April 24, 2002

Four seniors to be awarded
Alan C. Rankin Awards

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Four members of the Indiana State University Class of 2002 will receive the he Alan C. Rankin Distinguished Senior Awards during commencement exercises at 2 p.m. May 4 in Hulman Center.

The awards were established to recognize outstanding members of the senior class who have contributed to the betterment of campus life at Indiana State University. Individuals selected to receive the awards must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have demonstrated dedicated membership and leadership ability in campus organizations, as well as in the community.

Named for ISU’s seventh president, Dr. Alan C. Rankin who served from 1965-1975, the Rankin Awards are sponsored by the Student Alumni Association and the Office of Alumni Affairs. The award winners are:

Jonna Lea Breidenbach:
Jonna Lea Breidenbach’s selection as a recipient of a 2002 Alan C. Rankin Distinguished Senior Award was based on four years of campus and community involvement and academic success. A managerial communications major with a minor in sociology, Breidenbach graduates with a 4.00 grade point average and a number of honors and awards recognizing this achievement. A native of Jackson, Mo., she is one of this year’s Hines Medal Award winners, a Bolt Communication Scholar in 2000-2001, and a member of the Dean’s List since fall 1998. Breidenbach’s academic achievements were also recognized by her selection for membership in the Pi Kappa Phi Honor Society, Lambda Pi Eta Communication Honor Society, and Golden Key International Honor Society.

Campus involvement for Breidenbach has included four years as a member of the Student Alumni Association, including service as president since 2000; Sycamore Storytellers; ISU’s Commencement Committee; Student Government Association; and as a reporter for the Indiana Statesman newspaper. In April 2001, she was selected as a recepient of ISU’s Outstanding Junior Award and received the Farmer’s Award for Leadership in spring 2000 and 2001.

Breidenbach has also volunteered at the local Ryves Hall Youth Center and is a member of Ducks Unlimited, Inc.

Andrew D. Hatton:
A journalism major with minors in art, music, and dance, Andrew D. Hatton’s involvement in the campus community has earned him selection as a recipient of the 2002 Alan C. Rankin Distinguished Senior Award. From Greensburg, Hatton has earned a 3.45 grade point average at Indiana State University.

Active in a number of campus activities, Hatton’s interests are as varied as his fields of academic study. He has been involved in residential life, having served as a resident hall assistant in Rhoads Hall in spring of 2000, Lincoln Quad during summer 2001, and Blumberg Hall in fall 2001. During the current academic year he served as assistant hall director of Cromwell Hall. Hatton was a charter member in 2000 of ISU’s chapter of Toastmasters International, and was a founding member of Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity in 1998. He served as philanthropy chair for Phi Kappa Tau in 1999-2000.

Vice president and president of the Sycamore Volunteer Crew, Hatton also served as project chairperson of the Oppression Museum in 2002, and as a student mentor for the Department of Music from 1999-2000. He was also a member of the University’s Repertory Dance Ensemble for two years.

Hatton has worked to further his career goal of becoming a professional journalist by gaining experience on the campus newspaper, the Indiana Statesman. In 2000-2001, he worked as a campus reporter and in 2001 was the paper’s entertainment writer.

April Denise Kirby:
One of Indiana State University’s outstanding student/scholar athletes, April Denise Kirby’s contributions to the University have been recognized by her selection as a recipient of the Alan C. Rankin Distinguished Senior Award. Kirby, a life sciences major and a criminology minor, is from Fortville. She was a member of ISU’s Women’s Basketball Team from 1998-2002, and served as team captain in 2000-2001 and 2001-2002.

Her academic success, a 3.79 grade point average, has resulted in her selection as a Verizon Scholar Athlete in 2000 and 2001, a finalist for the Presidential Scholar Athlete Award in 2001, and as an ISU Alumni Scholar. She has been named to the Dean’s List, Golden Key International Honor Society, and the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll.

Kirby has been involved as a Student Academic Services Center Athletic Committee representative and attended the center’s Leadership Retreat in 2000 and 2001. She was a participant in the University’s First Mentor Program in 2001-2002, and has served as a volunteer at the ISU Field Campus in Brazil.

In addition to her service and involvement at ISU, Kirby has been active in the local community. She has served as a volunteer at the Happiness Bag Halloween Party, at the YWCA Kids Triathlon, at the Bird-Gibson Complex Baseball Clinic, and at an area nursing home. Her community service has also been recognized by her selection as the recipient of the Exchange Club of Terre Haute Performance Award in 2001 and 2002, and as the Sycamore Sports Medicine Athlete of the Week Award in 2001.

George Potter:
George Potter of San Antonio has been selected as a 2002 Alan C. Rankin Outstanding Senior Award recipient. Potter, who earned a 3.97 grade point average, is an English major and creative writing minor.

Potter came to Indiana State as a President’s Scholar and since then has earned additional recognition for his academic achievements and extracurricular activities. These recognitions have included his selection as a recipient of the Department of English’s Hazel T. Pfennig Scholar Award, the Landini Scholarship, the Ben F. Small Scholarship, and the 2000 Mary Reed McBeth winner for fiction.

Campus activities which contributed to Potter’s selection for these awards included serving as chair of the Student Advisory Committee of the Department of English; as an editorial assistant for Indiana English, the journal of the Indiana Council of English; and in a variety of positions on the student newspaper, the Indiana Statesman, including reporter, page designer, columnist, and opinions editor. Potter has also been a member of the Arion Creative Writing Club; the Honors Student Association; the ISU Symphonic Band; and the Symphonic Wind Ensemble.

Additional recognitions and awards have included selection for membership in Sigma Tau Delta, English Honorary Society; Mortar Board, National Honorary Society; and Golden Key International Honorary Society. Potter has also been the recipient of the Elwood and Judith S. Adams Scholarship from the School of Education and a Department of Music scholarship.

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