Shenandoah University

As part of the annual Global Citizenship Project (GCP), a group of eleven students, faculty and staff are traveling to Antigua & Barbuda. The trip links up with the family of a student who has learned virtually from home all year, and whose family manages lodging facilities. It will be the first time in more than a year that the student will see Shenandoah faces in person. Participants were chosen based on an essay they had to write that was read by a selection committee composed of university students, faculty, staff and alumni who have previously participated in GCP.

The Shenandoah University men's basketball team and six of its members have been named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches Honors Court in selections announced Tuesday and Wednesday by the organization. The team, which co-led the 11 men's teams this past semester with a 3.27 team GPA, earned an NABC Team Excellence Award for the second consecutive year. Six upperclassmen: Trammell Anthony, Ethan Diffee, Dylan Elliott, Zach Garrett '21, Davion Roberts, and Jaylen Williams, were named to the NABC Honors Court. To be earn that award, student-athletes must be in their junior or senior year and have at least a 3.2 career GPA.

Shenandoah University had four student-athletes and both of its outdoor track & field teams honored for academics in selections announced Thursday by the United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association. Andre Jackson and John Kindig earned individual academic honors for the men with Kaitlin Measell and Emily Miller doing the same for the women.

The Shenandoah University women's lacrosse team and four of its student-athletes were honored for academic achievement in selections announced Tuesday by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association. The 28-woman squad had a 3.40 average GPA to earn All-Academic squad honors while four members: Kathleen Donovan, Megan Egan, Natalie Nichols, and Emma Stiffler, earned IWLCA Honor Roll accolades.

Shenandoah University had five student-athletes and its women's tennis team recognized for academic excellence in selections announced Wednesday by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. The women, with a department-leading 3.73 team GPA, were selected as an ITA All-Academic team with five of the team members also picking up ITA Scholar-Athlete accolades. This is the sixth consecutive year that the women have earned ITA All-Academic honors. Caitlin Bennett, Jahveesha Combs, Madison Hansen, Lily Kimble, and Madison Rogers all were selected as ITA Scholar-Athletes for the second straight year. Combs led this group with a 3.98 while Bennett posted a 3.97 and Rogers 3.92.

Football star Jack Massie '21 has been named first team Academic All-America in selections announced Wednesday afternoon by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Massie was picked as a tight end. He is the 20th SU student-athlete, and fourth football player, to be named Academic All-America.

Three Shenandoah University women's lacrosse players earned All-State honors in selections announced Thursday afternoon by the Virginia State Sports Information Directors Association. Alyson Bittinger '21 headlines the trio by earning her fifth accolade from the association being named first team All-State for the second year in a row. The IWLCA All-American was named VaSID Rookie of the Year in 2018, was named to the second team as a sophomore in addition to being named Academic All-State. Rising senior attacker Emma Stiffler, along with defender Madison Re, were voted to the second team to round out their post-season awards.

Five Shenandoah University baseball players earned All-State honors in selections announced Wednesday afternoon by the Virginia State Sports Information Directors Association. Rising junior Colby Martin headlines this quintet by earning Player of the Year accolades. Martin, who has three seasons of eligibility remaining, caps an outstanding year in which he was previously named as the league Player of the Year by the ODAC and South Region Player of the Year by both D3baseball.com and the American Baseball Coaches Association. Keegan Woolford '20, '22 MBA and rising senior Pearce Bucher join Martin on the first team All-State with their selections at first and third base, respectively. Bucher's classmates, Frankie Ritter and Tad Dean, round out the honorees with second team honors. Ritter was picked at shortstop and Dean as a starting pitcher.

During Shenandoah University's annual May commencement ceremonies, more than 1,200 graduates received their diploma. These students graduated in May 2021, December 2020, and August 2020.

A 10-member group made up of faculty, staff and students recently returned from Mexico as part of the Global Citizenship Project (GCP). Shenandoah is gradually reinstating its postponed 2020 GCP trips during the summer of 2021. The group recently traveled to Oaxaca, Mexico, to a hotel in the heart of the city owned by the family of a Mexican student who also helped to manage the trip experience. Planned activities included visiting Mayan ruins, cooking classes, exploring the local markets, pottery making, and learning about sustainable agriculture and ancient medicinal practices. GCP participants are chosen after submitting an essay and being chosen by a selection committee. Since its inaugural year in 2005, the Global Citizenship Project has sent 928 members of the university community to 74 different destinations on all-expenses-paid trips abroad during spring break so that each person might learn more about the world and themselves.

