Students Receive 2022 SIU System Distinguished Service Awards

May 02, 2022

Students Receive 2022 SIU System Distinguished Service Awards

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Four students from SIU Carbondale, SIU School of Law and SIU School of Medicine, received the 2022 SIU System Distinguished Service Awards at the SIU Board of Trustees on April 28 . In addition, 10 students obtained an honorable mention.

The SIU System, the SIU Board of Trustees, and the SIU System Student Advisory Board (SSAB) sought applications from students who have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to service for the benefit of their campus, community, and the IUS system. SSAB selected one undergraduate and one graduate student from the SIU Carbondale and SIU Edwardsville campuses and one student each from the SIU School of Law, the SIU School of Medicine, the School of Dentistry from the SIU and the SIU School of Pharmacy.

The 2022 SIU System Distinguished Service Award recipients from SIU Carbondale, SIU School of Law and SIU School of Medicine are:

• Tristan Worker, December 2021 Marketing graduate, is the SIU Carbondale Undergraduate Student Recipient. Workman worked at the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and the Office of Innovation and Economic Development to serve as a consultant to 50 local Southern Illinois businesses. Additionally, he served as President of the Saluki Entrepreneur Corps and helped create SIU Carbondale’s first virtual pitch competition in fall 2020, which allowed students to pitch their innovative ideas for the opportunity to win funding from startup to help fund and advance their vision. Workman also helped develop co-working space programs at the Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center.
• Anna Wilcoxen, a doctoral candidate in the School of Communication Studies, is the recipient of SEU Carbondale Graduate Studies. Wilcoxen served as president of Graduate Assistants United from 2019 to 2021 and held other leadership positions such as grievance officer, treasurer and secretary. While president of the graduate student union, Wilcoxen was the lead negotiator on the 2020-2021 Impact Bargaining Team, which negotiated contract changes for graduate assistants due to COVID-19. Wilcoxen has had an influential voice on the working conditions of graduate students on the college campus. They were also editors of the introductory Communication Studies 101 coursebook which is used by hundreds of students. Wilcoxen has also been involved in community projects like Carbondale Spring and Y’ll Rock Carbondale.
• Barra Madden, a fourth-year medical student, is the recipient of the SIU School of Medicine. She is heavily involved in the Physician Pipeline Preparatory Program (P4), which is a high school pipeline program in Springfield. Throughout the pandemic, she has been very active in promoting vaccination awareness in many local agencies and churches. She collaborated with the NAACP to organize medical student volunteers to help run free vaccination clinics to help local students return to school. She is president of the local chapter of the Student National Medical Association, which helps promote medicine in underrepresented communities. She worked with the City of Springfield to use CARES Act resources to partner with local Black-owned restaurants to serve hot meals each week in underserved areas of the community. In addition, she served as chair of the medical student chapter of the Illinois State Medical Society’s Committee Against Systematic Racism.
• Morgan Wiggins, a third-year law student, is the recipient of the SIU Law School. Wiggins has dedicated herself to a range of services in support of her local community. She volunteers with the Department of Public Advocacy at the Paducah, Kentucky, trial office. For the past two years, she has volunteered at the Lotus Children’s Advocacy and Sexual Violence Resource Center in Paducah and the SIU Domestic Violence Clinic. She has volunteered internationally in El Salvador with Starfish Orphan Ministries to help feed the homeless and build homes. She has also traveled to Belize and the Philippines to teach children their basic rights and provide basic sex education.

Ten students from SEU Carbondale, School of Law and School of Medicine earned honorable mentions. They are:

Sydney Leno, first-year medical student, SIU School of Medicine. During her short stay at the Carbondale campus, she helped establish and organize a food bank for the School of Medicine. She helped organize a variety of programs to celebrate Black History Month, including a panel discussion, film screenings, and a book club session for first-year medical students.

Matthew Mannion, fourth-year medical student, SIU School of Medicine. He sits on the board of the Physician Pipeline Preparatory Program (P4). Mannion led a student initiative to establish a medical student research program within the medical school to help students prepare for their national board exams.

Kamaria Coleman, third-year medical student, SIU School of Medicine. She is the coordinator of the Marginalized Students Network and co-facilitator of the formation of the anti-racism task force. She is president of the National Student Medical Association. Additionally, she served as a Health Ambassador for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and worked with the local NAACP and the medical school’s Department of Family and Community Medicine to assist with back-to-school and immunizations. .

Loren Pack, third-year law student, UES Law School. Pack is a legal intern at the Jackson County State’s Attorney’s Office. She played a critical role as President of Operations and Communications for SIU Law School’s OUTLaw, an organization that promotes the rights and inclusion of LGBTA+ people and their allies through legal advocacy and advocacy. developing policies and practices that establish equality and inclusion. She is working on an Illinois task force that will implement OUTLaw programming in all law schools in the state.

Chloe Goldbach, Ph.D. Candidate, Counseling Psychology at SIU Carbondale. Goldbach is also a Celia M. Howard Fellow for the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute. She was responsible for women’s, gender and sexuality studies and, in this capacity, organized community-wide events on transgender and non-binary issues. She is an internship therapist in the counseling and psychology services at the university and focuses on LGBTQ+ clients, clients with eating and body image issues, and clients with a history of sexual trauma.

Olivia Hood, Masters Student, Public Health, SIU Carbondale. Hood is chair of the university’s leadership development program. She volunteers at the Gary Learning Institute in Carbondale. From 2018 to 2022, Hood served as Director of Service for Timmy Global Health. She has dedicated many hours to educating the community on public health issues such as flu shots, mental health awareness, and blood drives.

Dianah McGreehan, Ph.D. Candidate, School of Communication Studies, SIU Carbondale. She is president of the Graduate and Professional Student Council and past president of the graduate student union, GA United. In the fall of 2020 and 2021, McGreehan chaired the Diversity Week planning committee and helped coordinate and plan over 20 events, which celebrated diversity, equity and inclusion on campus. To ensure the success of Diversity Week last fall, McGreehan personally raised $25,000 in sponsorships.

Nelson Fernandez, senior, mechanical engineering, SIU Carbondale. Fernandez is the founder and project manager of the university’s Green Roof Project, which helped install a smart rooftop irrigation system and install temporary wind turbines across campus.

patrick murphy, graduated in December 2021 with a degree in political science and a specialization in public service and pre-law. He has served on a variety of organizations and committees, including President of the Omega Delta Fraternity and President of Undergraduate Student Government. He was also past president of the United Nations Association of the University and participated in local and statewide elections.

Riley Sander, senior, communication disorders and science. Sanders served as president of the Student Alumni Council; secretary of the National Speech Language Hearing Association and ambassador of Saluki. She is a University Excellence Scholar and a member of the University Honors Program. She will graduate summa cum laude in May 2022.