2018 Student Awards Ceremony: Excellence and Experience Abound at PAU
What do a criminal defense lawyer, a former major league hockey player and a survivor of the Burundian civil war have in common? To begin with, all three are students at Palo Alto University. But they are also standout students — that’s according to the selection committee for Palo Alto University’s 2018 Student Awards that were presented during a ceremony on May 18 in PAU’s Wisniewski Hall. This year’s awardees represent only a small sample of the excellent work being done by PAU students across all programs, as well as the wide range of experience PAU students bring to their work. Nearly 50 students were nominated. Read more
“We have the most extraordinary students at Palo Alto University,” said PAU President Maureen O’Connor. “I am always amazed at the wide variety of experiences our students have — experiences that often provide perspective and direction in their field of work. Every day I am so appreciative of what they do and their commitment to changing the lives of people in need.”
Osnat Persky received the Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology award for “Excellence in Teaching.” She came to PAU with a background as a criminal defense lawyer and uses her legal knowledge and public speaking skills to integrate legal themes into lectures she gives as a teaching assistant. Florence Ntakarutimana, a distance learning student in the M.A. in Counseling program, received the “Excellence in Service” award. She juggles her studies with work at Catholic Relief Service in the Central African Republic, considered to be the world’s least developed country. She is also a survivor of the Burundian civil war and uses her experiences with trauma and healing in her work. Pete Aston, who received the PGSP-Stanford Psy.D. Consortium award for “Excellence in Service,” was drafted to the National Hockey League at 19 years of age and played three seasons as a professional hockey player in the American Hockey League before deciding to pursue a second career in psychology. His primary areas of clinical interest are anxiety disorders, emerging adults, and the athlete population.
Osnat, Florence and Pete were not alone at the awards ceremony. Following is a full list of the awardees who were individually recognized for outstanding work by leaders from their individual programs at PAU. Each received a certificate or plaque recognizing their accomplishment, as well as a gift certificate or monetary award.
Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology Awards
Gabriel Corpus/Shikha Saggi/Lorna Chiu
2018 Award for Excellence in Research
Alexandra Barkin
2018 Award for Academic Excellence
Erica Rozbruch
2018 Award for Excellence in Research
Erin Furay
2018 Award for Excellence in Clinical Work
Osnat Persky
2018 Award for Excellence in Teaching
Tristan Hansell
2018 Award for Excellence in Diversity
Florencia Iturri
2018 Award for Excellence in Service
Taylor Stephens
2018 Award for Outstanding Student
M.S. in Psychology Awards
Michelle Tran
2018 Award for Excellence in Service
Amber Stewart
2018 Award for Academic Excellence
M.A. in Counseling Awards
Tila Laclette Perez
2018 Award for Excellence in Service
Florence Ntakarutimana
2018 Award for Excellence in Service
Cynthia Flores
2018 Award for Excellence in Diversity
Galyn Burke
2018 Award for Excellence in Clinical Work
Guadalupe Hernandez Bucio
2018 Award for Excellence in Clinical Work
Jan Prins
2018 Award for Excellence in Clinical Work
Amisha Mehtani
2018 Award for Academic Excellence
Moitreyee Chowdhury
2018 Award for Outstanding Student
PGSP-Stanford Psy.D. Consortium Awards
Audrey Gill Johnson
2018 Award for Excellence in Research
Emily Livermore
2018 Award for Excellence in Teaching
Natalie Szykowny
2018 Award for Excellence in Teaching
Daniel Ryu
2018 Award for Excellence in Diversity
Julia Birt
2018 Award for Excellence in Clinical Work
Monica Allen
2018 Award for Academic Excellence
Pete Aston
2018 Award for Excellence in Service
Amanda Hilberg
2018 Award for Outstanding Student
Elton C. & Joan R. Waelde Meditation and Psychology Awards
Hilary Meyer
2018 Kangchenjunga Award
Adriana Panting
2018 K2 Award
Sarah McKenzie DeLuca
2018 Everest Award