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Spanish students receive $34,000 in awards

May 19, 2009

KALAMAZOO--Thirty-eight Western Michigan University students have been honored for their achievements by the Department of Spanish. The department awarded scholarships totaling more than $34,000 at its Honors and Awards Day in April, an annual celebration that recognizes the achievements of outstanding students of Spanish.

Department of Spanish honorees

  • Ryan Andrews of Kalamazoo was awarded a $200 Herb B. Jones Scholarship in Spanish, an award given to a student who demonstrates overall excellence in written and spoken Spanish.
  • Janell Baker of Mattawan, Michigan, was awarded a $1,000 Ruth Y. Kirby Scholarship in Spanish. The award provides financial assistance for Spanish majors and was made possible through a donation by the late Ruth Y. Kirby, who taught Spanish in the Kalamazoo community.
  • Mayela Cameron of Irving, California, was awarded a $1,000 Ruth Y. Kirby Scholarship in Spanish. The award provides financial assistance for Spanish majors and was made possible through a donation by the late Ruth Y. Kirby, who taught Spanish in the Kalamazoo community. Cameron was also awarded the Premio Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, an award given to recognize excellence in the study of Spanish language and literature.
  • Tasha Campell of Kalkaska, Michigan, was the recipient of the $1,500 Lori Beth Pattison Scholarship for Literature in Spanish, an award named in honor of a WMU alumna and professor of Spanish who died of cancer in 1999.
  • Elizabeth Cantwil of Flushing, Michigan, was awarded a $1,000 Ruth Y. Kirby Scholarship in Spanish. The award provides financial assistance for Spanish majors and was made possible through a donation by the late Ruth Y. Kirby, who taught Spanish in the Kalamazoo community.
  • Lyndsey Carter of Kalamazoo was awarded the Premio Maria Moliner, an award given to a student for excellence in the study of Spanish language and literature.
  • Cory Champion of Negaunee, Michigan, was awarded a $2,000 President's Scholarship for Study Abroad, an award given to a foreign language major to study abroad for at least one semester. To receive the award, Champion was required to have a minimum 3.0 overall grade point average and a 3.5 GPA in his Spanish major.
  • Kiah Dana of Woodhaven, Michigan, was awarded the Premio Antonio de Nebrija, an award given to a student who demonstrates overall excellence in the study of Spanish language and literature.
  • Jessica Diekema of Zeeland, Michigan, was awarded the Premio Suzanne M. Wheatley, named in honor of a WMU Spanish major who died in a 1988 accident and awarded to a student on the basis of academic performance and an interest in traveling to Spain.
  • Nicole Dinneweth of Scott, Michigan, was awarded the Premio Jorge Luis Borges, an award given to a student who demonstrates overall excellence in the study of the Spanish language.
  • Daniel Ebenhoeh of Kalamazoo was awarded the Premio Octavio Paz, an award given to a student who demonstrates exemplary academic achievement in the study of Spanish language and literature.
  • Margaret Glide of Harbor Beach, Michigan, was awarded a $1,000 Department Travel/Study Abroad Award to pursue her studies in Spanish.
  • Crystal Gonder of Plainwell, Michigan, was awarded a $1,000 Ruth Y. Kirby Scholarship in Spanish. The award provides financial assistance for Spanish majors and was made possible through a donation by the late Ruth Y. Kirby, who taught Spanish in the Kalamazoo community.
  • Kelsey Grabill of Newaygo, Michigan, was awarded a $2,000 President's Scholarship for Study Abroad, an award given to a foreign language major to study abroad for at least one semester. To receive the award, Grabill was required to have a minimum 3.0 overall grade point average and a 3.5 GPA in his Spanish major.
  • Kendra Grieser of Benton Harbor, Michigan, was awarded a $1,000 Department Travel/Study Abroad Award to pursue her studies in Spanish.
  • Molly Grube of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, was awarded a $1,000 Ruth Y. Kirby Scholarship in Spanish. The award provides financial assistance for Spanish majors and was made possible through a donation by the late Ruth Y. Kirby, who taught Spanish in the Kalamazoo community.
  • Brenna Halpin of Mattawan, Michigan, was awarded a $1,000 Ruth Y. Kirby Scholarship in Spanish. The award provides financial assistance for Spanish majors and was made possible through a donation by the late Ruth Y. Kirby, who taught Spanish in the Kalamazoo community.
  • Savannah Hicks of Copley, Ohio, was awarded the Sue C. Mardis Scholarship in Spanish. The $525 award provides financial assistance to a student for study in a Spanish-speaking country, and was made possible through a donation by the family of the late Sue C. Mardis, a high school language teacher.
  • Qandeel Irfan of Kalamazoo was awarded the Premio Rosalía de Castro, an award given to a student who demonstrates overall excellence in the study of Spanish language and literature.
