Celebrating Excellence: 2025 Outstanding Graduate Student Awards

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Author: Abby Lillpop

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The White Lodging-J.W. Marriott, Jr. School of Hospitality and Tourism Management is proud to recognize the exceptional achievements of our graduate students through the 2025 Outstanding Graduate Student Awards. These honors celebrate not only academic and research excellence, but also the spirit of innovation, dedication, and community engagement that defines graduate education in Purdue HTM.

Outstanding Master’s Student Awards
Each year, the Outstanding Master’s Student Awards are presented to two graduate students, one pursuing a thesis track and one on a non-thesis path, whose accomplishments exemplify scholarly excellence. This year’s recipients stand out for their creativity, investigative rigor, and unwavering commitment to advancing both academic understanding and real-world application.

We are proud to congratulate:

  • Rong Ren, recipient of the 2025 Outstanding Master’s Student (Thesis) Award
  • Zepeng (Jake) Liu, recipient of the 2025 Outstanding Master’s Student (Non-Thesis) Award

These individuals have distinguished themselves through impactful research, global perspective, and applied professional excellence, embodying the transformative potential of graduate study.

Outstanding Doctoral Student Awards
The Outstanding Doctoral Student Awards highlight exemplary performance and dedication at the doctoral level, across both teaching and research contributions.

  • Hwijin Baldick is recognized with the Outstanding Doctoral Student Teaching Award for her exceptional commitment to instructional excellence and student learning.
  • Jijun (Jackie) Chen receives the Outstanding Doctoral Student Award for her distinguished academic research and impressive contributions to peer-reviewed scholarship in the field.

Each of these awardees has demonstrated not only academic rigor but also a profound desire to make a lasting impact in their areas of expertise. Their achievements are a testament to the strength, depth, and future promise of graduate education at Purdue HTM.