More than 160 students were honored during PSC’s Student Excellence Awards Ceremony

Pensacola State College honored 167 outstanding individual students and one student volunteer group during the 2026 Student Excellence Awards Ceremony on Thursday, April 16, in the Jean and Paul Amos Performance Studio on the Pensacola campus. Family and friends gathered as well for the annual event, which recognizes students for their academic success, campus leadership and commitment to service.

“You have a cheering squad of family and friends here to support you,” said PSC President Ed Meadows to the honorees before asking audience members to stand if they had also attended PSC or then Pensacola Junior College. “With 78 years as an institution, sometimes there are four generations in a family who have attended this college over the years, and more than 90% of our graduates stay in the region to work and raise their families.”

PSC District Board of Trustees Chair Gordon Sprague also addressed the students, saying, “These are the best days of your life, and you are part of a bright future for us all.”

Dean of Workforce Education Mike Listau served as the master of ceremonies, introducing the following PSC administrators and faculty for the presentation of awards.

All-Florida Academic Team, Program Scholars and Department Scholars

Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs Brenda Kelly, Ed.D., recognized All-Florida Academic Team members and individual Program Scholars and Department Scholars.

The following All-Florida Academic Team members were selected by the Florida College System based on their academic achievement, leadership and service to their communities: Asia Greer, Braylan Shelly and Audrey Wright from the Pensacola campus; Benita Curry, Tana Steiner and Jonina Withem from the Warrington campus; and Jaylynn Caron from the Milton campus.

Program and Department Scholars were nominated and selected by their instructors for notable performance in academic achievement and outstanding commitment to their programs and peers.

A.A. Program Scholars: Irene Wilson, Early Childhood Education Advising Track; Kellie Swanson, Elementary Education Advising Track; Zachary Matthews, Pre-Engineering Advising Track; Dalton LaFlamme, Pre-Nursing Advising Track; Michael Stephenson, Pre-Radiology Advising Track; Brandon Cash, Psychology Advising Track; and Taegan Scott, Sports Management Advising Track.

A.S. Program Scholars: Mario Little, Cybersecurity; Jordan Spitsbergen, Dental Hygiene; Diana Chavers, Nursing (Registered Nurse); Kaitlynn Long, Physical Therapist Assistant; Mary Easterday, Radiography; Chelsea Isabel, Sonography.

Natascha Radcliff was awarded B.S.N. Nursing Program Scholar, and Sklyer Boehm was awarded Practical Nursing Career Certificate Program Scholar.

Joshua King was awarded Business Department Scholar; Arren Joseph-White was awarded English and Communications Department Scholar; and Kaitlyn Provo was awarded Visual Arts Department Scholar.

Scholastic Achievement Awards

Baccalaureate Studies and Academic Support Dean Kirk Bradley, Ed.D., presented the Scholastic Achievement Award to the following students who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.9 or higher.

The Associate Degree Level Scholastic Achievement Award was presented to Alek Andrew, Chloe Ayres, Lakisha Ball, Maggie Bankston, Justen Belz, Ian Benton, Curtis Boyce, Tammie Brown, Mari Burbank, Kadence Busbee, Lane Campbell, Christian Caraway, Grace Cathey, Danielle Coates, Priscilla Coatney, Sara Colon, Christopher Conner, Matthew Cooper, Jason Corpuz, Piper Cover, Corey Craig, Ashton Curry, Paige Davis, Jamilla Mae De Guzman, Dominic Desporte, Bria Dunn, Kaylin Durst, Kathryn Dykes, Mary Easterday, Taylee Edwards, Laylah Enfinger, Ethan Engert, Kylie Erickson, Isabelle Frazier, Aubriana Frick, Faith Gleim, Lilian Grantham, Lila Greene, Jean Gruspier, Anna Hernandez, Magdalena Hernandez, Carson Hindsman, Ashley Hinkle, Marissa Holmes, Sebastian Irby, Deja Jackson, Gloriana Jensen, Lena Jester, Brandon Johnson, Kayla Jones, Elliot Knieper, Mirza Kujundzic, Jovi Lamp, Annoelynn Lawson, Katelyn Livingston, Brodie Locke, Emree Long, Bella Lynch, Addison Malone, Lily Mathews, Jordyn McBeth, Sophia McCurdy, Bailey McDonald, Catherine McGowan, Austin Metheny, Madison Miller, Kathryn Moody, James Murch, Jenifer Neely, Daschle Nelson, Jennifer Neumann, LinXi Niedbala, John Ockman, Jacob Palmer, Michelle Parisien, Baylee Parramore, Aspen Patterson, Zaslea Pitre, Isabel Presley, Alexandria Pugh, Christian Pursley, Christian Raney, Audrey Reece, Tara Reinacker, Ariana Robarts, Rachel Rousseau, Aaron Roy, Benjamin Saburn, Aliyah Salgado, Violet Salter, Jackson Sanborn, Alina Schorzman, Claire Sczesny, Anthony Sedam, Christine Soares, Jordan Spitsbergen, Kaileen Stegura, Skyler Stickles, Brooklyn Stone, Natalee Stuart, Matthew Synco, Luke Tarnosky, Kevin Taylor, Morgan
Tomlinson, Dayana Torres, Kim Tran, James Treick, Lilia Treick, Sophia Tucker, Brandon Viesselmann and Chloe Wynn.

The Baccalaureate Degree Level Scholastic Achievement Award was presented to Augustus Gray, Isabella Laplant, Jose Luis Perez Flores, Natascha Radcliff, Lori Rudd, Sabrina Squire and Elisabeth Stowers.

Leadership and Service Awards

Student Services Dean Stephanie Denmark presented the Leadership Award and Service Award to the following students who were selected by organization sponsors, administrators, faculty members and department heads for their exemplary leadership skills and for devoting their time and expertise to assist the college, community and fellow students.

The Leadership Award was presented to Carolyn Bragg, Tommy Burkhammer, Larah Davis, Sarah Reed, Jamie Robinson, Jack Stine, Caitlin Struss and Ben Word.

The Service Award was presented to Urias Bardoo, Ian Benton, Caila Bourgeois, Ava Bryson, Benjamin Calloway, Juliana Chesser, Harmony De Risio, Ayla Foreman, Riley Glover, Elena Gonzalez, Amanda Hisle, Quincy Kirn, Emily Lockard, Summer Mando, Brittany Moran, Brenda Newman, Chase Norman, Aspen Patterson and Preston Walling.

Allied Health Instructor Stacey Stewart presented the Sharlene E. Burkhardt Award to Timothy Clausell and Mary Easterday for exemplifying the qualities of the award’s late namesake, who was a student known for being selfless and giving of herself through community service and helping others. This special honor is presented with a monetary award, funded by Burkhardt’s family, to inspire PSC students in her honor.

Outstanding Student Volunteer and Outstanding Student Volunteer Group Awards

Health Sciences Assistant Dean Mitzie Sowell, Ph.D., presented the Outstanding Student Volunteer Award to Melinda Leiva and the Outstanding Student Volunteer Group Award to the Student American Dental Hygienists’ Association (SADHA) for being actively involved with campus events, promoting student engagement and helping to build a welcoming environment on campus. Campus deans and directors and Student Activities directors select these honorees.

All honorees received medallions to wear during commencement exercises with ribbon colors signifying their specific awards.