Terra State Announces Winners of Student Recognition Awards
On April 23, 2019, Terra State Community College announced winners of the Student Recognition Awards at the annual banquet held at the Ronald L. Neeley Conference and Hospitality Center. Categories and winners are:
Fremont Rotary Student of the Year – Megan Steffens is a Health Information Technology (HIT) student who plans to work for medical facilities and, eventually, insurance companies to apply her knowledge in medical billing and records. She serves as an activity coordinator for the Kids’ Club/Big Club after school program at Trinity United Methodist Church in Lindsey, leads food drives and donation collections for various event that help the needy and volunteers as morale and welfare, legal aid, residential board liaison and military spouse support for Fleet and Family Services for the U.S. Naval Branch.
Student Employee of the Year – Sherri Wott is an Executive Office Administration major who is very enthusiastic working at the front desk in the Admissions office and treats every person with respect. Sherri has earned Dean’s List honors, become a member of the International Honor Society Phi Theta Kappa and received numerous scholarships for academic achievement.
Leadership Award – Stephanie Homler is a nursing student who is a part of the Student Nurses’ Association and mentors first-year nursing students. She has been very involved at the College, participating and volunteering at Exploration Day, Micah’s House, Triumph Youth Ministry, Fostering Hope, trash pick-up, KidsCollege, Pinning Ceremony, Community Health Fair, Spooktakular and more. As a member of Phi Theta Kappa, Stephanie organized the “Jeans on Friday” fundraiser and led the creation of the College Ambassadors Program.
Perseverance Award – Sumer Seeger is a welding student who has gone through a lot. She was born with an extremely rare birth defect affecting the development of her brain. Her brain was half the size of a typical child’s. When people told her, “You can’t do it,” she didn’t let the words discourage her. This desire to prove her critics wrong infused her with the strength and drive to succeed. During her first semester in Terra’s welding program, Sumer earned a 4.0 GPA and made the Dean’s list.
Frieda Fought is a Hospitality Management major who raised 10 children and 17 grandchildren and came to Terra State at the age of 62. One week before classes were to start, she lost her son in a tragic accident. That did not stop her from finishing what she started. Despite her loss and her struggles learning new technology, she was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa and will be graduating in May.
Kayla Perry is an Executive Office Administration major who, throughout her time attending Terra State, almost lost her life during child birth, mourned the loss of her father, uncle and grandmother and gave birth to a second child. While all of this was going on, she was still able to earn good grades and will be graduating in May.
2018-2019 Student Commencement Speaker – Heather Ross is a nursing student and serves as President of the Student Nurses’ Association. She has helped organize multiple community service events and has volunteered at numerous locations within the community. During new students’ nursing orientation, she tells them and their significant others about the program, what to expect, how to organize and provides words of encouragement. She also oversees the mentorship program.
Student Organization of the Year – Terra State’s Student Nurses’ Association (SNA) has impacted its members and community this past year. The organization has been a huge support to incoming nursing students, volunteered at numerous Terra State events and raised funds for many causes. Some of those causes include Heartbeat Hope Medical, Micah House and National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). With the SNA Scholarship Fund they created, the SNA gives back to Terra State nursing students in need.