Cumberlands honors exemplary students during commencement

While all college graduates are noteworthy in their own right, there are always those who stand out. University of the Cumberlands honored these exemplary students during the school’s annual undergraduate commencement ceremony.

The University recognized its Hutton Scholars and Presidential Scholars in addition to the winners of its traditional campus awards.

Hutton Scholars include all undergraduate students who completed a minimum of 200 community service hours during their Cumberlands career. The Class of 2019 performed 31,342 hours of community service. The Corporation for National and Community Services values volunteer work at $25.43 per hour, making Cumberlands’ total contribution by this graduating class $797,027.06.

Four Presidential Scholars were honored during commencement. Presidential Scholars are those who have excelled academically and completed significant research in their major field of study which is then reviewed and approved by both the academic department and the Presidential Scholars Research Committee. Presidential Scholars for 2019 included Morgan Huenergarde (Morristown, TN) with the project “College Students’ Well-Being: Use of Counseling Services,” Megan Jackson (Sevierville, TN) with the project “Cross-Cultural False Memory Frequencies,” Becka Plitt (Coloma, MI) with the project “Constantly Connected: the Effects of Personal and Anonymous Social Media on Levels of Anxiety” and Adriana Roaden (Corbin, KY) with the project “Associations among Caffeine, Stress, Anxiety and GPA by Gender in College Students.”

Cumberlands also commended its graduates who won campus-wide awards based on their service to the community, impact on Cumberlands’ campus, and upstanding values.

The H.N. and Frances Berger Awards honor a male and female students from the senior class who demonstrate outstanding leadership and service to the university and to the larger community as a whole.  Recipients must also demonstrate sound academic achievements.

The female recipient of the Berger Award this year was Kathryn Green from Versailles, KY. Green was a member of several sports and academic teams, campus organizations, and honor societies, and she studied abroad in Costa Rica for a semester in 2018.

This year’s male Berger Award recipient was Muhammad “Sarosh” Haider from Pakistan. Haider served as a Resident Assistant and helped lead a number of University functions during his college career. Sarosh was nominated by 26 people for the award.

The Algernon Sydney Sullivan and Mary Mildred Sullivan Awards honor a male and female students who have made significant contributions to University life while demonstrating outstanding spiritual values.

The 2019 recipient of the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award was Jordan Yaden from Corbin, KY. Yaden was a member of various campus music groups as well as the All-Collegiate Choir, winner of Cumberlands’ singing competition Spotlight in 2018 and a volunteer in several campus organizations.

The Mary Mildred Sullivan Award was presented to Caitlyn Howell from Normandy, TN. Howell dedicated much of her time during college to serving the Campus Activity Board and Campus Ministries leadership team, as well as completing mission work in three countries and performing 964 community service hours during her college career.

The Gorman Jones and T.J. Roberts Campus Leadership Awards are given to graduating seniors who have exemplified the roles and qualities of leadership on campus while maintaining high academic standing.

The winner of the 2019 Gorman Jones Award was Skyler Downs (Paducah, KY). Downs was heavily involved in Campus Ministries and worked in Cumberlands’ Office of Communications and Marketing, participating in several videos used to promote the University.

This year’s T.J. Roberts Campus Leadership Award was presented to Trenton Wheeler. Wheeler served on the Residence Hall leadership team and constantly volunteered as a leader on campus and in various ministry capacities through a local church.

The University thanks these students for their lasting, positive influence on Cumberlands’ campus and congratulates all Class of 2019 scholars and award winners on a job well done.