Student Award List

This undergraduate 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
• 2024 Karen Ahumada Villanueva

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)
• 2025 Caleb Moyer, Gabby Faggionato, Karen Ahumada Villanueva, MaKenzie Baca (Spring)

This graduate 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
• 2025 Ellie McLane

This graduate 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
• 2025 Paige Klein

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
• 2025 Samantha Umland

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

This graduate 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)
• 2025 Britta Beck (Trauma) & Chris Griffith (Geropsychology)

This graduate award is given annually to one clinical MA student, one psychological science 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)
• 2025 Zara Kenigsberg (Clinical Psychology - Trauma PhD)
• 2025 Christina Lopez Gonzalez (Clinical Psychology MA)
• 2025 Olivia James (Psychological Science MA)