UW-Stevens Point Students Honored for Excellence in Academic Achievement

Saturday, May 10th, 2025 -- 12:00 PM

The following students at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point were honored for excellence in academic achievement:

Senior interior architecture students Sklyer Mulder and Amelia Retzlaff recently won first place in the Student Hospitality/Retail Category at the International Interior Design Association-WI Celebrate in Design Awards. This award celebrates the talent and hard work of the student members and is open to all IIDA-WI student members attending a Wisconsin college or university.  This first-place award earned these students a $1,250 scholarship sponsored by the IIDA-WI Susan Wohlitz Memorial Fund, established to mentor development of young professionals in the interior design profession.

Students Brooke Peterson and Mike Brierton won first place and a $2,000 cash prize at the 4th annual Wisconsin RMA Commercial Lending Case Competition in April 2025 at the Wisconsin Bankers Association in Madison. The Sentry School of Business and Economics students competed against 20 other students from universities across the state. The competition provides college students with the opportunity to network with industry leaders while gaining insight into credit risk management and its many facets. Mentors work with teams to analyze a commercial credit scenario and then present that scenario in a credit approval memo and two verbal presentations. Peterson and Brierton were matched with mentors from First State Bank during the competition and Assistant Professor of Accounting Bo DeDeker served as the faculty adviser.

Several UWSP students in the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) were honored at the North Central Regional level and have advanced to the NATS National Preliminary round. These students include Cami Errami, first place, lower high school commercial theatre and second place, lower high school musical theatre; Jolie Swanson, first place, second year collegiate commercial music; Kathryn Lamm, third year, second year collegiate classical; Becca Guth, first place, third year collegiate commercial music and second place, third year collegiate musical theatre; Reagan Conklin, first place, third year collegiate classical; Giovanni Anello IV, second place, third year collegiate classical; Megan Griffith, second place, fourth/fifth year collegiate musical theatre and fourth place, fourth/fifth year collegiate classical; Jaden Richards, first place, fourth/fifth year collegiate classical.

Student violinist Ashley Springer earned second place in the Schubert Club Strings competition out of six finalists. The Schubert Club Student Scholarship Competition, held each spring, awards a total of over $70,000 annually to young musicians to be used for further musical education. The competition has since grown to fifteen different categories with three cash prizes awarded for each category to be used for further musical education. The winners of each category are also invited to perform in the annual Winners Recital, Musicians on the Rise.

Senior Serena Alexander won the 2025 Melvin R. Laird Exceptional Artist Award. This award annually recognizes and rewards an exceptional graduating UWSP student in performing or visual arts by providing a $5,000 investment in his or her potential to become a successful leading artist in his or her field. Established by the Hon. Melvin R. Laird and members of the Laird Endowment Advisory Board, the award serves as a continued commitment to the Laird Art Leadership program associated with Laird Leadership Day. Laird was the former U.S. Secretary of Defense under President Nixon and Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District representative. After graduating this spring with drama and psychology majors, Alexander plans to move to New York City this fall and use the award for an outdoor immersive production of Dave Malloy’s “Ghost Quartet.” She is excited to enter the independent/self-produced theatre scene in New York while also working as a director and stage manager in the city.

Family and consumer sciences student Tessa Wheat is this year’s recipient of the 2025 CPS Student Heroes Award. She turned her personal journey with the rare Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome into a passion for helping others as an advocate for children facing health challenges. The Dick Cable and Judy Cable Anderson Student Heroes Award honors one College of Professional Studies student each year who has done something heroic by overcoming a challenge, advocating for something bigger than themselves or helping someone in need. This award originated from gifts made by friends and family in honor of Casey Gazdik. The award includes a $1,000 scholarship.

Students Meghan Taylor, David Coleman, Jessica Ryun, Grace Wilson, Prem Janssen, Kevin Peters, Leah Edson and Michael Mcclure competed with seven other teams in the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium Collegiate Rocket Competition. On April 26, the Pointer Rocketeers team had a successful flight, obtaining the best flight score of 100 and accomplished all the goals of the competition. That included a safe flight – launch, stable ascent, dual deployment and full recovery. The rocket reached a maximum altitude of 2,616 feet.

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