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USU’s annual Robins Awards highlights the best and brightest in the Aggie community

Utah State University hosted the 63rd annual Robins Awards ceremony on Saturday night.

The awards ceremony is named after William E.Robins, the USU student body president in 1949 and the initial visionary behind the Taggart Student Center.

USUSA traditions director Mackenzie Clark opened up the ceremony.

“The Robins Awards are the most coveted of all Utah State University honors, and the awards night is the most prestigious event,” she said.

Senior Cooper Low and student advocate vice president Ethan Conlee served as the masters of ceremonies.

The first award of the evening, Masters Student Researcher of the year, went to Emma Doden.

Doden’s research focuses on comparing the space use activity of naturally occurring beavers and beavers translocated into desert river restoration sites. Her studies explored the efficacy of removing nuisance beavers and placing them in areas in need of beaver dams. Doden has spent the last two summers learning about beaver translocation.

The next award went to the Doctoral Student Researcher of the year winner, Spencer Hudson.

Hudson’s work has been centered around anthropogenic, or human impact on the environment, disturbances on wildlife health. He is currently studying the genetic consequences of urbanization for reptiles.

The Graduate Student Teacher of the year went to Juan Estrada.

Estrada’s focus is on clinical psychology, and his research focuses on investigating protective properties of ethnic identity and promoting wellness in Latinx youth. His research also focuses on culturally adapting treatment for the Latinx populations.

The David and Terry Peak Prize undergraduate researcher of the year winner was Noah Braeger.

Braeger applied for and received a college of science mini grant to help fund his projects. His work centered on physics and string theory. Braeger worked with other researchers to construct explicit geometric isogenies between three types of k3 surfaces.

The Scholar of the year award went to Andrew Kjar.

Much of Kjar’s work has centered around biomedical engineering. His research projects include bone implant material validation, micro fabrication for organoid culture, controlled neuron growth and the development of a drug delivery system for cytomegalovirus.

The Legacy of Utah State award went to Ashley Morrey.

Morrey returned to school several years after becoming widowed with three young children. She then became the president of the human resource management club. She used the challenges surrounding COVID-19 to include other Utah schools in virtual events. She also opened the Utah HR case competition to out-of-state state schools.

The Female Athlete of the year award went to Autumn DeHarde.

DeHarde is a gymnast, who according to Conlee, will go down as “one of the greatest gymnasts in Utah State history.” She has appeared in three NCAA regional championships. Additionally, she is the school record holder with 16 career beam titles and has helped lead the Aggies to three of their best all-time team scores in USU history.

The Male Athlete of the year was awarded to basketball player Neemias Queta.

According to Low, “Queta rewrote the defensive record book at Utah State.” He finished the 2020-2021 season as one of four finalists for defense player of the year. Queta also led the nation with 97 blocks for the 2020-2021 basketball season; he was the only player in the Mountain West division to finish the year averaging a “double double,” with 14.9 points a game and 10.1 rebounds.

Clark presented the Gerald R. Sherratt award for the evening, which went to USU Facilities Maintenance.

When USU went online in March of 2020 due to the pandemic, buildings, landscapes and various other systems still required maintenance. According to Clark, USU Facilities worked non-stop throughout the year to keep campus clean and safe.

The Talent of the year award went to Sara Naylor.

Naylor is an artist and print maker. According to Naylor, her work focuses on the physical and emotional aspects of dealing with mental illness. Through a visual medium, she is able to portray mental health in a way that can be easier to communicate with others.

The Achievement of the year award went to Jenn Ha.

Ha served as the 2020-2021 student advocate VP and directed the government relations council in political engagement efforts. During her time at USU, she has been involved in four different research labs while earning opportunities to represent USU and present her projects at different conferences.

The Organization of the year award was awarded to Huntsman ProSales.

Huntsman ProSales is an organization that works to connect USU students and business executives, managers and recruiters throughout Utah and the rest of the nation. Students who participate in the organization get hands-on training in skills that will help them succeed in trade and marketing professions.

The next award, the Val R. Christensen service award, went to Campus Kitchen at Utah State University.

Campus Kitchen is a student-led organization that is actively working to eliminate food insecurity, hunger and food waste in the Aggie community. The organization collects waste from cooked food and repurposes it into new meals for the on-campus food pantry. The food is collected form both USU dining services and local restaurants.

The Nicholas Robins award went to Sami Ahmed.

Ahmed served as USUSA student body president for two consecutive years. He also worked tirelessly to advocate for the needs of students during the COVID pandemic.

The Geraldine Robins award went to Brock Hardcastle.

Hardcastle is the current Jon M. Huntsman School of Business senator. During this last year, he worked on a project to eliminate the cost of feminine hygiene products across campus.

The final award of the night, the Bill E. Robins Memorial award, went to Sean Weeks.

Weeks is a PhD student in the school’s psychology program. His work has focused on contextual behavioral science, minority stress, substance abuse and suicidality among adolescents. He also works with different organizations to provide free mental health services.

Winners in attendance were able to receive their award Saturday night, while winners not able to attend will receive their awards later this week.