Brandywine

Brandywine student leaders honored at annual awards banquet

Credit: Chris Downey. All Rights Reserved.

MEDIA, Pa. — Penn State Brandywine students who have impacted the campus through their service and leadership were honored at an awards banquet at Springfield Country Club on April 26. The annual leadership banquet celebrates the achievements of students who are involved with clubs, student government and campus programs.

Sara Hallahan, a third-year human development and family studies major, received the Eric A. and Josephine S. Walker Award. This award recognizes a student whose outstanding qualities of character, scholarship, leadership and citizenship have been directed into programs and services that have positively influenced fellow students and have contributed to the prestige and well-being of their campus and the University as a whole.

Hallahan has been involved with many clubs at Brandywine since she set foot on campus her first year, including Brandywine Benefitting THON, Lion Ambassadors and the Student Government Association. This year, she was president of Brandywine Benefitting THON, helping the organization raise over $36,000 for pediatric cancer research. She was also treasurer of the Student Government Association and chaired the Student Initiated Fee committee. In addition, she was a Lion Guide peer mentor, a teaching assistant in psychology and first-year seminar courses, a part-time student worker in Student Affairs and an assistant in the Brandywine Child Development Lab.

One of her nominators wrote: “Sara is well-rounded in her activities, and her impact has been far reaching. She brings a positive attitude to everything she does. She is well-liked by her fellow students, and she is helpful to others whenever she can be. Sara always brings a high level of dedication to her activities and her service to our campus. She represents the best of Brandywine and would be a worthy recipient of the Walker Award.”

The following students were awarded the President Walker award, which recognizes undergraduate students who achieve a 4.0 grade-point average (GPA) their first semester:

  • Denise Allyon Lopez
  • Olivia Bowers
  • William Collison
  • Marissa Contino
  • Nicholas Curioli
  • Dylan Emery
  • Addisyn Fluckey
  • Thomas Gallogly
  • Matthew Gunnell
  • Lex Guo
  • Sadie Harvey
  • Morgan Harwood
  • Shayla Howell
  • Kira Kenvin
  • Cameron Mathers
  • Precious Muriuki
  • Martin Naugle
  • Benjamin Nguyen
  • Jeremy Palmore
  • Akshay Rasal
  • Vinay Riat
  • Juan Sanchez-Antona
  • Shayari Sarkar
  • John Schild
  • John Tierney
  • Andrew Wioskowski
  • Kyra Witmer

The President Sparks Award was given to the following students who earned a 4.0 cumulative GPA based on at least 36 graded Penn State credits completed by the end of the fall semester of the academic year in which the award is given:

  • Lucas Ballenger
  • Sachin Goindi
  • Emerson Hull
  • Alexander Keppell
  • Victoria Martinez Garcia
  • Timothy McClure
  • Kenneth Nguyen
  • Katherine Pao
  • Iman Shaikh

The Evan Pugh Scholar Award was given to students who are in the upper 0.5 percent of their respective classes of third- or fourth-year students:

  • Gabrielle Davis
  • Sara Hallahan
  • Wyatt Neikam
  • Jashanpreet Singh

The Emerging Student Leader Award was presented to a student who has shown growth in their campus leadership abilities and has contributed to the Brandywine community in their first or second year:

  • Victoria Martinez Garcia

Individual leadership awards were presented to the following students who demonstrated leadership qualities and contributed to the campus community and student organizations:

  • MiataMarie Alie
  • Sara Hallahan
  • Kyra Martin
  • Timothy McClure

The Student Worker/Employee of the Year Award was presented to students for doing exceptional work in their on-campus job:

  • Ava Clements - Office of Strategic Communications
  • Natalie DiMario - Office of Strategic Communications

The Student Organization President of the Year Award was presented to the following students for their exceptional leadership in advancing the organization’s goals:

  • Tatiana Lewis - Black Student Union
  • Stephen Terry - Technology Club

The Student Organization Advisor of the Year Award was presented to advisors for their guidance and support in fostering organizational growth and leadership development:

  • Don Brennan, Dana Hallahan and Patton Vo - Brandywine Benefitting THON
  • Pamela King - Technology Club

The Student Organization of the Year Award was presented to a registered student organization that has impacted and contributed to student life through programming, advocacy initiatives and work on campus:

  • Brandywine Benefitting THON

The Student Organization Program of the Year Award was presented to a registered student organization that held an event, program or activity that impacted and contributed to student life and the student experience:

  • LionLeads Conference - Student Government Association

The Student Commitment to Equity and Inclusion Award was presented to a student whose leadership and involvement demonstrates a strong commitment to equity and inclusion, helping create a more welcoming campus community:

  • Shams Zia

Residence Life presented the Resident Assistant of the Year Award:

  • Madison Ferguson

Brandywine’s Center for Social Impact honored its student interns and Alternative Spring Break participants:

  • MiataMarie Alie
  • Prinkansh Chinta
  • Pravnav Dikonda
  • Remii Harris
  • Joshua JeanPierre
  • Jayden Lee
  • Austin Margolin
  • Ishmael-Adib Martin
  • Katherine Morales
  • Pratyaya Prateek
  • Michael Romeo
  • Siani Selby
  • Zibo Senome-Bridgers
  • Aryn Stringle
  • Ja’Sere Sumpter-King
  • Marianna Vo
  • Shiro Waithaka
  • Tamyre Washington
  • Alicia Wesley
  • Matteo Yusuf

Student Affairs recognized the following students for their involvement with the Student Government Association:

  • Tejas Chigurupati, 2025-26 president
  • Madison Ferguson, 2025-26 vice president
  • Timothy McClure, 2025-26 secretary
  • Sara Hallahan, 2025-26 treasurer
  • Charles Carlini
  • Joseph Engelbert
  • Morgan Gallagher
  • Abhinav Jonnala
  • Melissa Moreno-Hernandez
  • Joe Pretti
  • Akshay Rasal
  • John Schild
  • Stephen Terry
  • Matteo Yusuf

Patton Vo, director of campus development, and Jon Westman, a maintenance worker, were given the Impact in Action Award.

Tatiana Lewis and Tayvon Reid were inaugurated as the Student Government Association president and vice president for 2026-27.