Outstanding Senior Awards

OUTSTANDING SENIOR AWARDS 2019

Outstanding Senior Award and

Senior of Distinction The Outstanding Senior Award honors graduating seniors who have made significant contributions to Texas A&M University-San Antonio (A&M-SA) through academic achievement, campus leadership and involvement, community service, honors and awards.

To be considered for this honor, a student must first be nominated by a member of A&M-SA faculty, staff, student or alumni. The Outstanding Senior Award Committee reviews applications from the nominated students, invites a select few to interview with the committee, and ultimately, selects the outstanding seniors. Each outstanding senior is recognized at the Jaguar Awards Ceremony and receives a framed certificate and monetary award.

From the group of outstanding seniors, one senior will be honored as the Senior of Distinction. The Senior of Distinction, announced at the Jaguar Awards Ceremony, receives a framed certificate, a monetary award funded by the Mahan family and the Senior of Distinction medal to wear at commencement.

William Benedict William Benedict transferred to A&M-San Antonio in the fall of 2017 as a biology major.

William serves as the vice president of the Biology Club and is an active member of the Pre-Health Society. In addition to his leadership positions, William also works as a research assistant under two faculty members, Dr. Crook and Dr. Ross, in the biology department.

In his spare time, William enjoys volunteering at the San Antonio Zoo where he has devoted over 600 hours of service. This year he received the Presidential Award in Environmental Stewardship in recognition for the many hours served in his community.

Outside of academia, William relaxes with his family and friends by going to the movies, playing card games and conversing around the table.

His dream is to obtain a DVM and Ph.D. in Wildlife Medicine, and ultimately work as a zoological veterinarian performing surgery on large mammals such as elephants.

Luz Cano Luz Cano is a first-generation student graduating with a 4.0 GPA in Bilingual Education Early Childhood-6th Grade.

Becoming a mother while in high school, Luz, now the mother of a six-year-old and a four-year-old, made the commitment to purse a higher education in order to provide a better future for her family.

Among her many achievements, Luz is a proud member of the National Society of Leadership and Success and the Bilingual Education Student Organization, in addition to being the recipient of the University Ring Award.

Volunteering as a peer mentor with the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Peer Mentoring Program at A&M-San Antonio, Luz works closely with six mentees on a monthly basis, providing them information and encouragement about college life, tutoring services, financial assistance, scholarship opportunities and immigrant support.

Luz’s passion for education and desire to work with young children is the foundation of her personal goal to become the best bilingual elementary school teacher she can be.

Dawn Collins Dawn Collins is graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a minor in Women's and Gender Studies. Married, with three beautiful adult children, Dawn has spent her adult life working to empower others.

Prior to moving to Texas in 1995, Dawn’s first career spanned ten years working with special needs children and their families. Most recently, she has dedicated twenty years working to empower girls and women at the Girl Scouts.

While at A&M-San Antonio, Dawn serves as an officer in the Sociology Club, as well as a proud member of the International Sociology Honor Society-AKD. She is also honored to be a 2019 University Ring Award recipient.

Dawn feels that one of her greatest achievements at A&M-San Antonio is her encouragement to others. The focus of her work throughout her education has been exploring the inequalities women face as they seek executive-level leadership positions. She will delve further into this subject as she pursues her Master of Science in Sociology.

Clifford Crews Clifford Crews, a retired Air Force veteran, is majoring in kinesiology with a teaching certification. Married with two sons, ages 26 and 16, Clifford’s hometown is Houston, Texas.

Clifford’s leadership skills were invaluable serving as the president of Kappa Delta Pi, Alpha Delta Omega Chapter (2017-present), the president of SALUTE National Veteran’s Honor Society (2017-2018), and in the Student Government Association as the senator for the College of Education and Human Development (2017-2018) and as the Student Government associate justice (2018-present). In spring 2018 Clifford was the recipient of the University Ring Award.

Following graduation, Clifford’s immediate goal is to begin working in his first teaching position and educating his students about the importance of physical activity, health and wellness. In the future, he intends to pursue a master’s degree in education leadership or sports administration.

Ryan Day Raised in Mountain View, MO, the poorest town in the state, Ryan Day, a psychology major, joined the Army following high school graduation and served ten years with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

An active and committed student, Ryan has served and protected the University by working at the University Police Department in addition to currently serving as the president and founder of the Table Tennis Club, philanthropy coordinator for Student Veterans of America and service oďŹƒcer for the Veterans National Honor Society. Ryan has received numerous awards for his leadership in the organizations he represents.

Working as a research assistant with Dr. Ho Huynh for more than a year, Ryan looks forward to presenting his research on humility and resilience at the 2019 Southwestern Psychological Association Conference in addition to the A&M-San Antonio Student Research Symposium.