Eight Shenandoah University student-athletes earned VaSID All-State honors for outdoor track in selections announced recently by the organization. Six those athletes: William Crowder, John Kindig, Kaitlin Measell, Emily Miller, Miles Moore, and Jason White, were selected for individual events. Andre Jackson and Langston McCatty complete the honorees by joining with Crowder and Moore to form the first team All-State 4 x 100 meter relay team.

Shenandoah University had one men's lacrosse player, Jason Morgan, named Division III Scholar All-American, The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) announced late last week. The recent graduate is a career 4.0 student-athlete who majored in both biology and chemistry. In order to be evaluated for Scholar All-American honors by the Scholar AA committee, a nominee must be in his senior year academically with a cumulative grade point average of at least a 3.0, he must also be an All-American, a member of a North/South team, or an outstanding league or conference player. The Marlton, New Jersey native served as the Hornets team captain and a Third Team All-ODAC defender.

Shenandoah would like to honor the 962 students who made the Spring 2021 Dean's List. To be considered for the Dean's List, students must complete at least 12 semester hours and earn a semester GPA of 3.5 or higher.

Six Shenandoah University student-athletes have earned Academic All-State honors in selections announced Thursday by the Virginia State Sports Information Directors Association.

Shenandoah celebrates the 430 students who made the President's List for the Spring 2021 semester. Students who achieved this prestigious academic recognition attained a grade point average of at least 3.90.

Shenandoah University had three football players earn Academic All-District V honors in selections announced Thursday by the College Sports Information Directors Association of America. Jack Massie '21, along with rising seniors Mason Caldwell and Ethan Bigbee, all earned first team accolades and are candidates for Academic All-America.

Alyson Bittinger '21 has been named third team All-America in selections announced Monday by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association. Bittinger, a four-year starter for Coach Lindsey Lutz' women's lacrosse and a three-time All-ODAC honoree, is the first women's lacrosse player in program history to be named All-America. The Westminster, Maryland native led the Hornets this season with 64 goals and five assists for 69 points. She was named as the IWLCA National Player of the Week one time and earned ODAC PoW accolades on Apr. 25 after scoring 10 goals in a 22-12 regular season finale victory over Lynchburg.

Women's soccer star Maiya Pencile '21 has been named first team Academic All-District V in selections announced Thursday by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Pencile, who graduated last month after just three years of undergraduate work, is now a candidate for Academic All-America. The chemistry major from Chester, Virginia graduated with a 3.84 GPA after posting a perfect 4.0 GPA for the spring, 2021 semester.

Shenandoah University had four baseball players named All-South Region in selections announced Tuesday morning by D3baseball.com. Freshman Colby Martin headlines this quartet by earning South Region Player of the Year honors. Martin, a second baseman/relief pitcher, is the first SU player to be named region PoY since Michael Paul '15 in 2014. Pearce Bucher, Frankie Ritter, and Keegan Woolford join Martin in earning All-Region accolades with Bucher and Ritter both named to the first team. Woolford, now a three-time All-Region honoree, was a third team pick at first base.

Three Shenandoah University field hockey players earned All-State honors in selections announced Wednesday morning by the Virginia State Sports Information Directors Association. Junior Kelsey Jones headlines these honorees by being named as the Player of the Year as well as first team All-State. Freshman Farren Winter joins Jones in earning a major award by being named as the state Rookie of the Year. Winter's classmate, Kylee Tuebner, rounds out the selections with a first team accolade as a defender.

Freshman Colby Martin has been named as a first team All-America by D3baseball.com in selections announced Wednesday morning by the website. Martin, a second baseman, is the 13th player in program history to earn either playing or academic All-America honors and the first since Keegan Woolford '20, '21 earned the accolade in 2018.

Shenandoah student Sean Kelly has been recognized for his involvement and excellence in esports by the gaming products supplier Respawn. Respawn has announced it will recognize outstanding students each semester with the Respawn Products Student of Excellence award. This award will be handed out each semester to students in the esports program at Shenandoah, along with other partner universities that have Respawn products. Kelly '22, is a double major in esports management and business administration and is the inaugural recipient of the award. He is the student lead in broadcast production for the Shenandoah esports program, and he works on the content creation and live event production as well.

