Westmont Magazine Academic Achievers Earn Awards

Each year, seniors receive awards at Commencement. Matt Thomson and Miriam Niednagel won the Dean’s Award as outstanding scholar-athletes. A Park City, Utah, native and English major, Thomson was captain of the cross-country team. Niednagel, who comes from Ventura, has captured 10 All-American titles in cross-country and track and field and majored in English-modern languages.

Communication studies and economics/business double major Jedd Medefind earned the Kenneth M. Monroe Outstanding Male Graduate Award. A leader in the classroom and on the basketball court, Medefind won the first annual intramural debate and essay contests. He comes from Winton, California. Brittany Stringfellow captured the Monroe award for Outstanding Female Graduate. An English and philosophy major from Lakewood, California, she produced Spring Sing and worked as a resident assistant.

The Dave A. Dolan Award for social awareness went to chemistry major Adam Wass, co-director of the student-run Christian Concerns’ World Ministries division. The San Jose, California, native heads to medical school to become a medical missionary.

Steven Busch earned the Faculty Scholarship Award for the highest cumulative college scholarship record. The economics/business major from Ventura maintained a GPA of 4.0. He also received a John Bunyan Smith Award for the highest scholastic performance in the current academic year, along with biology majors Gregory Davis of Newark, California, and Kelly Orr of Colton, California.

Students also won other awards last spring. Chemistry major Scott Riley, from Shelley, Idaho, received one of 30 1997-98 Awards of Excellence from the national Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.

In addition, Santa Barbarans Peter and Gerd Jordano sponsored the annual Golden Eagle awards for athletes earning at least a 3.25 grade point average. This year’s winners include: Lou Caballero, basketball; Jen Gutierrez, tennis; Jennifer Hackworth, track & field; Ben Hook, soccer; Chris Kurz, baseball; Andi Livingood, soccer; Miriam Niednagel, cross country; Don Sirbuly, tennis; Kevin Strum, cross country; Matt Thomson, track & field; and Susan (Rhea) Wilson, volleyball. Chris Kurz and Miriam Niednagel also won Ring Awards for the highest grade point averages. Coaches nominate athletes for this prestigious award.