The Nebraska Alumni Association will recognize 20 accomplished UNL alumni, seven promising students and one outstanding family at the annual Alumni Awards Banquet May 7 at the Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center, 2021 Transformation Drive.
The reception will begin at 5:30 p.m., and the dinner and awards presentation will be at 6 p.m.
The award winners represent all nine UNL colleges and have achieved successes in their careers and communities. The winners were chosen by a selection committee of UNL alumni from across the country.
Reservations for the banquet will be accepted through May 1 or until sold out. Tickets are $37.45 per person, and no refunds will be given after May 1.
Register online at http://huskeralum.org or contact Alex Cerveny at 402-472-8936 or acerveny@huskeralum.org.
The following is a list of award recipients, including graduation year(s) and current city of residence.
Early Achiever Awards
Michael Harpster, 2010, Lincoln: Harpster, an intern architect with BVH Architects in Lincoln, received his bachelor’s degree in English with high distinction in 2010 and his master of architecture in 2013.
Zachary Hunnicutt, 2004, Giltner: Hunnicutt farms with his father and brother and is a member and past chair of the American Farm Bureau Federation Board of Directors and president of the Hamilton County Farm Bureau. He is a 2004 graduate of the UNL College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Paul and Stephanie Jarrett, 2009, 2005, Lincoln: The Jarretts are CEO and CFO, respectively, at Bulu Box, a company they launched in 2012 that delivers health-related product samples to subscribers. Paul and Stephanie are 2009 and 2005 graduates of the UNL College of Journalism and Mass Communications.
Adam Morfeld, 2009, 2012, Lincoln: Morfeld founded Nebraskans for Civic Reform in 2008 to protect voting rights, create more accessible elections and strengthen K-12 civic education. He was elected state senator for the 46th District of the Nebraska Legislature in 2014. Morfeld earned his bachelor’s degree in political science in 2009 and his juris doctor in 2012 from the Nebraska College of Law.
Derek Mosloff, 2010, Miami: Mosloff is an avid solo violist and chamber musician. He was awarded a fellowship to Tanglewood Music Center in 2008 and landed a coveted spot in the New World Symphony in 2012. He is a 2010 graduate of the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts.
Jack O’Holleran, 2005, San Francisco: O’Holleran is co-founder and global vice president of sales and business development for Aktana, a software analytics company. He is a 2005 graduate of the UNL College of Business Administration.
Nathan Schemm, 2004, 2010, Rowlett, Texas: Schemm works for Texas Instruments and is responsible for creating a low-power voice recognition chip that will soon be shipped in millions of smartphones globally. He earned two degrees in electrical engineering from UNL – a bachelor of science in 2006 and a doctoral degree in 2010.
Tracy Sweeney, 2004, Bristol, R.I.: Sweeney is owner and operator of Elan Studio, a child photography studio, and winner of the 2014 International Child Photography Image Competition. She is a 2004 graduate of the UNL College of Education and Human Sciences.
Natalie Wagner, 2002, Boston: Wagner is a vice president at State Street Global Advisors, the second-largest institutional asset manager in the world. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the UNL College of Arts and Sciences and her juris doctor from Harvard Law School.
Alumni Achievement Awards
Hal Daub, 1966, Omaha: Daub is a former two-term mayor of Omaha and four-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives. In November 2012, he was elected to the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. A partner in the Omaha law firm Husch Blackwell, Daub received a law degree from UNL in 1966.
Robert Dermann, 1973-75, Tacoma, Wash.: Dermann enrolled at UNL in fall 1973 and enlisted in the Nebraska National Guard in 1977. After completing Army Officer Candidate School in 1983, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and rose through the ranks to colonel in 2010. He retired from the U.S. Army in 2012.
Ken Geddes, 1971, Redmond, Wash.: Geddes, an All-Big 8 linebacker for the Huskers, played pro football from 1971-1978. He then worked as a sales rep before returning to school to earn a master’s degree and work for the Seattle School District as a drug and alcohol intervention specialist and middle school counselor from 1989-2011.
Penny Rafferty Hamilton, 1978, 1981, Granby, Colo.: Hamilton has earned two graduate degrees from the UNL College of Education and Human Sciences. A private pilot and aviation educator, she and her husband together hold a world speed aviation record. She was inducted into the Colorado Aviation and Colorado Women’s halls of fame.
William Alexander Hamilton, 1978, Granby, Colo.: Hamilton, a 1978 Ph.D. graduate of UNL, enjoyed four careers: military, aviation, business and journalism. A distinguished 20-year military career was capped by induction to the Army ROTC Hall of Fame at the University of Oklahoma.
Jane Hirt, 1989, Chicago: Hirt is a 25-year veteran of the news media industry, most of it spent as a journalist at the Chicago Tribune. She was managing editor/vice president from 2008-2014 and founding editor of RedEye, an innovative commuter news and lifestyle brand for Millennials in Chicago.
Eugene Tatsuru Kimura, 1944, 1946, LaGrange Park, Ill.: Kimura had his college education interrupted when President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, removing persons of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast. Kimura resumed his pharmacology studies at the University of Nebraska in 1942 and went on to a 35-year career at Abbott Laboratories.
Additional alumni awards
Outstanding International Alumnus Award: Ronald Ng, 1993, New York City.
Family Tree Award: John Beall Family.
Nebraska Women’s Leadership Network Alumna of the Year: Mari Lane Gewecke, 1980, Lincoln.
Doc Elliott Award: James D. Carr, professor emeritus of chemistry, Lincoln.
Distinguished Service Award: Richard Tempero, 1959, 1962, Indianapolis.
Student awards
Charlotte Kramer Foreign Study Scholarship: Madeline Montgomery, Littleton, Colo.
Jack Miller Scholarships: Betsy Hardin, McCook, and Michaela Niemeyer, Oregon, Wis.
Roy and Catherine Yaley Award: Kallie Speltz, St. Joseph, Mo.
Vann Student Leadership Award: Emily Murtaugh, Omaha.
Shane Osborn Award: Mary Marsolek, Lincoln.
Nebraska Women’s Leadership Network Collegian of the Year: Ashley McAndrew, Lincoln.
