2016 Distinguished Student Awards

M. Luke Allee, Applied Visual Arts

Luke Allee

Luke was dedicated to improving his overall creativity and body of work this past year. For example, he took an exercise in random mark-making and turned it into a personal visual language and identity for himself. He continues to explore what these simple gestures can do to communicate visually with his audience. This dedication, study and exploration shows great promise for his future endeavors within the art world.

Stephanie Rose Moon, Biology

Stephanie Moon

Stephanie comes from a family of Oregon mill workers and loggers. At OSU-Cascades, she found her passion for microbiology. Stephanie participated in undergraduate research, which resulted in two posters and the basis for a manuscript. She begins the microbiology Ph.D. program at OSU this summer. When Stephanie asked her 94-year-old grandmother if anyone in their extended family had a doctorate degree, she told her that she will be the first.

Anna Rose Swope, Business Administration

Anna Rose Swope

Anna is excited to put her degree to work at G5 in Bend where she has been hired in digital marketing. Faculty members describe Anna is the real deal: smart, friendly, and motivated. While going to school, she was working nearly full time, commuting from Prineville, being a super teacher's assistant, and starting the Entrepreneurship Club. Anna hopes to achieve a fulfilling career that provides balance so she can soak in all of the joy that life has to offer.

Chad Knight, Energy Systems Engineering

Chad Knight

Chad graduated with the highest GPA of 3.75 in this year's ESE graduating class. Prior to his junior year, Chad volunteered to be an engineering intern at PCC Schlosser in Redmond. Chad was so successful that his internship spawned four ESE MECOP internships at PCC Schlosser. During his senior year, Chad was an engineering intern at EarthCruiser in Bend. This internship led to EarthCruiser sponsoring a Capstone senior design project for ESE as well as a full-time position for Chad at EarthCruiser.

Dulce Gabriela Pelayo, HDFS

Dulce Pelayo

Dulce Pelayo has distinguished herself in the classroom and beyond. HDFS faculty members mentioned her consistent and exemplary contributions in her individual coursework and in her interactions with other students. Dulce is an outstanding student who is actively engaged in the classroom and strives to make a difference in the Latino community. She has completed an internship at Department of Human Services in Prineville, and is working at the Women, Infants and Children program where she uses her bilingual ability to assist them in their day-to-day operations.

J.T. Strang, Kinesiology

JT Strang

With a GPA of 3.95 it is easy to see that J.T. is a good student, but more than that, he has found a passion that didn’t exist 18 months ago. After completing internships in the COCC Physiology and the OSU-Cascades FORCE lab, something clicked for J.T. He was very quick to learn how to operate and troubleshoot technical equipment and became the student expert on data processing. J.T. applied to three graduate programs in kinesiology. Not surprisingly, he was accepted to all three, with graduate teaching and/or research assistantships.

Donna M. Harris, Liberal Studies

Donna Harris

Donna’s professors describe her as a committed, diligent, and intellectually-curious individual. Her consistent participation in the classroom elevated the discourse as a whole. She completed her bachelor's degree while working full-time at OSU-Cascades in the graduate teaching program. She hopes to continue on to a master's program in public health and one day open an agency that provides mentoring for high-risk youth.

Kelly Regan, Natural Resources

Kelly Regan

Kelly has demonstrated strong academic performance in natural resources. What truly distinguishes Kelly is her commitment to incorporating professional development and service with the community and the university. She was born and raised in Bend and has watched the area grow and change for almost 40 years. Kelly hopes to pursue a career with the U.S. Forest Service and use the skills and knowledge developed through OSU to act as a steward to the forests and natural areas in Central Oregon.

Mandy Kristin Bowdoin, Psychology

Mandy Bowdoin

Mandy graduates with a 4.0 average and has shown great intellect and strong motivation to do well. Her exceptional performance has gained her acceptance to a doctoral program in occupational therapy at Pacific University. She is also well liked and valued by her peers for her intelligence, personable character and willingness to help others. Her instructors greatly enjoyed her thoughtful comments, and also her dry, sarcastic humor.

Loren G. Bailey, Social Science

Loren Bailey

After 24 years of service, Loren retired as the Navy's most senior Arabic linguist. Loren was a student of culture and language long before he came to OSU-Cascades, but here his interests broadened to not just the Middle East, but to cultures and complex social phenomena across the world. He’s considering becoming a teacher and mentor.

Roarke Jennings, TOL

Roarke Jennings

Roarke has one of the highest GPAs of graduating TOL students and is well respected among his peers. In the classroom he always goes above and beyond what is required. He is a quiet, deliberate, and deep thinker who always strives for more. Roarke completed a six-month internship in Japan. During that time he immersed himself in the culture, improved his Japanese language skills, and grew professionally. Whatever direction Roarke chooses after graduation will be one that he, but mostly others, will benefit from.

Amy Elizabeth Winn, Master of Counseling

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Amy has consistently demonstrated excellence in academics prior to and during her time in the graduate counseling program. Early in her program Amy connected with faculty to do research over and above what was required in her coursework. She has already published her work in scholarly journals. She is a dynamic clinician and excels at cognitive behavioral therapy, which is a difficult modality to do at times. Amy possesses a big heart, self-awareness, and a sharp intellect.

Brittany Von Hoene, MFA Creative Writing

Brittany Von Hoene

Brittany is a writer of enormous talent and promise, with the intellect, drive and strength of character that ensures she will go far. She distinguishes herself not only in her writing but also in her dedication to fostering community within the MFA program and beyond. She is a leader with her cohort of students, and she also helps recruit prospective students to the MFA program.

Nicole Raspotnik, MAT

Nicole Raspotnik

Nicole is unparalleled in her ability to achieve a high level of success in student teaching and coursework, all with a wonderful attitude. She actively seeks out feedback and ideas to improve her already strong teaching. Nicole is highly skilled at creating a warm and academically challenging learning environment. Her elementary students benefit from her creativity and her effort to bring the curriculum to life. Not only do her students succeed in learning - they are having fun!

Kate Jette, MAT

Kate Jette

Kate has managed graduate school with a consistency, patience, and drive that will continue to serve her well throughout her teaching career. Kate values the feedback she gets from instructors, mentors, and her university supervisor and uses it to re-think, re-design, and re-implement ideas and practices. Kate is highly regarded as being a positive and productive force in the program. She recently accepted a job teaching at Sherwood High School, near Portland. She is excited to be a part of the lives of the next generations to come.