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TWU to recognize outstanding students at Honors Convocation
4/14/06
DENTON
— Texas Woman’s University will recognize student
artistry and academic excellence during Honors Convocation
ceremonies Thursday, April 20. Convocation begins at 10 a.m.
in the Margo Jones Performance Hall, located at Oakland and
Sawyer streets on TWU’s Denton campus.
Tina
Pustizzi-Meschko of Whitesboro will receive the Pauline Bishop
Leman Memorial Award for outstanding artistic achievement.
Outstanding Senior awards, which are based on academic excellence
and involvement in extracurricular activities, will go to
Shaina Porter of Granbury and Chelsea Pearce of Garland. Saunya
Bright, a master’s student from Montgomery, Ala., will
receive the Outstanding Graduate Student Award.
Tina
Pustizzi-Meschko
Ms.
Pustizzi-Meschko, an art major, is recognized as a leader
and a galvanizing force in the painting area of the TWU Department
of Visual Arts. Recognizing a need for a student group specifically
devoted to the needs of painters, she founded “Painters
at Large,” the newest student group in the Department
of Visual Arts. She also served as the group’s first
president.
Ms.
Pustizzi-Meschko has many juried and invitational exhibitions
to her credit, including a Best of Show Award at the Kennesaw
State University Juried Show in Kennesaw, Ga. She was invited
to exhibit her work in a one-person show at a commercial gallery
in Dallas in May. This exhibition also will serve as her bachelor
of fine arts (BFA) exhibition.
Gary Washmon, TWU professor of art, said Ms. Pustizzi-Meschko’s
work “exhibits a maturity of concept and style that
is very unusual at the undergraduate level. Tina is always
willing to push beyond the level of her previous work. She
is the type of student every teacher wants — someone
who thinks clearly about her artistic goals and who is willing
to work extremely hard to achieve those goals.”
Shaina
Porter
Ms.
Porter will graduate in May with a degree in biology, with
an emphasis in research. She holds a 3.889 grade point average
in her major, and plans to pursue her doctorate at the University
of Texas Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Science
in the fall.
Ms.
Porter was awarded the TWU Chancellor’s Scholarship
as an incoming freshman, and she recently was named a Chancellor’s
Student Research Scholar. She is active in numerous organizations,
including the Honors Scholar Program, Gamma Beta Phi honor
service organization, Beta Beta Beta Biological Honor Society
and the Athenian Honor Society, in which she served as president
in 2004-05. Ms. Porter completed the Summer Undergraduate
Research Program at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer
Center in 2005, where she participated in a mapping project
to delineate the location of the skin tumor promotion gene
in mice.
“Shaina
Porter has remarkable potential for success as a research
scientist,” said Dr. Heather Conrad-Webb, associate
professor of biology at TWU. “She has the academic ability,
the thirst for answers and determination necessary for a successful
career in biomedical research.”
Chelsea
Pearce
Ms.
Pearce will graduate in May with a bachelor of science in
health studies. She holds a 3.9 GPA, and plans to continue
her studies at TWU in the physical therapy graduate program
in Dallas.
Ms. Pearce is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi honor society
and the TWU Honors Scholar Program. She was named “Outstanding
Campus Leader” at the 2005 TWU Redbud Awards Festival,
and has served as an officer in the Athenian Honor Society.
“Chelsea
has dedicated herself to service here at TWU and within her
community,” said Dr. Guy Litton, director of the TWU
Honors Scholar Program. “She has skillfully combined
her volunteer service with North Texas Rehab, Veranda Assisted
Living, Denton Family Resource Center and TWU Student Health
Services with opportunities at each of those agencies for
professional development. In my mind, this demonstrates a
considerable amount of focus and maturity.”
Saunya
Bright
Ms.
Bright will graduate in August with a master of science/master
of business administration degree in institutional administration.
She carries an overall GPA of 3.906.
Ms.
Bright, a registered dietitian, currently holds the rank of
captain in the United States Air Force. She previously served
as chief of clinical dietetics at the First Fighter Wing Hospital
at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Va. Her goal is to one
day retire from her military career as a senior medical officer
in command of several medical treatment facilities. She hopes
to follow her military career with involvement in Veterans
Affairs medical leadership and policy, then return to Alabama
to teach nutrition and business.
Ms.
Bright is an active member of several professional organizations,
including the American Dietetic Association. Her activities
at TWU have included serving as vice president of the Nutrition
and Food Sciences Advisory Board and as a master’s student
representative on the TWU Graduate Council. She also is a
member of the Phi Kappa Phi honor society.
Ms.
Bright’s academic and research advisor Dr. Junehee Kwon,
assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food
Sciences, described her as “one of the most responsible
and self-motivated graduate students I ever had … We
are excited to observe how successful she will be in her future
leadership positions in dietetics and in U.S. military services,
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For Further Information
Contact:
Karen Garcia
Senior Copywriter
Tel: (940) 898-3456
e-mail: kgarcia@twu.edu |