  • Olena Koshmanova of Kalamazoo was chosen as the WMU Presidential Scholar in Spanish, a University distinction awarded to students who demonstrate the most outstanding classroom performance.
  • Lisa Krupp of Sparta, Michigan, was awarded a $2,000 President's Scholarship for Study Abroad, an award given to a foreign language major to study abroad for at least one semester. To receive the award, Krupp was required to have a minimum 3.0 overall grade point average and a 3.5 GPA in her Spanish major.
  • Jessica Lach of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was awarded a $1,000 Department Travel/Study Abroad Award to pursue her studies in Spanish.
  • Tome Lingurovski of Austin, Texas, was awarded the Premio Joan Coromines, an award given to a student who demonstrates exemplary academic achievement in the study of Spanish language and literature.
  • Stephanie Mathias of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was awarded a $1,000 Ruth Y. Kirby Scholarship in Spanish. The award provides financial assistance for Spanish majors and was made possible through a donation by the late Ruth Y. Kirby, who taught Spanish in the Kalamazoo community.
  • Laurel McCarty of Colon, Michigan, was awarded a $2,000 President's Scholarship for Study Abroad, an award given to a foreign language major to study abroad for at least one semester. To receive the award, McCarty was required to have a minimum 3.0 overall grade point average and a 3.5 GPA in her Spanish major.
  • Criscelda Mortimore of Kalamazoo was awarded a $1,000 Mathilde Steckelberg Scholarship in Spanish, an award given to a Spanish major who demonstrates outstanding academic performance and potential.
  • Amy Olivares of Kalamazoo was awarded a $1,000 Ruth Y. Kirby Scholarship in Spanish. The award provides financial assistance for Spanish majors and was made possible through a donation by the late Ruth Y. Kirby, who taught Spanish in the Kalamazoo community.
  • Neal Oliver of Portage, Michigan, was awarded a $2,000 President's Scholarship for Study Abroad, an award given to a foreign language major to study abroad for at least one semester. To receive the award, Oliver was required to have a minimum 3.0 overall grade point average and a 3.5 GPA in his Spanish major.
  • Michael Paeplow of Granger, Indiana, was awarded a $1,000 Ruth Y. Kirby Scholarship in Spanish. The award provides financial assistance for Spanish majors and was made possible through a donation by the late Ruth Y. Kirby, who taught Spanish in the Kalamazoo community. Paeplow also received the Premio Alfonso X el Sabio, an award given to a student who demonstrates overall excellence in the study of Spanish language and literature.
  • Kaitlyn Paynich of Portage, Michigan, was awarded a $1,000 Ruth Y. Kirby Scholarship in Spanish. The award provides financial assistance for Spanish majors and was made possible through a donation by the late Ruth Y. Kirby, who taught Spanish in the Kalamazoo community.
  • Rebecca Phelps of Dowagiac, Michigan, was awarded the Premio Inca Garcilaso de la Vega Award, an award given to a student who demonstrates overall excellence in the study of Spanish language and literature.
  • Julian Ramirez of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was awarded a $2,000 President's Scholarship for Study Abroad, an award given to a foreign language major to study abroad for at least one semester. To receive the award, Ramirez was required to have a minimum 3.0 overall grade point average and a 3.5 GPA in his Spanish major.
  • Caroline Reinsch of Covington, Michigan, was awarded a $2,000 President's Scholarship for Study Abroad, an award given to a foreign language major to study abroad for at least one semester. To receive the award, she was required to have a minimum 3.0 overall grade point average and a 3.5 GPA in her Spanish major.
  • Katherine Rohwer of Kalamazoo was awarded the $2,500 President's Award for Study Abroad, the premier award given to a Spanish major or minor to study abroad for at least one semester.
  • Brenna Schurkamp of Otsego, Michigan, was awarded a $1,000 Department Travel/Study Abroad Award to pursue her studies in Spanish.
  • Maria Silvestre of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was awarded the Sue C. Mardis Scholarship in Spanish. The $525 award provides financial assistance to a student for study in a Spanish-speaking country, and was made possible through a donation by the family of the late Sue C. Mardis, a high school language teacher.
  • Katherine Vellom of Portage, Michigan, was awarded a $2,000 President's Scholarship for Study Abroad, an award given to a foreign language major to study abroad for at least one semester. To receive the award, she had to have a minimum 3.0 overall grade point average and a 3.5 GPA in her Spanish major.
  • Krista Wyllys of Jenison, Michigan, was awarded a $1,000 Ruth Y. Kirby Scholarship in Spanish. The award provides financial assistance for Spanish majors and was made possible through a donation by the late Ruth Y. Kirby, who taught Spanish in the Kalamazoo community.

Media contact: Deanne Molinari, (269) 387-8400, deanne.molinari@wmich.edu

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