STUDENT NEWS

USA Today Names Jewell Student to Academic All-American Team

USA Today has named William Jewell College student Emily Abdoler, a senior Oxbridge Molecular Biology and Bioethics major, as one of 60 members of its annual All-USA College Academic Team. The national honor recognizes outstanding intellectual achievement and leadership. Emily is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Abdoler of Clinton, Mo. The team was selected by a panel of judges from students nominated by colleges throughout the United States. Judges considered grades, leadership, activities and how students extend their intellectual talents beyond the classroom. While studying at Jewell, Abdoler founded the Association for Women in Science, which provides career-related service projects and facilitates interaction between students and local professionals in science-related fields. She also served on the Student Senate for two years and was director of the Emerging Leaders Conference Leadership Team, heading up a team that organized and implemented a semester-long leadership course for first-year students. Abdoler was chosen as the Emerging Leader of the Year at Jewell in 2003. She was also nominated in 2004 and 2005 for the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, a national scholarship which recognizes undergraduates who intend to pursue research careers in math, science or engineering. For more information, see the February 17 edition of USA Today, or visit the website at allstars@usatoday.com

Rosson Receives Award for International Study

Christopher Rosson, son of Ramona Rosson of Kansas City, Mo., has been awarded a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship for study in William Jewell College’s Oxford Overseas Study Course at Oxford University. The $5,000 award was for the spring 2005 semester. Rosson, a junior business administration major at Jewell, is one of 159 students at colleges nationwide selected to receive the scholarship from a field of 859 applications. The Gilman Scholarship is presented by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Institute of International Education. The Gilman International Scholarship Program offers a competition for awards for undergraduate study abroad and was established by the International Academic Opportunity Act of 2000. The scholarship provides awards for international study for U.S. undergraduate students who are receiving federal Pell Grant funding at two- and four-year colleges and universities.

Jewell Debate Team Makes Regional, National Showing

Two members of William Jewell College’s debate team were awarded the state championship after beating rivals from Washington University in St. Louis in the final round. Kansas City sophomores Kevin Garner, a communication and political science major, and Lilia Toson, a political science and philosophy major, dominated the tournament to win the parliamentary debate squad’s first Missouri championship title. The win was no surprise for director of debate Gina Lane, who recently was elected president of the Missouri Association of Forensics Activities. “Lilia and Kevin have had an amazing year, and they were able to maintain that momentum at State,” she said.

Last month Toson and Garner received first-round bids to the prestigious National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence, where the country’s top 45 teams will compete. Junior Phil Fuhrman, a political science major from Bolivar, Mo., and sophomore Luke Landry, a philosophy major from Nixa, Mo., recently received second-round bids to the tournament. With more than 800 teams competing in the nation, both teams are ranked within the top 20. Lane said the squad has improved tremendously over the past two years. “I really believe we have a strong chance of winning nationals this year, and our teams are starting to believe that, as well,” Lane said.

The team’s confidence is building following strong showings at recent meets. Fuhrman and Landry received second place and third place in two San Diego, Calif., tournaments—Sunset Cliffs Classic and the Point Loma Round Robin, respectively. The pair defeated teams from the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Wyoming. Fuhrman also received first place in the Air Force Academy Tournament in Colorado Springs, Colo., competing as a hybrid team with his former high school partner from Biola University in Los Angeles, Calif. Toson and Garner have proceeded to elimination rounds in every tournament this academic year, at one time ranking fourth in the nation. “These are just some of the accomplishments our five teams have had this year,” Lane said. “Our five first-year students have also improved as the year has progressed. We will finish this year strong, but more importantly, we will begin next season extremely prepared.”

Lane expects the teams will maintain their momentum at the two national tournaments on the horizon: the National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence and the National Parliamentary Debate Association Tournament.

Students Present Research

Physics students Maria Compton and Emily Ray made research presentations at the Fifteenth Annual Argonne Symposium for Undergraduates in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics held at Argonne National Laboratory November 5-6.

Phi Gams Support Children’s Charity

The Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta hosted a reception and toy drive at the fraternity house after the Lighting of the Quad in December. The event was coordinated with graduate members of the fraternity, and approximately 100 toys were donated. The toys were donated to an organization known as Bikers Against Child Abuse, which works to create a safer environment for abused children.

Phi Sigma Iota Initiates New Members

After a hiatus of 12 years, the language honorary society, Phi Sigma Iota, initiated six new members on February 22. The new members are: Laura Curry, Joy Guthrie, Malinda Horovitz, James Murphy and Kara Sullenger. Members of Phi Sigma Iota are language majors or minors, have a junior standing and maintain a B average or better in all of their classes. Phi Sigma Iota has been active on campus all this year, hosting outings for international students and sponsoring events on campus that highlight foreign languages.

Jewell Students Named to All-Collegiate Orchestra

Congratulations to the following students on their acceptance into the Missouri All-Collegiate Orchestra: seniors Brian Holmes, Charles Smith and Daniel Shanks (alternate); juniors Beth Willard and Jacob Hagedorn; sophomore Farrell Scott; and first-year Melissa Hill. More than 100 of Missouri’s top orchestral musicians from 16 universities, conservatories and colleges were represented in this ensemble. William Jewell was also honored in the competitive auditions for All-Collegiate Orchestra chair rankings.

Jewell Team Members Visit Classrooms

(view the photos of the team here)

Members of William Jewell’s men’s basketball team participated in a reading program recently with elementary schools in the Liberty School District. The team visited five of the district’s seven grade schools, reading to nearly 2,000 students. This is the fourth year for the program, which is conducted in cooperation with the National Association of Basketball Coaches.