2 math majors take top student awards
Two Austin Peay State University students who are majoring in mathematics and who will graduate May 2, 2008, have received the top student awards during APSUs annual Honors and Awards Ceremony held April 22 in the Music/Mass Communication Building Concert Hall.The 2008 William McClure Drane Award went to Amy Dexter, Cookeville. A transfer from Dyersburg State Community College, Diana Whitson received the Harvill-Civitan Citizenship Award for 2008.
Two Austin Peay State University students who are majoring in mathematics and who will graduate May 2, 2008, have received the top student awards during APSU's annual Honors and Awards Ceremony held April 22 in the Music/Mass Communication Building Concert Hall.
The 2008 William McClure Drane Award went to Amy Dexter, Cookeville. A transfer from Dyersburg State Community College, Diana Whitson received the Harvill-Civitan Citizenship Award for 2008.
The Drane Award goes to the most outstanding graduate, as determined by faculty vote. The Harvill-Civitan Award, also chosen by the faculty, is based on outstanding citizenship during the recipient's collegiate career.
With a near-perfect overall grade-point average, Dexter will graduate summa cum laude with a major in mathematics and minor in photography. A four-year Dean's List Scholar, she received several academic scholarships, including the Academic, Department of Mathematics, Jack Hunt and Jim Ridenhour scholarships.
Dexter received the Outstanding Sophomore Award for Mathematics and was a member of Pi Mu Epsilon, Phi Kappa Phi and Gamma Beta Phi honoraries. The summer after her junior year, she was chosen as an Arizona Summer Undergraduate Research participant.
Her artistic talents gained her an Honorable Mention Award at the Riverfest Art Exhibit and at the APSU Student Art Show. During her senior year, she was chosen for an internship with the Downtown Artists Co-op and had a solo exhibit of her art at the Roxy Regional Theater.
As a student leader, Dexter was president of the Galois Math Club as well as secretary of the Student Art League during her junior and senior years. She was a peer mentor for APSU 1000, a Welcome Orientation assistant and a participant in the Network Leadership Program.
She was a student worker in the math department, a mathematical/computer technician and a math tutor. As a volunteer, she assisted with the APSU Phonathon, G.H.O.S.T. and AP Day. She also organized a canned food drive and a weekly fundraiser for the Galois Math Club.
Other Drane Award nominees were Mary Clement, Betsy Hall, Heather McDonough, Kelvin Pollard, Paul Maizan, Virginia Penner, Optimum Robinson and Sara Sexton.
Whitson, the Harvill-Civitan Award winner, is a native of Trimble in Dyer County.
A Dean's List Scholar, she received the Middle Tennessee Mathematics Teachers Pre-Service Scholarship and the Neil Ross Memorial Scholarship during her senior year. She also was recognized for Excellence in Praxis II Mathematics Content Knowledge.
A member of the Galois Mathematics Club as well as Pi Mu Epsilon and Phi Kappa Phi honoraries, Whitson worked as a summer mathematics instructor for Tri-County Upward Bound, a summer enrichment program. She also worked 20 hours a week as a mathematics lab attendant and tutor for the Developmental Studies Program. She also served Disability Services as a math tutor for the visually impaired and as a note-taker.
Other 2008 nominees for the Harvill-Civitan Citizenship Award were Tiffany McGinnis and Jessica Rone. -- Dennie B. Burke