More than 100 students and student groups were recognized at UW-Stout’s annual Leadership Awards program on May 4.
Winners were announced for the Samuel E. Wood Medallion and campus Leadership Awards for the 2021-22 academic year. Also, the Outstanding Cooperative Education and Internship Student of the Year Award winners were named for 2021.
Those nominated for awards also were recognized.
The event was sponsored by the Involvement Center, Stout Student Association and Career Services.
Wood Medallion winners
Twelve students received the Wood Medallion, given annually to seniors who have been active in student activities and exhibited an outstanding degree of leadership while at UW-Stout. Winners are chosen by a committee representing faculty, staff and students.
The medallion is the highest nonacademic award for students.
Samuel E. Wood was a longtime assistant chancellor for Student Services/Dean of Students. He retired in 1991 and died in February 2013.
The Wood award recipients are:
- Harri Bien-Aime, Springfield Gardens, N.Y., business administration
- Olivia Bonlander, Chilton, art education
- Ariana Bourdon, Wittenberg, double major in business administration and supply chain management
- Maggie Chiu, Brookfield, retail merchandising and management
- Zoe Cornwell, Sheboygan, entertainment design
- Devin Dumke, Florence, computer and electrical engineering
- Haylee Leonard, Bangor, double major in business administration and retail merchandising and management
- Jewel Ryan, Shoreview, Minn., mechanical engineering
- Alysha Stieber, Marathon City, business administration
- Nilu Umarova, Vahdat, Tajikistan, double major in hotel, restaurant and tourism management and real estate property management
- Tara Weber, Dorchester, family and consumer sciences education
- Tsimnuj Xiong, Eau Claire, computer and electrical engineering
Leadership Awards
Winners of the annual Leadership Awards are chosen by a committee made up of faculty, staff and students. The winners are:
- Outstanding Student Leader of the Year, three winners: Devin Dumke, Florence; Cody Gentz, Kenosha; and Eric Gritzmacher, Hayward
- Student Organization of the Year: Latinos Unidos
- Student Organization Event of the Year, four winners: "You Go, Girl" Day, Society of Women Engineers; First in Flight w/ Freezer Jam, Blue Devil Productions; Masquerade Gala, Black Student Union, Hmong Stout Student Association and Latinos Unidos; and Clothing Drive for Afghan Refugees, UW-Stout Veterans Club
- Bill Siedlecki Adviser of the Year: Carter Rush, Blue Devil Productions
- Student Employee of the Year, three winners: Brittney Dehnke, Eau Claire, Campus Card Office; Elizabeth Wentzel, Plover, University Housing; and Lauren Young, Minneapolis, University Dining Services
- Student Staff Team of the Year, three winners: Memorial Student Center, custodial staff; School of Art and Design, Video Lab assistants; and Sustainability Office, graduate student interns
Dumke has served as president of the Stout Student Association for two years, beginning in April 2020. And Gentz, SSA director of financial affairs, oversees about 100 student organizations that apply for financial support for events and travel.
Jennifer Lee, associate director of the Memorial Student Center, is the adviser for the SSA Financial Affairs Committee.
“Student organizations struggled during COVID,” she said. “Only about 65 orgs applied for SSA funds, so Cody created a rolling process to apply for funding, rather than a one-time funding pitch each year. There were a lot of adjustments to help organizations survive. Devin and Cody opened up the process and made it smoother.”
During COVID, Dumke transitioned SSA meetings to online. “He looks for a way to improve the experience for students,” Lee said. “Devin and Cody worked so hard to help student organizations and fellow students. They could have thrown up their hands but made the choice to do the right thing for their fellow students.”
Outstanding CEIP Student of the Year Award
The Outstanding Cooperative Education and Internship Program Student of the Year Award was given to 21 students.
More than 950 students participated in co-ops and internships in the past year through Career Services. Co-ops and internships were completed at 635 employer sites in 33 states and four international sites
The winners are selected by the program’s Advisory Committee for excellence and achievements in their positions, for contributions to their employers and for academic achievement.
This year’s winners, their majors and employers are:
- Ben Agen, East Troy, construction, Miron Construction
- Carlie Beatty, Lakeville, Minn., applied science, Shamrock Animal Hospital
- Maggie Chiu, Brookfield, retail merchandising and management, Target
- Connor Erwin, Eau Claire, packaging, Inland Packaging
- Delaney Eslinger, Cadott, interior design, MAI Animal Health
- Ali Flora, Ladysmith, interior design, Ashley Furniture
- Claire Henneman, Bloomer, hotel, restaurant and tourism management, Leinenkugel Brewing Company
- Tanner Hornung, Marathon, double major in applied science and mechanical engineering, Midwest Manufacturing
- Anna Kent, Cedar, Minn., packaging, Boston Scientific
- Nicolas Langenfeld, Wild Rose, computer networking information technology, Waupaca Foundry
- Haylee Leonard, Bangor, double major in business administration and retail merchandising and management, Kohl's
- Tori McGraw, Foreston, Minn., double major in business administration and real estate property management, Superior Charters
- Jacob Miller, Menomonie, mechanical engineering, Bobcat Company
- Abby Schmidtke, Waukesha, graphic design and interactive media, UW-Stout Marketing Communications
- Paul Schultz, Kasson, Minn., applied mathematics and computer science, Red Hat
- Lydia Simpson, New Richmond, hotel, restaurant and tourism management, St. Joe Hospitality
- Marianne Starks, Janesville, information and communication technologies, Bayer
- Reece Vanderhei, Wisconsin Rapids, plastics engineering, Gamber-Johnson
- Ty Weiss, Cadott, computer and electrical engineering, Seagrave
- Adam Yang, Minneapolis, health, wellness and fitness, Planet Fitness
- Ashley Yoshino, Fall Creek, hotel, restaurant and tourism management, Old Baldy Club