Student Award List | Psychology Department

Recognition of Student Achievement

Psychology student awards are designed to recognize and celebrate outstanding students.

David Nichols Award

This award was established in the name of Professor David Nichols, the founding member of the UCCS Psychology Department, and it is awarded based on academic excellence. Professor Nichols always heartily encouraged and supported the Department's students, especially those who had successfully overcome adversity or achieved success under non-traditional circumstances.

2012 Jamie Jaramillo
2012 Sandra Taylor
2013 Christine McDermott
2013 Lisa Starcher
2014 Jason Adams
2014 Scott Hanneman
2015 Marissa Metz
2016 Jennifer Roberts
2017 Benjamin Graf & Trudy Roberts
2018 Alex Sielaff
2019 Colin Adams
2020 Josh Shulkin
2021 Travis Griffin
2022 Kristy Rhodes
2023 Brenda Cruz

Lee Becker Award

This award recognizes the graduate student (out of the approximately 20 first-year students) who has shown outstanding accomplishment in the statistics and research methods courses. The Becker Award, named for Dr. Lee Becker (Professor of Psychology, 1977 - 2001), includes a $2,000 scholarship for the award winner.

2012 Samantha John
2013 Marina Costanzo
2014 Evan Plys
2015 Laura Morgan
2016 Jessica Saurman
2017 Krista Engle
2018 Sloan Glenn
2019 Jessie Freeman & Kendall Weber
2020 Kayla Neeley
2021 Kelly O'Donnel
2022 Hannah Levitt
2023 Caroline Collins-Pisano
2024 Adrienne Herzog

Outstanding MA Student

2007 Jacqueline Anson
2007 Sarah Tauber
2008 Zach Rothschild
2009 Matt Motyl
2010 Sarah Steinmetz
2011 Andrew Smith

Outstanding MA Student in Clinical Psychology Award

This award is given annually to one MA student in Clinical Psychology who has demonstrated overall excellence in the program as evidenced by their academic performance, research accomplishments, clinical performance, service, and leadership.

2012 Samantha John
2013 Marina Costanzo
2014 Colin Mahoney
2015 Carolyn Yeager
2016 Leah Parker
2017 Katherine Johanson
2018 Pamela Weisman
2019 Skylyn Webb
2020 Katie Granier
2021 Kayla Neeley
2023 Jonathan Sundby
2024 Megan Wendling

Outstanding MA Student in Psychological Science Award

The MA program in Psychological Science provides students with a solid foundation in psychological research. It includes coursework in core areas of psychology, advanced training in research methodology and statistics, and multiple research experiences. The vast majority of students matriculate into PhD programs in the subfield of their choice.

2012 Andrew Evelo
2013 Nathaniel Diede
2013 Erik Phillips
2014 Michael Bultmann
2015 Isabel Davis
2016 Natalie Gordon
2017 Jason Griffin
2018 Adam Silver
2019 Salwa Mansour
2020 Jessica Freeman
2021 Kaitlyn White
2022 Alexander Stover
2023 Hannah Levitt
2024 Elias Acevedo

Outstanding PhD Student Award (Geropsychology & Trauma)

This award is given annually to one PhD student in the Geropsychology track and one PhD student in the Trauma Psychology track. This award is given to the one student from each track who has demonstrated overall excellence in the program as evidenced by their academic performance, research accomplishments, clinical performance, service, and leadership.

2007 Mary Stephens (Geropsychology)
2008 Shannon Foster (Geropsychology)
2009 Kimberly Hiroto (Geropsychology)
2010 Katie Kane (Geropsychology)
2011 Lindsay Anderson (Geropsychology)
2012 Sheri Gibson (Geropsychology)
2013 Brenna Renn (Geropsychology)
2014 Kelly O'Malley (Geropsychology)
2015 Samantha John (Geropsychology)
2016 Ashita Gurnani (Geropsychology)
2017 Evan Plys (Geropsychology)
2018 Carrie Yeager (Trauma)
2019 Jessica Saurman (Geropsychology)
2020 Dani Correll (Trauma)
2021 McKenzie Lockett (Trauma) & Stacy Yun (Geropsychology)
2022 Julie Hurd (Trauma) & Lisa Stone (Geropsychology)
2023 Sophie Brickman (Trauma) & Katie Granier (Geropsychology)
2024 Anna Robertson (Geropsychology) & Molly Higgins (Trauma)

Outstanding Undergraduate Award

The Outstanding Undergraduate in Psychology is determined using the student's GPA, in-class performance, and research accomplishments.