Damaris-Lydia Odebode '21 is one of two Shenandoah University students to earn the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award. Each year, the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Awards are presented at 70 colleges and universities across the American South. First awarded in 1890, the award goes to individuals who are committed to creating positive change. Odebode was nominated by two faculty members and two staff members, which demonstrates her engagement inside and outside of the classroom during her time at Shenandoah. One nominator said she is "guided by the courage of her convictions, speaks with a wisdom beyond her years, and has a keen sense of integrity that guides her day-to-day actions."

Kaitlyn Shand '21 is one of two Shenandoah University students to earn the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award. Each year, the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Awards are presented at 70 colleges and universities across the American South. First awarded in 1890, the award goes to individuals who are committed to creating positive change. Shand has been active across campus with leadership roles in Spiritual Life, the Winchester Area Temporary Thermal Shelter, as a First-Year Seminar mentor, a tutor, an SU ambassador, and more. Additionally, she helped build a partnership between Sodexo and local charities to pack unused food to provide for those in need as a part of the Campus Food Network. As a result of her work at Shenandoah, Shand completed a 2019 summer internship in Washington, D.C., with the Campus Food Network.

Nineteen Shenandoah University were declared winners at the Shenandoah University Research Expo (SURE), which ran virtually from Monday, April 26, through Friday, May 7. SURE is the premier event showcasing student creativity and scholarship and is open to all students under the mentorship of an SU faculty member. Projects ranged from supporting nutrition for food insecure families in Winchester, to an analysis of the effects of a strength training program on anaerobic power in dancers. Non-empirical project winners in the individual category were Caleb Allen (undergrad) and James Hardwick (graduate). In the group category, the winners were Maryann Hollen, Trisha Connelly and Tara Gallant (undergrad) and Karla Salnoris and Katie Schaub (graduate). Empirical project winners in the individual category were Victoria Krist (undergrad) and Morgan Mays (graduate). In the group category, winners were Katherine Underwood, Monica Werner and Isabella Fegley (undergrad) and Gracyn Hill, Gaelyn Everhart, Nate Ranck, Megan Bryan, Hailey Turner, Rachael Laughlin and Jenna Rockwell (graduate).

Physician Assistant Studies student Dzevida Pandzic '21 is the recipient of the 2021 Dr. Thomas Marfing Educational Trust Scholarship. Funded by the trust, the scholarship has been awarded annually since 2019 to a Physician Assistant Studies student at Shenandoah University. The late Dr. Marfing was a beloved and respected general surgeon in Winchester for 23 years and a great proponent of training the next generation of health care providers. Pandzic will receive a $4,300 scholarship.

Shenandoah has selected its summer 2021 student orientation leaders. Forty-three students were chosen for this honor. Student orientation leaders guide future Hornets through the orientation process during the summer.

Several Shenandoah students have served as vaccinators at the university's mass-vaccination clinic held in the Wilkins Athletics & Events Center. They have helped vaccinate thousands of individuals in the community and the state. From the pharmacy school, they are Elizabeth Beremendi, James Noll, Phillip "Austin" Taylor, Ashley Myers and Ashley Boothe.

Junior Maiya Pencile has been named ODAC Player of the Week for women's soccer in selections announced Tuesday, March 9, by the league office. Pencile, from Chester, had five goals last week as the Hornets defeated Randolph-Macon, 4-1, and lost at Roanoke, 4-3. In the Macon contest, Pencile had a natural hat trick with goals in the 28th, 32nd and 56th minutes. Pencile currently leads SU with six goals for 12 points through three games. This is her first ODAC weekly honor - in 2019 she was named third team All-ODAC.

Shenandoah Conservatory announced the winners of the 2020-21 Student Soloists Competition. The final round of the competition was held Sunday, Feb. 21, in Armstrong Concert Hall. Winners each received a $500 cash award and a plaque. Undergraduate winners were: Instrumental Division Winner Sean McGinley, saxophone; Vocal/Choral Division Winner Elena Fierer, soprano; and Honorable Mention Scout Kirkham, horn. Graduate winners were: Instrumental Division Winner Erin Eady, clarinet; Vocal/Choral Division Winner Anthony J. Massetto, baritone; Honorable Mention Chen Liang, piano.