Indiana State University Newsroom

Four members of the Indiana State University Class of 2006 will receive the Alan C. Rankin Memorial Distinguished Senior Awards during commencement exercises at 2 p.m. May 6 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 ISU. Individuals selected to receive the awards must have a cumulative grade-point average of at least 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, lan C. Rankin who served from 1965-1975, the Rankin Awards are sponsored by the Student Alumni Association and the Office of Alumni Affairs.

Kelly L. Aschliman is a public relations major and journalism minor with a 4.0 grade-point average. Aschliman was a President's Scholar, and named to the College of Arts and Sciences Dean's List, ISU's Dean's List, and National Dean's List. She was selected to national honor societies including Phi Kappa Phi and Golden Key International Honor Society, and was the National Society of Collegiate Scholars 2005 Distinguished Scholar. She was the recipient of the department of communication's Jeffery B. Laimetz Memorial Scholarship.

Aschliman was a founding member of College Mentors for Kids and the founder of the Indiana State chapter of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. The chapter's first president, she also started the group's visits to a local nursing home and helped organize a National Youth Service Day.

Active in ISU's Student Government Association, she was a member of the Association since her freshman year and was the College of Arts and Sciences senator in 2005-2006. She served as a member of the Student Publications Board, the Curriculum and Academic Affairs Committee, and the 2006 Election Debate Committee. She interned in Washington, D.C. for U.S. Senator Paul Strauss.

Originally from Fort Wayne, she was a member of United Campus Ministries and served as a board member of its White Chapel Service committee in 2005-2006.

Maulik Kirit Khatadia is an accounting major with a 3.47 grade-point average. He has been a resident assistant in ISU's housing system since 2003. Originally from Maharashtra, India, Khatadia served as a student advisor, created a sense of community among residents and responded to emergency situations. He also was a member of the theater construction crews for two productions, and served as a reporter and photographer for the student newspaper.

As a member of the Residence Hall Association, he served first as business affairs coordinator and then, in 2005-2006, as the Association's vice president. Khatadia was a member of the Hulman Memorial Student Union Board, serving as the group's vice president in 2004-2005, and as president since May 2005.

Khatadia was an active member of the Indian Student Association and participated in the Alternative Spring Break Project to Biloxi, Miss., for hurricane relief efforts. He was a member and secretary of Alpha Kappa Psi fraternity.

In 2004-2005 he was the recipient of an Outstanding Junior Award and earned the Linda Eldred Distinguished Service Award Scholarship and the Larry J. Miltenberger Scholarship. He was selected as a Bronze Pin recipient by the National Residence Hall Honorary. During 2003-2004, Khatadia was Indiana's Residence Hall Organization Student of the Year, Most Valuable Pledge of Alpha Kappa Psi, and included on the College of Business Dean's List and Honors List. He was listed in two editions of the National Dean's List. This past month he was selected to represent the 2006 graduating class as its Commencement speaker.

Andrew Scott Lovell is a science education/premedicine major with a 3.87 grade-point average. Originally from Dale, he was a member of the Rural Health Advisory Board since 2002, serving as the board's chairman while also being involved in the Pre-Medical Association?s conferences, philanthropic activities and social events.

Lovell was a member of the Biology Club and the American Chemical Society. He tutored ISU students in chemistry, astronomy, and history; also serving as a mathematics tutor at Terre Haute North Vigo High School; and working as a laboratory assistant on a medical research project focused on Alzheimer's Disease. Lovell volunteered at local nursing homes and hospitals, and at the Children's Museum of Terre Haute and Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

He participated in a variety of intramural sports, serving as a team captain in men's and coed basketball, softball, flag football and tennis.

In 2002, Lovell joined the Student Union Board and began four years of involvement in two of the largest student-sponsored events at ISU - Homecoming and Spring Week.

After serving as a member of various committees, Lovell became co-coordinator of the Homecoming Parade Committee in 2004-2005. In 2005-2006, he was named coordinator of the Homecoming Steering Committee.

John William Nay is a mathematics and chemistry major with a 4.0 grade-point average. A native of Columbus, Ind., Nay served as a chemistry and mathematics tutor and spearheaded ISU's response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

As a member of the Student Rural Health Association, the Indiana Rural Health Association, and the National Rural Health Association, he was an advocate to State and U.S. congressmen and representatives on public health issues. He served as a volunteer at the 2005 Environmental Inaugural Ball and at the Presidential Inaugural Parade in Washington, D.C. Nay also represented ISU at the Washington Center for Internships.

From March-June 2005, he cleared fence rows as part of the Conserve Volunteers Australia at Namdgi National Park in Australia.

He was a member and vice president of the Mortar Board Society and the President's Scholars Association. He was selected as a President's Scholar, and as a member in Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and Golden Key National Honor Society.

A member of the men's cross country team, and its 2005 captain, he ran outdoor track and field and indoor track, and represented ISU on the Academic All-Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Team. He also raised money for charitable organizations by participating in Run for Health, Race for Diabetes, and mental health runs.

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Contact: ISU media relations, (812) 237-3743