There are those who teach. And there are those who inspire. Cleveland State University is filled with faculty and staff members who have a knack for leaving a lasting mark on the lives of students. This year, CSU’s Young Alumni Council (YAC) honored 44 of them with their annual Golden Apple Awards.
Honorees were recognized last week at a ceremony October 5 in the Student Center Atrium. Both the recognitions and resulting event are sponsored by YAC in partnership with the CSU Alumni Association.
“On behalf of the Young Alumni Council, we would like to extend congratulations to all of the faculty and staff receiving Golden Apple Awards this year,” said Joe Bianchini, co-president of the YAC, as he addressed the award winners and distinguished guests at the October 5 ceremony. Nominations for the Golden Apple Awards are accepted annually from alumni who have graduated over the past decade.
“We thank you for your accomplishments and appreciate all that you do for CSU students,” concurred Enas Enzerra, fellow YAC co-president.
CSU President Laura Bloomberg marveled at the time many university alumni took to nominate faculty and staff, despite having moved into the next phase of their lives and careers.
She also noted that most Golden Apple alumni electorates have “remained connected to CSU” in no small part due to the honorees–calling the nominations an “incredibly thoughtful gesture in recognition of those who helped them along the way."
“Some of our nominators were recent graduates; others go back 10 year. Some of our honorees this evening were nominated multiple times this year, and some have received more than one Golden Apple Award–which means your impact was felt by many former students!” agreed Anne-Marie Connors, associate vice president for Alumni Relations and executive director of the Alumni Association.
At the conclusion of the remarks, award winners were called to receive award certificates and Golden Apple lapel pins.
The 2022 CSU Young Alumni Council Golden Apple Award Winners are:
Jennifer Bartholomew, Social Work
Elizabeth Benninger, Curriculum & Foundations
Chelsea Monty-Bromer, Chemical & Biomedical Engineer
Amy Burchfield, Law Library
Thomas Bynum, Africana Studies
Susan Carver, College of Engineering, Dean's Office
Pong Chu, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Sun Chung, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Stephanie Drcar, Counseling, Administration, Supervision and Adult Learning
Yiying Fan, Mathematics & Statistics
Marketa Fuller-President, Teacher Education
Michael Gallagher, Mechanical Engineering
Jaime Gay, Law Office of Career Planning
Andrew Gibson, Biology, Geology, Environmental Science
Elizabeth Goncy, Psychology
Alfredo Guerrieri, Music
Kim Hurn, College of Business Administration, Dean's Office
John Jeziorowski, School of Health Sciences
Robert Kleidman, Criminology Anthropology & Sociology
Irina Koukhanova, Art & Design
Bogdan Kozul, Mechanical Engineering
Marianne Kuchik, Student Success
Thomas Lempner, Music
Bibo Li, Biological, Geological, & Environmental Sciences
Brandon Longmeier, Athletics Administration
Christopher Mallett, School of Social Work
Kathryn MacCluskie, Counseling, Administration, Supervision and Adult Learning
Brian Mikelbank, Urban Studies
Daniel Munther, Mathematics & Statistics
Todd Nelson, Political Science
Meghan Novisky, Criminology Anthropology & Sociology
Elizabeth Okwudi, Honors Program
Prester Pickett, Africana Studies
Linda Quinn, Mathematics & Statistics
Brian Ray, College of Law
Jill Rudd, School of Communication
Shawn Ryan, Mathematics & Statistics
Christine Schneider, Health Science
Marcus Schultz-Bergin, Philosophy & Comparative Religion
Girish Shukla, Biological, Geological, & Environmental Sciences
Michael Skladany, Criminology, Anthropology & Sociology
David Topor, Management
Phillip Wanyerka, Criminology, Anthropology & Sociology
Myrita Wilhite, School of Health Sciences
Bianchini said he pleased at how everything turned out, hinting at a “bigger, better” ceremony for 2023. “It's a big anniversary and we’re hoping to go bigger with Golden Apple to make it even more special for all involved.”
About CSU’s Young Alumni Association
A constituent committee of CSU’s Alumni Association, YAC advances the association of more than 120,000 members by creating and supporting programs and services that specifically benefit recent graduates and current students.
“Since 2014, the annual YAC-sponsored awards have aimed to recognize outstanding contributions of faculty and staff through the process of alumni nominations,” said Enzerra. “Membership is available to alumni who are 35 years old or younger, have received their degree in the last ten years and “desire to serve CSU through volunteerism and philanthropy.”
Interested CSU alumni can learn more by visiting the Young Alumni Council FAQ page.
Original source can be found here.
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