Recent achievements for the campus community were earned by Jentry Barrett, Aaron Dueker, Danni Gilbert, Jesaelen Gizotti de Moraes, Estefania Gomiero Polli, Korbin Kudera, Julia Leggent, Jasmine Mausbach, Joshua Miranda Teo, Jose Scarparo de Sanctis, Rachel Schachter, Jared Stander, Katie Steffen, Jacob Vallery and Manuel Vicente.

Honors

• Aaron Dueker, assistant director for sports programs with Campus Recreation, received the Region V Regional Award of Merit presented by the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association. Criteria for the award include nominees who demonstrate an outstanding capacity for innovation, go above and beyond in dedicated volunteer service to the association or have significantly contributed to the advancement of the profession in NIRSA participating states, provinces and regions. Dueker was recognized, among other things, for his dedication to inclusion. Specifically, he helped bring the Unified Special Olympics to the Nebraska campus and region. View the virtual award presentation.

• Julia Leggent, a third-year Master of Fine Arts graduate student in the School of Art, Art History and Design, earned second place in the 2021 Young Painters Competition by the Miami University (Ohio) College of Creative Arts and the Department of Art. The competition features U.S. artists aged 25 to 35 who demonstrate excellence. The juror, chosen from nationally recognized museum professionals, curators, critics and artists, selects 10 finalists with two artworks from each artist. Leggent was awarded the $2,500 second-place award for “Cutting Ties,” a finely detailed painting of a severed ponytail.

• Five graduate students in agronomy and horticulture earned top honors in the Weed Science Society of America student poster and presentation contests held during the virtual 2021 annual meeting Feb. 15-19. Joshua Miranda Teo received first place in Section 4 and Estefania Gomiero Polli took first in Section 1 of the Master of Science Poster Contest. Jasmine Mausbach earned second place in Section 2 of the Three-Minute Thesis Research Communication Competition, and Jose Scarparo de Sanctis and Jesaelen Gizotti de Moraes received second and third, respectively, in the Doctoral Poster Contest. Learn more about the awards.

• The Crops Judging Team placed third in the four-year division at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture Collegiate Crops Contest March 6 in Curtis. Nebraska students who participated included agronomy majors Jared Stander, Katie Steffen, Korbin Kudera and Jacob Vallery. Learn more about the award.

• Manuel Vicente, a second-year student in the clinical doctorate in audiology program, was selected to participate in a T35 short-term research training program at Boys Town National Research Hospital in the summer. Learn more about the honor.

Publications

• Danni Gilbert co-authored a project that published in the peer-reviewed Early Childhood Education Journal. Other authors included Jentry Barrett and Rachel Schachter from the Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies and Mathew Fuerst from Doane University.

This column is a regular feature of Nebraska Today. Faculty, staff and students can submit achievements to be considered for this column via email to achievements@unl.edu. For more information, call 402-472-8515.