The Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees' Student Achievement Awards were presented to five recipients for their contributions to the quality of life at NMU. Gwendolyn Feamster from Linden, Mich., and Katarina Rothhorn of Lansing are the 2024 outstanding graduating seniors. Recipients of the remaining outstanding awards in their respective categories are: Erika Laitinen-Odbert of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., Global Campus Student; Phoebe Martin, San Jose, Calif., Nontraditional Student; Mackenzie Baranski, Caro, Mich., Graduate Student; and Mary Kelly of Plymouth, Mich., Student of Any Class.
Feamster will graduate magna cum laude on May 4 with a major in political science, and plans to continue at NMU to pursue a master's degree in education. She is a past president and vice president of ASNMU, the student government organization. In April 2022, she was chosen to represent NMU on a statewide committee charged with increasing student voting access. Feamster got involved in residence hall government upon arriving at NMU, which led to her serving as a resident adviser for two years and an orientation assistant for two summers. Her other involvement included Phi Sigma Sigma, Women for Women/Feminism for All and the Student Leader Fellowship Program. She also completed all four edges of NMU's Superior Edge Program.
Rothhorn, a summa cum laude graduate with a 4.0 GPA, will earn a bachelor's degree in environmental science with a minor in Native American studies. She plans to serve as a community development facilitator in coastal resource management with the Peace Corps in the Philippines. Rothhorn came to NMU as a Harden Scholar and member of the Honors Program. She has been an agricultural science research technician at the Michigan State University U.P. Extension Center and worked with olive ridley sea turtles as a research assistant at a wildlife refuge in Costa Rica. She also worked extensively in the NMU conservation data lab. Rothhorn started writing for the North Wind student newspaper and worked her way up to copy editor, features editor and editor-in-chief. She completed the Student Leader Fellowship Program and all four edges of the Superior Edge program.
Laitinen-Odbert is a Native American Studies major with a minor in business administration. She will graduate summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA. Before starting in the Global Campus program at NMU, Erika completed her associate degree at Bay Mills Community College in 2022. She worked as the Title 6 Native American adviser at the Sault Area school district. In 2023, she was encouraged to apply for a teaching position and was successful; she is now the 7th and 8th grade life skills teacher, and also serves as the Native Youth Council adviser. Laitinen-Odbert enrolled in NMU's Global Campus “Grow Your Own” online program, saying, “The supportive educators that I was blessed to experience encouraged me during each semester. Because of their impact on my educational life, I am driven to provide support and encouragement for younger generations of students.”
Martin was accepted into NMU's nursing program in 2021 and will graduate with her BSN in May 2025. She is considered nontraditional because she is older than the typical college student. Martin is driven to improve the lives of her patients and the people she encounters daily, and is particularly concerned about health care for overlooked patient populations and health care disparities for patients from diverse backgrounds. This led her to co-found the Multicultural Student Nurses Association in Winter 2023. Martin has also been a member of the Student Nurses Association and completed the Student Leader Fellowship Program.
Baranski is the inaugural Outstanding Graduate Student, as this award was just established by the NMU Board of Trustees in December. She graduated from Oakland University in December 2021 with a bachelor's degree in psychology and began her studies in NMU's master of science in psychology program in fall 2022. Baranski began working as the senior student in the Experimental Analysis of Behavior laboratory. She conducts pre-clinical research, manages the lab and supervises the research activities of 10 undergraduate students. Baranski is also the senior graduate research assistant in the Northern Center for Learning and Health. She assists in conducting clinical trials funded by the National Institutes of Health in collaboration with a research team at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The project evaluates interventions that apply basic psychological principles to combat the interrelated problems of drug abuse, unemployment and poverty.
Kelly came to NMU as a Freshman Fellow and a member of the Honors Program. She will graduate magna cum laude with full honors with a degree in environmental science on May 4. Her environmental research at NMU resulted in three poster and two paper presentations at national conferences. Kelly has focused much of her energy on environmental initiatives related to food systems. Since March 2021, she has co-led the NMU Hoop House community garden. In the 2023 season, more than 400 pounds of produce was harvested, with 150 of those pounds donated to the NMU Food Pantry. Kelly completed the Student Leader Fellowship Program and all four edges of the Superior Edge Program. After graduation, she plans to attend the University of Michigan to pursue a master's degree in environment and sustainability, with a concentration in geospatial data sciences.