|
|
|
The Outstanding Senior Awards are presented to one male and one female student who demonstrate the ideals of scholarship, character, leadership, and service to their colleagues and the university community. Above all, these two students show genuine concern for meeting the needs of others.
The 2008 Outstanding Male Senior Award was presented to Kevin Black and the 2008 Outstanding Female Senior Award was presented to Ana Sontag.
Learn more about Kevin, Ana, and the other nominees |
Kevin Black (left), accepting the 2008 Outstanding Male Senior Award from his
advisor and baseball coach, Benji Huegel (right), assistant professor of business.
"As a coach, each year you hope that you will have players that display a genuine concern for each other, especially when you have many first-year players trying to find a way to fit in. This person has always been one to go out of his way to make sure the new guys feel right at home. At the conclusion of fall baseball practice, Coach Whaley asks each member of the team to complete a self-evaluation. Included in the evaluation, he asks players to identify individuals that had earned their respect during the fall. Not only has this person been listed on almost every form in each of the past four fall seasons, he is consistently listed as the first person on each list."
-- Benji Huegel
"When I was first informed that I was nominated for this award, I was in complete disbelief only because I know this campus is filled with dedicated, intelligent, and motivated students who thrive in the classroom, excel in their extracurricular activities, are committed to their faith, and lead by example everyday. I can't imagine how difficult it must have been to nominate just five females and five males. To be recognized with this award by my senior classmates, faculty, and staff here at Saint Mary's is a tremendous honor that I will undoubtedly cherish for the rest of my life."
-- Kevin Black |
Bob Fisher (left), director of annual giving, presenting the 2008 Outstanding Female
Senior Award to fellow Senior Class Gift Committee member and friend, Ana Sontag (right).
"It is indeed a wonderful professional and personal honor to introduce the 2008 Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Outstanding Senior Female. This year's awardee is most impressive! She has taken full advantage of the opportunities Saint Mary's has provided since the first day she arrived on campus her freshman year. Through her wide array of experiences around campus through her academic course-load and through the vast number of activities she has belonged to, she has become a great leader. This individual truly has embraced the Saint Mary's mission of being awakened, nurtured and empowered to live an ethical life of service and leadership."
-- Bob Fisher
"When we, the five female finalists, found out that we were nominated for this award, we decided to write our acceptance speech together. Besides, only one of us has taken Oral Communication, so we needed the collaboration. Honestly, the last four years at Saint Mary's have taught us the meaning and value of community. What better way to acknowledge that than to work together? To us, community means that everyone is equal as a person, each playing a different, but necessary, role. It's the importance of thinking of others before yourself and, out of love, acting with regard to how our words and actions affect the community. It's knowing that we're all in this together and that we need one another."
-- Ana Sontag
|
|
|
|
