sociology and psychology, has worked as both a resident assistant and a research assistant. She was the first student to receive Purdue President Martin C. Jischke’s One Brick Higher Award, which honors community service. She is a member of the Mortar Board National Senior Honor Society and the Alpha Lambda Delta Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society. She is also a resident assistant at Meredith Hall and organized Prime Time Tutoring, a continuing program that provides Purdue students the opportunity to serve as positive role models for elementary and middle school students living with their parents in Purdue Village. The award is made possible through a bequest by Flora Roberts of the Purdue class of 1887.
Michael Armbrust, of Roselle, Ill., received the $1,000 Bruce Helfert Memorial Award for outstanding junior majoring in science or engineering. Armbrust is studying computer science and mathematics with minors in electrical and computer engineering and economics. He has served as the team leader for an Engineering Projects in Community Service project that developed a wireless networking system for the new West Lafayette Public Library. The Helfert award is made possible through a gift from Sylvia Helfert in memory of her son, Bruce Helfert, a 1964 Purdue graduate. He was a surgeon at March Air Force Base in California, where he died from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.
Matthew Janszen, an acoustical engineering major from Cincinnati, received the $1,000 Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts. Janszen played piano and saxophone for various musical organizations on campus, including the Purdue Symphony Orchestra, the Purdue All-American Marching Band, Boiler Brass and the Purdue Concert Band. The annual award honors an outstanding senior who has demonstrated excellence in the visual or performing arts.
Laura Malnar, a consumer and family sciences major from Valparaiso, Ind., received the $1,000 Alpha Chi Omega Fraternity Arts Scholarship. Malnar, a sophomore, is a two-year member of Purduettes, as well as an actor, singer and clarinet player. The scholarship is endowed by the Purdue chapter of Alpha Chi Omega and presented annually to a freshman, sophomore or junior with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 whose life is "enhanced by a passion for the visual or performing arts."
Laura Brower, a junior majoring in aeronautics and astronautics from Florham Park, N.J., received the $1,000 Amelia Earhart Scholarship. The scholarship is given in honor of Earhart and is presented annually to a Purdue woman who has demonstrated exceptional desire to succeed in her chosen field. Recipients of the scholarship must be U.S. citizens, have a minimum grade point average of 3.2 and exhibit leadership skills, determination and potential.
Seven students received the Charles O. McGaughey Leadership Awards, which were established by McGaughey, a 1939 Purdue graduate, to honor students with leadership potential. To be eligible for these awards, students must have completed at least two years of full-time study at Purdue with at least a 3.0 GPA. They are selected on the basis of their contributions to the university and community.
Recipients of the McGaughey Awards were Vishal Bhandari, of Lusaka, Zambia; Sarah Cusick, of Lima, Ohio; Jainie Ehrenzeller, of St. John, Ind.; Margaret Kleinhenn, of Noblesville, Ind.; Andrew Peter, of Jasper, Ind.; and Aaron Schnur, of Newburgh, Ind., Anthony Gregory, of Hurricane, W. Va., who received a McGaughey Award in addition to the G.A. Ross Award for outstanding graduating man.
The honorees, all seniors, each received $2,950 and a crystal paperweight commemorating the award.
Bhandari is majoring in economics with minors in management and political science. He has served as secretary for Purdue Student Government, treasurer of Mortar Board National Senior Honor Society, team supervisor for Boiler Gold Rush and treasurer of Alpha Lambda Delta Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society. Bhandari plans to attend graduate school in international economics and finance.
Cusick, a mechanical engineering major, has served as student trustee on the Purdue University Board of Trustees, co-president of Iron Key Honor Society and selection chair of the Mortar Board National Senior Honor Society. Upon graduation, she will join General Electric Co. as an operations management specialist.
Ehrenzeller is majoring in nursing, with minors in biology and psychology. She has served as assistant director of the Emily Mauzy Vogel Sophomore Leadership Conference, chair of the Student Orientation Committee and vice president of administration for the Mortar Board National Senior Honor Society. Ehrenzeller also has been an active member of Purdue Christian Campus House.
Kleinhenn, an elementary education major, has served as the social chair for the Mortar Board National Senior Honor Society and chaplain of her sorority, Alpha Chi Omega. She also has been a part of the Old Masters program and the Purdue division of the American Cancer Society’s Colleges Against Cancer program. Additionally, Kleinhenn has volunteered her time to serve as a public speaker on ovarian cancer in the Lafayette and Indianapolis areas.
Peter, an agricultural economics major, has served once as president and twice as vice president of the Farmhouse fraternity. He also was a member of the Iron Key Senior Honor Society, athletic chair of Mortar Board National Senior Honor Society and a two-time member of Purdue Student Government. Upon graduation, Peter plans on working as a commodity trader and to eventually pursue a law degree.
Schnur is majoring in industrial management with minors in industrial engineering and marketing. He has served in many roles within Purdue Student Government, including student body president, chief of staff and director of speakers. He is a member of several campus and nationwide societies, including Sigma Chi Fraternity and Gimlet Leadership Honorary. He also has served as director of membership development and associate vice president of membership for the Interfraternity Council. He plans will work as a consultant.
Graduating seniors who maintained a 4.0 grade point average also were honored during the convocation. Sixty-six of Purdue's May 2005 graduation candidates and August or December 2004 graduates achieved that honor.
Writer: Aaron Martin, (765) 496-3133, martinac@purdue.edu
Source: Jim Vruggink, director of special projects, (765) 494-2086, jvruggink@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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