Beth (Howard) Stubbs '00, President-Elect of the Westminster Alumni Council presented two Outstanding Senior Awards on behalf of the Alumni Association at the May 3, 2008 Commencement Ceremonies. The 2008 Seniors of the Year are
Jennifer Sanders and Andrew Chambers
Jennifer Sanders exemplifies the qualities of leadership and service that are the hallmark of a Westminster education. While she excels in the classroom and has conducted research at Harvard and Stanford, Jenn participates in a wide range of campus activities and service projects. She has been the student manager for the Hunter Activity Center and office assistant for Student Activities. She has spent two to six hours every week writing and designing the Healthy Graffiti publication for Health Services that you see posted around campus. She has been a writing lab tutor, a freshman seminar mentor, Alpha Chi Vice-President, Campus Activities Board Publicity Chair, Pi Mu Epsilon President, and an Omicron Delta Kappa member. She has been an active member of the local Habitat for Humanity and the First Baptist Church.
In her hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas, she has taught and mentored for their Summer Program for Youth, worked on community gardens through the organization InnerCity FutureNet, and volunteered at the Old State House Museum and Historic Arkansas Museum. This summer she will be a resident advisor for the Missouri Scholars Academy.
One of those nominating her for this honor described her in this way: “Jenn is definitely someone who prefers to work behind the scenes and make a difference without receiving praise for her excellence…but she is a perfect example of a student who has made the most of their time at Westminster and given as much back to the community (campus and beyond) than she has taken from it the past four years.”
Andrew Chambers has chosen to build on his outstanding academic success, learning outside the classroom through a variety of leadership positions over his four years at Westminster.
His leadership abilities were recognized early and he was named Outstanding Freshman. He later served as a mentor to incoming freshmen and is captain of the men’s soccer team. Within his fraternity, Kappa Alpha Order, he held offices overseeing education, philanthropy, academic scholarship and traditions. As President of the Interfraternity Council his junior year, Andy was instrumental in raising the profile of Greek life on campus by producing an award winning Rush DVD, establishing the Greek honorary Order of Omega, and bringing houses together for collaborative efforts. In his roles as President and Vice President for the Student Ambassadors, he brought the program to new levels of excellence, formalizing their selection and training processes, overseeing the drafting of a constitution, and raising the profile of Ambassadors on campus and in the local community.
Andy is also Vice President of his class and a member of the Blue Blazer’s Investment Club. He has dedicated time working in the community on the Into The Streets project, Make A Difference Day, Haven House-soup kitchen, the American Red Cross blood drive, and a Lock-Up for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
He has been very active in providing valuable student input as a student representative on the Alumni Council for the past two years and is a member of the College Business Fraternity, Phi Beta Lambda.
His charismatic personality, positive attitude, and ability to take charge of a situation, involve others in decision making, and build consensus make him an outstanding leader and a perfect example of those who leave Westminster prepared to lead lives of success, significance, and service.
Each year the honorees for the Senior of the Year awards are selected from a pool of nominations submitted by faculty, staff and students. The Selection Committee includes the Director of Alumni Relations, the President of the Alumni Council, the Dean of Student Life, and the Presidents of the Student Government Association, the Panhellenic Association and the Interfraternity Council. Past recipients of this award include Eric Roehrs and Dana Deason in 2007, Chapin Deel and Gera Stewart in 2006 and Stephen Hoell and Sara Schieffler in 2005.