Beaver College of Health Sciences

 By Amanda Mlekush 

The Beaver College of Health Sciences honored 29 students representing its 19 undergraduate and graduate programs at its 2026 student awards ceremony held in Levine Hall on April 13.

Student awards are voted on by college faculty. Undergraduate programs honor two students–one for academic achievement another for leadership; graduate programs honor one student for overall achievement. The 2026 awards ceremony marked the first time that student awards were presented for three of the college's newest programs--the BS in Health Sciences, the Master of Occupational Therapy (MS-OT) and the Master of Public Health (MPH).
(Image below shows award recipient AJ Britton (center) holding a sunflower with Department Chair Dr. Mark Trahan (left) from Social Work and Dean Marie Huff (right) at the awards ceremony; photos by Amanda Mlekush) 
View additional photos from the Awards Ceremony. 

“Receiving a student award from the college is one of our highest honors and represents excellence, dedication and incredible achievements,” said Dean Marie Huff, PhD, of the Beaver College of Health Sciences. “It’s an extremely competitive process, and I love learning more about these students and their accomplishments during the awards ceremony, and their plans for after graduation.”

Recipients for the 2026 Beaver College of Health Sciences student awards are: 

• Daniel Martin -- Athletic Training Graduate Student Award
• Mary Sterett -- Communication Sciences and Disorders Academic Award
• Kate McMahon -- Communication Sciences and Disorders Leadership Award
• Autumn Cataldo -- Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Student Award
• Jessica Plantamura -- Health Care Management Academic Award
• Christopher Anguiano Cifuentes -- Health Care Management Leadership Award
• Brandi Wyatt Russo -- Health Administration Graduate Student Award 
• Jonathan Reich -- Health Sciences Academic Award 
• Melissa S. Trivette -- Health Sciences Leadership Award
• Sophie Pierzala -- Nutrition and Foods Academic Award
• Katelyn Ivkovich -- Nutrition and Foods Leadership Award
• Adrienne Al-Abed -- Nutrition Graduate Student Award
• Katie Rhoades -- Nursing Academic Award
• Kimber Blackburn -- Nursing Leadership Award
• Alyssa Eckard -- Nursing Graduate Student Award
• Sarah McKinney Simpson -- Public Health Academic Award
• Jessica Robertson -- Public Health Leadership Award
• Celita Graham -- Public Health Graduate Student Award
• Chloe Carter -- Health, Physical Education & Coaching Academic Award
• Alex Harrington -- Health, Physical Education & Coaching Leadership Award
• Nicole Rekrut -- Recreation Management Academic Award
• Abby Jones -- Recreation Management Leadership Award
• Oscar Decuir-Hernandez -- Social Work Academic Award
• Abigail Jordan Serrill -- Social Work Leadership Award
• Alexander (AJ) Britton -- Social Work Graduate Student Award
• Brighten Winslow -- Kinesiology Academic Award
• Judah Cooper -- Kinesiology Leadership Award
• Byron Hollowell -- Kinesiology Graduate Student Award

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