Ryan currently trains at San Antonio Table Tennis Club to compete in nationals as a professional table tennis player. His ultimate goal is to earn a Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology.

Misty Ferrell Education serves as a tower of hope in Misty Ferrell’s life, and she feels a deep personal connection to the Tower of Esperanza, the preeminent symbol of the University.

Through caring educators, she came to know Jesus Christ as her Lord, found liberation from a mindset of poverty and learned to be a creative problem solver. Viewing her teachers as parents, Misty chose to follow their example by earning a Baccalaureate in Interdisciplinary Studies with a 4-8 Generalist Teaching Certificate.

With the love and support of her husband and children, and immense personal dedication, Misty maintains a 3.8 GPA. Committed to helping others, Misty volunteers weekly at church and associated non-profits, in addition to being a member in several student organizations.

Misty plans to teach at a Title I school while she earns a Master of Science in reading. She believes students in Title I schools deserve highly qualified teachers who will teach them to read and think critically.

Ashley Hughes Transferring from Palo Alto Community College, Ashley Hughes, is a biology major. Growing up in San Antonio, Ashley’s love of her community and passion for involvement inspired her personal goal to make the world a better place for others.

Ashley’s commitment to service and determination to be the change she wanted to see in the world motivated her to join the Biology Club and the Mexican American Student Association. Her membership in these organizations allowed her to pursue her academic interests in addition to facilitating her growing within the community. Ashley continued to refine her leadership skills serving as the co-director for two years of the Science Olympiad, a regional STEM competition.

On campus, Ashley is an advocate for change and involvement. Her volunteerism with outreach programs such as Choose.Act.Impact., Jaguar Den Night, FallFest, Cesar Chavez March and Festival de Cascarones illustrates her resolve to be the change she wants to see in her community.

Chris Obinzu Chris Obinzu is a long-time entrepreneur and industry expert with more than 10 years of experience in both marketing and business development. Chris considers himself a “digital marketing expert” who has taken struggling start-ups with very little marketing advertising budget and has produced healthy results for them. Chris currently owns feedbie (a digital marketing agency) located here in San Antonio.

Chris began his marketing career as a majority owner of a private label clothing company in New York City called Chris Glory, Co., where he established invaluable relationships with retail buyers of small department stores. He grew the label and then transformed it into Face11 – which featured 11 up-and-coming designers during New York City Fashion Week. After his venture in NYC, Chris relocated to San Antonio where he met his wife, Golda, and together have two beautiful children.

Chris is graduating top of his class with a Bachelor of Business Administration. He is currently pursuing an MBA degree and plans to seek a doctorate degree in marketing afterward.

Amy Senger A San Antonio native and cat enthusiast, Amy Senger is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Science in psychology at Texas A&M University-San Antonio.

Amy is an aspiring clinical psychologist with an interest in health psychology research. One of her goals as a professional in clinical psychology is to work with people who have anxiety disorders. She was inspired to pursue a degree in clinical psychology by her interest in pathology and by the encouragement of a psychology faculty member at A&M-SA. Following graduation, Amy will be attending Sam Houston State University this fall as a student in the M.A. program in clinical psychology.

Some of her achievements at A&M-SA include taking part in a competitive undergraduate research internship called FIRE-UP (Fostering Interdisciplinary Research Experience for Undergraduate Potential), receiving a Psi Chi undergraduate research grant, a Psi Chi research award and a Psi Chi travel grant.

Cindy Trinh Cindy Trinh, a new resident of San Antonio from Austin, TX transferred to A&M-SA in fall 2017. Majoring in exercise science in kinesiology, Cindy served as public relations officer in the Kinesiology Club and later became the club president in 2018.

During her senior year, Cindy recruited the largest number of attendees to the Texas Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine Conference and increased on-campus involvement in community initiatives such as Choose. Act. Impact. – a community service initiative hosted by the Mays Center.

Cindy and the Kinesiology Club officers volunteered more than 400 hours at multiple campus events including the Turkey Burn-Off, a fitness/recreation event held after Thanksgiving to encourage the student body to be active following the holidays and the STEM Family Day engaging elementary and middle school students about fitness laboratory equipment and fitness indicators.

Cindy hopes to complete a Master of Public Health and engage in more research on the role of depression in communities of poverty and ways to counter the issue.

Outstanding Senior Award Committee Members

Heather Brezinski, Ed.D.

Lecturer, College of Education and Human Development

Mary Kay Cooper, Ed.D. Director of Alumni Affairs

Julie Eddards

Executive Director of Campus Life and Immersion

Amy Lewis, Ph.D.

Associate Professor & Chair of Management and Marketing, College of Business

Melissa Mahan, Ph.D. Vice President for Student Affairs

Megan Wise de Valdez, Ph.D.

Associate Professor & Program Coordinator-Biology, College of Arts and Sciences