Last modified: Tuesday, May 1, 2007
IU honors five seniors with Stahr Awards
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2007
2007 Elvis J. Stahr Distinguished Seniors: (L-R) Andrew Lauck, Laura Maul, Jessica Wild, Sarah Cohen and Samuel Scarpino
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Five Indiana University students have been honored with the Elvis J. Stahr Distinguished Senior Award.
Established in 1966 by Stahr, IU's 12th president, the award honors seniors who have excelled academically while serving as active student leaders. Nominations are accepted from IU faculty, staff and students, and selection is based on achievement and excellence in academic growth and leadership and contribution to the campus community.
This year's awards were presented to Sarah Cohen, of Lexington, Miss.; Andrew Lauck, of Greenwood, Ind.; Laura Maul and Samuel Scarpino, both from Indianapolis; and Jessica Wild, from Carmel, Ind. All five will graduate from IU Bloomington in May.
Cohen majored in Jewish studies and sociology. She is an advocate for community engagement through IU's Department of Community Outreach and Partnership in Service Learning, where she acts as liaison between IU and Stone Belt Arc, Inc. She was one of six IU student volunteers who organized a relief trip following hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. Cohen co-founded Youth Advocating Leadership and Learning ( Y'ALL), an IU student group which provides continuing hurricane relief in the Gulf Coast.
Lauck majored in finance and international business in the Kelley School of Business. He has served as the student body vice president and as a member of the Office of Admissions Preview Team. He was selected as one of IU's "Top Ten Student Leaders" in April 2006. Lauck is president of the Kelley School's Undergraduate Investment Banking and Capital Markets Workshop, a faculty-appointed position. He is fluent in French and spent a semester in China in 2006.
Maul was a double major in history and anthropology. She has interned with the Washington Leadership Program in Washington, D.C., the International Partnership for Service Learning and Leadership in South Dakota, and the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. During her work in South Dakota, Maul annotated a rare and neglected Sioux document from the 1870s which she found collecting dust in Harvard's Houghton Library. She is an assistant instructor of the Lakota language at IU and is director of legislative relations for the IU Student Association.
Scarpino majored in biology. He has served as vice president of the IU Residence Halls Association and is a member of the Board of Aeons. In addition, he has volunteered for the American Red Cross, the St. Vincent DePaul Society, the Student Global AIDS Campaign and Bloomington Hospital's Positive Link. Scarpino interned with the Foundation for Sustainable Development at a village orphanage in Kenya during the summer of 2006.
Wild majored in business economics and public policy. She is president of the Kelley School of Business Consulting Workshop, vice president of finance for Delta Gamma sorority, and director of corporate and alumni relations for the IU Student Association. She is also a committee chair for the Kelley Student Government and a Kelley School of Business Ambassador, assisting in undergraduate recruitment initiatives. Wild has studied abroad in Spain and volunteers with the Nicaragua Resource Network, working with school children in Nicaragua. She is a member of the IU women's lacrosse team.
In an open letter to award recipients, the late President Stahr wrote: "You have already distinguished yourselves and honored your Alma Mater, and I encourage you to continue to aim high in both your personal and your professional lives. I am confident that your futures hold ever-increasing opportunity, challenge, distinction and reward."
The students were honored at the annual Spring Recognition Banquet on April 22 at the DeVault Alumni Center, hosted by the Student Alumni Association and the Office of the Provost. Their names will be engraved on a permanent plaque which hangs in the Indiana Memorial Union on the Bloomington campus.
The IU Alumni Association is dedicated to serving the university and its diverse alumni, students and friends. As one of the nation's largest alumni organizations, serving more than 495,000 graduates worldwide, the IUAA provides many programs and services to its members, non-member alumni and the university. For information, visit www.alumni.indiana.edu or call (800) 824-3044.
