Kutztown

Kutztown University celebrated recipients of its annual Chambliss Academic Achievement Awards in a ceremony recently in McFarland Student Union.

Areas in which achievement can occur include: successfully completed research projects, original artwork of high quality, artistic performances (music, chorus, drama, etc.) of high quality, original writing in literature or meritorious writing in other fields, noteworthy athletics, and outstanding service to the KU community.

Specially designed coin medallions of gold, silver and copper were presented to the students.

Copper Medal Recipients include:

Corrine Kula of Allentown received a bachelor’s degree in crafts with a specialization in ceramics and textiles in May.

Kula received the Copper Chambliss Student Academic Achievement Award 2016 in the category of original artwork of high quality.

Her artwork has been purchased by faculty, staff and the art department, and she has received high praise on her work.

Her work has also been exhibited at the Berks County Guild of Craftsman show and at the Eckhaus Gallery in Kutztown.

She was selected to exhibit her work and represent KU at the Philadelphia Museum of Art craft show in the fall of 2014, 2015 and 2017 and in The Keystone Collegiate exhibition at the Broadway Center for the Arts and Technology in 2016.

Kula received the Pawling Award for Excellence in Crafts, an internship/fellowship at the Clay Studio in Philadelphia, a Beirman Mentorship Scholarship and a scholarship for summer study at Peter’s Valley School of Craft.

Kula is applying to the Arrowmont School of Crafts and plans to pursue a master’s degree.

Matthew Kuna of Allentown graduated this May with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education with a focus on Spanish and English as a second language.

Kuna received the Copper Chambliss Student Academic Achievement Award 2016 in the category of successfully completed research projects.

His original research entitled “The Effects of a Dynamic Art Education Program on Middle Level Students” was conducted over a two year period.

He received the Who’s Who Among College Students honor, the Levi Gresh Scholarship, the President F. Javier Cevallos Latin American Scholarship, the College of Education Recognition Award, the Bartholomew Freshman Composition Award, the Class of 1954 Scholarship and the Board of Governor’s Tuition Scholarship, and was a member of Sigma Delta Pi (National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society), the Catholic Newman Council, the National Association for Multicultural Education, the Association for Middle Level Education.

Kuna plans to pursue a teaching position in a high-risk area and make a difference in the lives of under-serviced students and their families.

Silver Medal Recipients include:

Anna Behm of Kutztown also graduated this May with a bachelor’s degree in leisure and sports studies.

Behm received the Silver Chambliss Student Academic Achievement Award 2016 in the category of noteworthy achievements in athletics.

She is a two-time All-America First Team selection from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association and was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Athlete of the Year.

Her 22 goals are the second-most in KU single-season history, she ranked second in Division II in scoring and her nine assists in 2015 are fifth-most in KU single-season history, while her 53 points rank second; her 56 goals and 129 points both rank third all-time in program history.

She has been on the dean’s list multiple semesters and taken on the president role within KU’S Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, a role in which she has raised money for KU athletic events and organized an annual Main Street cleanup and multiple canned food drives.

Behm wants to acquire a position in athletics; she is interning with USA Field Hockey.

Lauren Sobczak of Fogelsville receive her bachelor’s degree in secondary English and special education in May.

Sobczak received the Silver Chambliss Student Academic Achievement Award 2016 in the category of successfully completed research projects.

Sobczak conducted research on Shakespeare’s Later Plays and presented her research at the Ohio Valley Shakespeare Festival Conference at Ohio State University; her work was also featured in the Lehigh Valley Vanguard literary magazine.

Sobczak has been a member of the KU Honors program and the dean’s list, and is a recipient of the Cyrus E. Beekey Scholarship, the Dr. Walter Nott English Scholarship, the M. Rick Smith Undergraduate Award, the Ruth Bonner Scholarship and the Penn Northeast Conference Scholarship.

Sobczak plans to pursue employment as a secondary education/special ed teacher.

Lisamarie Feliciano of Allentown is the recipient of the Copper Chambliss Student Academic Achievement Award.

Feliciano received her bachelor’s degree in biology with a focus on pre-medicine and health careers in December 2015.

She conducted a research project in which she evaluated different methods of cleaning bird feeders with and without organic debris to remove pathogenic Salmonella; the study addresses the concern over the spread of several diseases believed to be transmitted through bird feeders, and the relatively little knowledge of proper hygiene methods for feeders.

Feliciano was the founder and organizer of KU’s Global Brigades club and trip to Panama; Global Brigades is an organization that facilitates university students volunteering to help small communities around the world meet their health needs.

During the Panama trip, which provided aid and medical care to approximately 350 impoverished people, she developed an educational activity station to teach good hygiene tips.

Feliciano was chosen as a scholar in the summer medical and dental education program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and received the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Scholarship in 2014 and 2015 and the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties Scholarship in 2014.

Feliciano wants to become a physician in an underserved area.