11 honored with Northern's highest student award

From Montana State University-Northern

Montana State University-Northern honored 11 students with the Student Excellence Award Friday during Northern's Annual Awards Day celebration.

The Student Excellence Award is the highest honor that a student can receive at MSU-Northern.

In order to be selected, a student must meet the following criteria:

• Demonstrate a commitment to educational goals through academic achievement and participation in extracurricular activities

• Must have been enrolled at Northern for Fall 2014 semester and earned the equivalent of 60 semester credits by the end of spring 2015

• Must have a cumulative grade point average of 2.75

This year's recipients were:

• Rachelle Bennett will be graduating with a degree in elementary education and minors in reading and art after she completes her student teaching in Helena this fall. She hopes to teach first, second or third grade but will be happy with any grade level to begin her career. Bennett wants to earn her master's degree in administration, as she would like to become a principal within the next five to 10 years of her career. In the meantime, she plans on coaching high school girls' basketball, sharing her passion for the game with others. She is the daughter of Colette LeMieux.

• Hunter Chandler graduates in May with a degree in health and physical education. Chandler plans to become a full-time teacher and coach in Montana. He would like to coach football, wrestling and track throughout the school year. Chandler hopes to inspire his students and athletes to excel in all facets of life. Inspired by his former wrestling coach, Nate Laslovich, and a teacher/coach at Bozeman High School, Chandler decided to pursue a similar life path. He hopes one day to have a similar impact in kids' lives. Chandler's parents are Scott Chandler and Kim Lee.

• Garrett DeMers is two-time NAIA All-American, Academic All-American and team captain of the Lights wrestling team. DeMers will receive his degree in business administration with a minor in small business management in May. He plans to work for an established, ethical and socially responsible company that promotes employee advancement and growth. His spouse is Brittany Schoening.

• Shana Henry plans to teach on or near Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation when she completes her elementary education degree in May 2017. After teaching for a while, she would like to return to Northern for a master's degree in counseling. Henry would love to teach at Stone Child College in the education department. Her third goal is to earn a doctorate in education so she can show other women and people from her reservation that achieving a quality education is possible, no matter where a person comes from. Believing everyone should be afforded the opportunity to read and write, her ultimate goal is to give back to her people in the form of education.

• Matt McKeen will graduate in May with a degree in health and physical education. McKeen's goals after graduation are to obtain a full-time health and physical education position which utilizes his academic and life experiences. He also hopes to obtain a football coaching position where he can create the balance between winning and education. He is the son of Lorraine and Tim McKeen.

• Kyla McNamara plans to graduate in May 2017 with a degree in agricultural operations technology and a minor in small business management. After graduation, she wants to pursue a master's degree in soil science or pathology/entomology. Until then, she hopes to find a hands-on job where she can learn and gain more experience in agriculture. Eventually, McNamara plans to have her own farming operation to make her own waves in agriculture. She would like to stay in Montana as she sees this area as a hub of agricultural opportunities.

• Andrew Potter is graduating this summer with a degree in health promotion. He has played an active role during his time at Northern. He spent two years on the Student Senate and was the Student Body president his sophomore year. He was also instrumental in starting the dance club and was an Academic All-Conference member of the cross country team. He plans to continue his education so he can become a nurse with a specialty in trauma. After a few years of experience, Potter would like to work as a traveling nurse and then help on Mercy Ships that bring surgical care to needy people all around the world. He is the son of Belinda and Jim Potter.

• Scotti Ramberg will be graduating this May with a degree in criminal justice and a minor in community leadership. She is scheduled to take the Law School Admissions Test in June. In December she plans to apply to the Alexander Blewett III School of Law in Missoula. She would love to be a court-appointed guardian ad litem for children, as they really are the only people fighting for the best interest, with no partiality, of the child or children. She would also like to take up family law mediation as an attorney. A mediator can assess the situation of both parties and reason with each side - so no one feels like they lost, without winning in some way, because ultimately there is no wining in family law, someone always loses, she said. She wants to ensure that it is not the children who lose. Scotti is married to Ray Ramberg.

• Kilby "K.J." Rech has been the co-captain of the Lights basketball team for two years and plans to graduate in December with a degree in health promotion. Rech has volunteered throughout his college career and was the Trapper Award for Excellence recipient. This award is given to a student who exemplifies hard work in athletics, in the classroom and in the community. He is the son of Callie and Clint Rech.

• Lane Urick will be graduating in May 2017 majoring in civil engineering technology. After graduation, Urick plans to join the Sea Bees, which is the construction branch, of the Navy. Urick wants to gain real-life experience and other skills taught by the Navy. He plans to continue his education by getting a master's degree in an engineering field after his time with the Navy and eventually his doctorate in an engineering field. After completing his master's or doctorate, he wants to become an instructor and pass on his knowledge to the younger generations through teaching and, hopefully, coaching. He is the son of Debbie and Joe Urick.

• Phillip Quinn is in the Masters of Education, Counselor Education program and will be graduating this May. Quinn's primary goal is to acquire licensure as a licensed clinical professional counselor. His plan is to practice outpatient therapy until he reaches his required 3,000 hours. Quinn hopes to have an outpatient practice of his own working with children, families and adults. Prior to this, though, Quinn wants to continue advancing his career with his current employer developing his therapy skills and quality of service and moving into a supervisory role. This will allow more clinical training of others, and he will be able to share his skills and knowledge garnered through his education and experience. In the next few years, he hopes to pursue his doctorate in counseling psychology. He is married to Tiffany Quinn.