Abington students earn academic, leadership awards

Renaijah Purvis

Penn State Abington student Renaijah Purvis, center, received the Exemplary Leadership Award at the 2022 Awards and Leadership event.

Credit: Penn State

ABINGTON, Pa. — Penn State Abington marked the closing of the spring semester by honoring its high-achieving students during the campus’ annual Awards and Leadership event, held in the Sutherland Building auditorium. 

Chancellor Margo DelliCarpini praised students for their dedication and hard work. 

“You embody the core values of academic excellence, community engagement, diversity and inclusive excellence, and ethical learning. You understand the transformational capacity of education to forge a better future for yourselves, your families, and the world,” she said. 

The awards included: 

Eric A. and Josephine S. Walker Award

Junior Angelea Francesco earned the prestigious award, which recognizes a student whose outstanding qualities of character, scholarship, leadership and citizenship have been directed into programs and services that have positively influenced students and have contributed to the prestige and well-being of their campus and to the reputation of the University a whole. Francesco was honored for her academic accomplishments as well as her work with transgender and nonconforming populations.

Exemplary Leadership Award

Six students were selected to receive this honor for their work in classrooms and with organizations, athletics and the community, as well as positively influencing fellow students and contributing to the educational mission of Abington and the University. This year’s winners are Valara Cheristin, Roman Nagirniak, Renaijah Purvis, Jamie Marino, Aashka Patel, and Linda Zhang. 

Abington Honors Program 

Sixty-three Abington students successfully completed the honors program. These students have maintained a 3.3 cumulative grade-point average in a curriculum that includes rigorous honors coursework over four semesters. 

Presidents’ Awards 

  • Walker Award: Established in 1960, the Walker Award is presented annually to undergraduates and provisional students who have earned a 4.00 (A) cumulative grade-point average based on at least 12 graded Penn State credits completed by the end of the fall semester of the academic year in which the award is given. Candidates are eligible for this award if they have not exceeded 35 total credits earned. Sixty-eight students received this award. 

  • Sparks Award: This award is presented annually to those sophomore undergraduate degree candidates who have earned a 4.00 (A) cumulative grade-point average based on at least 36 graded Penn State credits completed by the end of the fall semester of the academic year the award is given. Candidates are eligible for this award if they have not exceeded 59 total credits earned. Eleven students received this award: Valeria M. Calderone, Ryan C. Gaffney, Alyson S. Harvey, Yuze Jiang, Lasha Kaliashvili, Zhen Ma, Eva Pavloska, Katrina A. Robinson, Alysse Tucker, Rohit Walia, and Pegasus H. Yang. 

  • Evan Pugh Scholar Award: The Evan Pugh award is presented to juniors and seniors in the upper 0.5% of their classes who have completed at least 48 Penn State credits at the end of the fall semester of the academic year the award is given. Candidates are eligible if they have been full-time undergraduate students for at least four semesters prior to selection. Ten students received the award: Samantha F. Antell, Anthony P. Bryant, Suihan Gao, Danielle Hur, Lauren A. O’Neill, Jessica Peskin, Kimberly R. Rae, Sorelle H. Sax, Stephanie H. Ulm, and Wei Zhou. 

The students who were honored at the event included Dhruv Parekh and Avi Patel, the joint recipients of the Dr. Harvey S. and June T. Koch Scholarship. The pair have been close friends since high school and maintained their relationship while in college. They both work for the campus office of information technology. The Koch scholarship provides financial assistance to outstanding students enrolled in the information sciences and technology program.  

About Penn State Abington 

Penn State Abington provides an affordable, accessible and high-impact education resulting in the success of a diverse student body. It is committed to student success through innovative approaches to 21st-century public higher education within a world-class research university. With more than 3,000 students, Penn State Abington is a residential campus that offers baccalaureate degrees in 23 majors, undergraduate research, the Schreyer honors program, NCAA Division III athletics and more. 

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