2012 Laura Morgan
2013 Stephanie Van Horn
2014 Laura Lathrop
2015 Hannah Phalen
2016 Jennifer Roberts
2017 Courtney Pellegrino (Fall)
2017 Brooke Small (Spring)
2018 Tamara Saunders
2018 Alex Sielaff (Fall)
2019 Emily Laws (Spring)
2020 Sarah (Gwen) Chelsea Chambers (Fall)
2020 Malia Jackson (Spring)
2020 Wendi Kitzman, Paul Baluck, & Whitney Sherraden (Fall)
2021 Olivia Bader, Ahria Dominguez, Lani Harris & Jasmin Panique (Spring)
2021 Morgan McGinnis, Katherine Daniel, Kathleen Caliste, Lacy Sauer (Fall)
2022 Elizabeth Anquillare, Lisa Brashar, Jessica Cuna, Arianna Swenson (Spring)
2022 Kristen Cannon, Arieanna Pippin, Tabitha Sleeger, Kayleigh Wilson (Fall)
2023 Katie Agenbroad, Grai Calabro, Nadia Jeunelot, Alisha Silkey (Spring)
2023 Tong Chen, Melissa Mikolaitis, Lan Preza, Shannon Tiffenbach (Fall)
2024 Kristina McDonald & Ellie McLane (Spring)
2024 Michelle Wilke, Haley Robillard, Ashlyn Jones (Fall)

Psychological Society of Pikes Peak Region Outstanding Student Award

This award is given annually to one clinical MA student, one PhD student in the Geropsychology track, and one PhD student in the Trauma Psychology track. PSPPR is interested in supporting psychology as a profession through service, education, and mutual support. This award is given to the one student from each track who has demonstrated excellence in their clinical performance and efforts in community and service work during their time within the program.

2004 Tara Noecker
2005 Molly Maxfield
2006 Mary Stephens
2007 Shannon Foster
2008 Kimberly Hiroto
2009 Ashley Williams
2010 Meghan Marty
2011 Andrea June
2012 KrisAnn McBroom
2012 Anne Mueller
2013 Samantha John
2013 Karenleigh Overmann
2014 Brenna Renn
2014 Isabel Davis (Psychological Science MA)
2015 Alexis Knutson (Psychological Science MA)
2015 Ashita Gurnani (Clinical Psychology PhD)
2016 Jason Griffin (Psychological Science MA)
2016 Nicole Streeb (Clinical Psychology MA)
2017 Kadija Williams (Clinical Psychology PhD)
2017 Pamela Weisman (Clinical Psychology MA)
2017 Alicia Davis (Psychological Science MA)
2018 Amanda Harvey (Psychological Science MA)
2018 Danielle Correll (Clinical Psychology MA)
2018 Katherine Johanson (Clinical Psychology PhD)
2019 Tyler Powers (Clinical Psychology MA)
2019 Josh Mantovani (Psychological Science MA)
2019 Lauren Schneider (Clinical Psychology - Geropsychology PhD)
2019 Alisa Bartel (Clinical Psychology - Trauma Psychology PhD)
2020 Margaret Morison (Psychological Science MA)
2020 Jennifer Roberts (Clinical Psychology - Geropsychology PhD)
2020 Krista Engle (Clinical Psychology - Trauma Psychology PhD)
2021 Jessica Baynard-Montague (Psychological Science MA)
2021 Hallie Johnson (Clinical Psychology MA)
2021 Aaron Harwell (Clinical Psychology - Trauma Psychology PhD)
2021 Marisa Pifer (Clinical Psychology - Geropsychology PhD
2022 Katie Oltz (Clinical Psychology MA)
2022 Katie Grainer (Clinical Psychology - PhD)
2022 Keara Werth (Psychological Science MA)
2023 Esther Chung (Psychological Science MA)
2023 Nina Spitzhorn (Clinical Psychology MA)
2023 Lisa Stone (Clinical Psychology - Geropsychology PhD)
2023 Julie Hurd (Clinical Psychology - Trauma PhD)
2024 Josh Shulkin (Psychological Science MA)
2024 Lani Harris (Clinical Psychology MA)
2024 Rebecca Ingram (Clinical Psychology - Geropsychology PhD)
2024 Emmeline Taylor (Clinical Psychology - Trauma PhD)