Drury University is home to a vast student body that are all intriguing, ambitious, individualistic and a delight to know. To showcase these varying personalities, the Mirror has created Panther Profiles, an outlet to showcase those within the campus, and to share their memories and experiences at Drury University.

On Wednesday, Apr. 28, Drury University hosted the 2021 Drury Awards in the FSC Ballroom. The Drury Awards ceremony is a school tradition. This ceremony recognizes a multitude of students for their accomplishments within the concluding academic year. With awards such as student employee of the year, various Greek life scholarships and RACA of the year, among many others.

The Mirror has chosen to highlight three of the winners of these prestigious awards. Those awards are as follows: The Diversity Award, Drury Security Responsibility Award, and The Drury Difference Maker.

The first award highlighted is the Diversity Award, which was given to junior Nikki Pastor. Pastor was announced and selected for this award by Dr. Rosalyn Thomas, who is the Diversity Support Services Coordinator at Drury University.

photo via Nikki Pastor

Pastor is extremely grateful for her nomination and recognition for this award. She would like to thank not only Dr. Thomas but Dr. Rebecca Miller and Dr. Allin Sorenson as well, for their work on the art galleries and supporting Pastor through her project.The project referred to are the art showcases titled “Race in America” and “Say Their Names”. These two galleries were run and led by Pastor.

In an interview, Pastor further elaborates on the showcases stating, “The two galleries were created as a response to the injustice that occurred over the summer with George Floyd’s death and the many injustices that occur beforehand. I wanted to do something to show my support and to talk about the racial issues in America. So, I thought of having an art gallery on campus and allow these topics to continue to be talked about in Springfield. The art galleries were something that Drury University and the community of Springfield needed.

The second winner of this article being highlighted is sophomore Austin Lemons, who was awarded the Drury Security Responsibility Award.

photo via Austin Lemons

Lemons currently works in the Drury University Security Office, and according to Chris Johns, the individual who presented Lemons with this award, he stated that he and other security officers trusted Austin enough to leave him in charge of the Security office. This is a notable achievement for a DU sophomore.

In a recent interview, Lemons described how his day-to-day job varied within the office stating, “The main thing is that I’m never sure what I am going to do for the day. I could spend the whole shift doing nothing but inputting registration forms into the computer. Another day I started by fielding a call by an embarrassed student having a plumbing emergency and then 30 minutes later had to contact multiple Drury departments including counseling services, SPD and our own security officers to address a situation.”

The third and final award winner showcased within this article is senior Megan Tersteeg. Tersteeg was awarded the Drury Difference Maker Award and was listed as a nominee for Outstanding Senior of the year.

Tersteeg shared her thoughts after the ceremony commenting, “I am very grateful for every opportunity Drury University has provided me with to get involved on campus and meet so many amazing people. Drury has allowed me to be involved with so many different types of organizations and clubs to experience everything the campus has to offer. Everyone was always willing to work with my busy schedule and still allow me to participate in every event and be involved as much as I can. This award would not have been possible without all of the incredible staff and students here at Drury.”

In another quote from this senior representative, Tersteeg reflects on her time at Drury University as it is coming to a close. “Drury has given me unforgettable memories with so many incredible individuals that make Drury what it is. This university has pushed me to become a stronger individual through experiences that challenged us past our comfort zone to expand our understanding of the world around us. Because of Drury, I have met lifelong friends and experiences that prepared me for my future career. I am very grateful for my time at Drury.”

Senior Nick Rauscher was the second winner of the Drury Difference Maker award and was reached out to for an interview as well. However, Rauscher did not respond. The Mirror congratulates him on his award.

Two of the organizers of the event, Chip Parker and Paul Hinkle, also have provided the full list of all awards and their winners which are as follows:

Student Employee of the Year… Matthew Dalton

Outstanding Orientation Leader… Mitchell Greer

Outstanding New Student Nominees… Amrut Iyengar, Jeremiah Jones, Tiffany Pierce, Quinn Vonder Haar, and Colin Years

Outstanding New Student… Nina Solakis

Drury Difference Maker Nominees… Hannah Adkins, Emma Briley, Esther George, Maclen Johnson, Haley Mueller and Emily Schulze

Drury Difference Makers… Nick Rauscher and Megan Tersteeg

The Diversity Award… Nikki Pastor

Drury Security Integrity Award… Maja Cabaravdic

Drury Security Responsibility Award… Austin Lemons

Drury Security Safety Partnership Award… Armaan Ahmed

Ronald A. Neville Outstanding Greek Service Endowed Scholarship… Matt Huston and Sally Masucci

Kappa Delta Marcia McKeller Mullis Endowed Scholarship… Madison Curtis, Hannah Gross, Alexandra Solomon and Gabriella Wuller

Janice Haas Pi Beta Phi Endowed Scholarship… Presley Groce

James Robert Horton Memorial Endowed Scholarship… Shaye Soderquist

Delta Delta Delta Endowed Scholarship… Kelsi Gelle and Quinn Vonder Haar

Alpha Phi Legacy Annual Scholarship… Hannah Adkins

Judith Short Anderson Memorial Scholarship… Hannah Adkins

Most Improved Student Organization… Think Green

Student Organization of the Year Nominees… Design-Build Club and The Drury Mirror

Student Organization of the Year… Student Music Therapy Association

Sorority President of the Year Nominees… Hope Boston and Macayla Schebaum

Sorority President of the Year… Camille Hall

Fraternity President of the Year… John Gray

Sorority Chapter of the Year Nominees… Kappa Delta

Sorority Chapter of the Year… Delta Delta Delta

Fraternity Chapter of the Year… Kappa Alpha

SGA Members of the Year… Haley Mueller and Quinn Vonder Haar

RACAs of the Year… Joseph Dale and Sydney Thompson

Outstanding Senior Finalists… Andrea Campbell, Hayley Cobb, Esther George, Alexis Gutierrez, Riley James, Maclen Johnson, Anna Meadows, Alexandria Pasternak, John Schupbach and Megan Tersteeg

Each nominee and winner should be extremely proud of their accomplishments within the 2020-2021 academic year whilst at Drury University. All of the individuals at this university are what make it individualistic and unique. And those staff and faculty who presented each award are extremely proud, and send their congratulations to all students on campus for completing such a strenuous year.

Article by Gabriella Wuller