EDUCATION NOTES
Students and faculty from The College of St. Scholastica, along with a Duluth advocacy organization for people who are homeless, have received awards from the Minnesota chapter of a national higher education organization promoting civic leadership. Campus Compact announced the winners of the 2020 Presidents’ Engaged Campus Awards . Nationally, this year’s awards include over 100 honorees selected by 38 member college and university presidents in Campus Compact. This includes three honorees from The College of St. Scholastica, as recognized by Minnesota Campus Compact:
Thomas Morgan, winner of the Civic Engagement Award. Morgan is a professor in St. Scholastica’s Global, Cultural and Language Studies department and directs St. Scholastica’s Alworth Center for the Study of Peace and Justice. For many years, the Center’s annual speaker series has brought internationally known authors, artists, scientists and activists together with community members, students, faculty and staff, to discuss the most compelling issues in modern society. This year’s focus is criminal justice in the United States.
Andrew Bailey is the winner of the Student Leadership Award. He was a 2019 Phillips Scholar and is the College’s Student Government Association president. As a Phillips Scholar, Bailey created leadership development for rising 7th and 8th grade students by designing a training program that empowered them to become leaders in their schools and communities. In his Student Government Association leadership role, he advocates tirelessly for students on topics such as equity, affordability and mental health.
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CHUM, or Churches United in Ministry, is the winner of the Community Partner Award. Under the leadership of executive director Lee Stuart, CHUM serves 8,000 low-income, homeless, hungry or otherwise marginalized community members each year by providing emergency shelter, food and street outreach. St. Scholastica partners with CHUM by putting Catholic Social Teaching into action. Campus Ministry student leaders work as CHUM Delegates, organizing efforts through education, advocacy, and service.
LEARNING NOTES
A writing center tutor at The College of St. Scholastica has been named the top student employee at the College as well as in the state of Minnesota. Katelynne Schatz, a senior English and secondary education major from Kettle River, has worked for the Rose Warner Writing Center under the supervision of center director Steven Backus for three years. In his nominating form, Backus praised her communication skills, welcoming personality, and poised and mature demeanor. He called her hardworking, honest, fair and dependable. Schatz plans to become an English teacher. In addition to being named St. Scholastica’s Student Employee of the Year, she was named the Student Employee of the Year for Minnesota by the Midwest Association of Student Employment Administrators.
The Northern Minnesota Robotics Conference (NMRC) is pleased to announce our 2020 Conference All-Academic Team. The NMRC All-Academic Award program recognizes the academic excellence of participating high school students in the Northern Minnesota Robotics Conference. To earn NMRC All-Academic Team honors, a student must possess a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher for this current year. This honor is open to students in grade levels 9-12. In addition to the GPA requirement a student must meet all varsity level “Lettering” requirements set by their team or school district as well. Students are able to receive this award on an annual basis. Winners include:
Team 3054 / Ice Storm from Cook County High School — Junior: John Vander Heiden Sophomore: Olivia Nesgoda
Team 5253 / Backwoods Bots from Big Fork High School — Senior: Andie Chase Junior: Ashton Powell Sophomore: Michelle Holloway Freshman: Lily Danielson
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Team 5653 / Iron Mosquitoes from Northeast Range High School — Senior: Lara Poderzay Juniors: Kaleb Kappes-Bliss, Oskar Koivisto, Phoebe Morgan, Ethan Zaitz
Team 6132/Iron Rangers from Crosby-Ironton High School — Seniors: Brady Louks, James Stirewalt, Logan Rasmussen and Jenna Rasmussen Junior: Alex Schmidt Sophomores: Morgan Leblanc and David Ringhand
Team 6453 / Bog Bots from Kelliher High School — Junior: Hailey Brambrink Freshmen: Evan Waldo and Cooper Brambrink
Chantell “Chanty” Armijo-Cruz, a student leader at The College of St. Scholastica, has been named a Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact, a national coalition of colleges and universities working to advance the public purposes of higher education. Armijo-Cruz is one of 290 students nationwide who make up the 2020-2021 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows. Armijo-Cruz, a junior at St. Scholastica, is double-majoring in Social Work and Psychology. St. Scholastica President Barbara McDonald, Ed.D, nominated Armijo-Cruz.
The Newman Civic Fellowship is a yearlong program for student leaders who demonstrate a commitment to finding solutions for challenges facing communities locally, nationally, and internationally. Newman Civic Fellows gain a variety of learning, training and networking opportunities that emphasize personal, professional, and civic growth, including being part of a national conference. The fellowship also provides fellows with pathways to apply for exclusive scholarship and post-graduate opportunities.
Armijo-Cruz served as vice president of the Student Government Association in 2019-20, and in April 2020 she was elected SGA president for the 2020-21 school year. She previously served as Senate Diversity Chair. She is actively involved in the Latinx Student Union as the treasurer and serves as a Multicultural Leadership Orientation mentor and Youth Theology Institute leader/mentor. She is a recipient of St. Scholastica’s Sister Timothy Kirby Social Justice Scholarship. She was integral in initiating the Professional Clothing Closet, which coordinates donated clothing for students, and serves as its manager. She has actively worked on the Gender Inclusive Restroom Project, which has identified gender-inclusive restrooms on campus and made changes to signage to increase accessibility to trans and non-binary persons.
The Newman Civic Fellowship is named for the late Frank Newman, one of Campus Compact’s founders, who was a tireless advocate for civic engagement in higher education. In the spirit of Dr. Newman’s leadership, Campus Compact member presidents and chancellors may nominate one student from their institution for the fellowship.
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The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines, inducted new members including Daniel Hawbaker of Washburn at St. Norbert College and Maluhia Siers of Duluth at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Brandon Peterson, of Ladysmith, was one of nine Western Technical College construction and industrial trades apprentices that received a $1,500 scholarship from Ascendium Education Group, a non-profit organization that helps students across the country repay federal student loans. The scholarship money comes from the Tools of the Trade Apprentice Scholarship program, which helps apprentices purchase tools, clothing, and equipment vital to their trades.
