ESU seniors receive Newberg awards

ESU honored two of its most accomplished students during the Dwight and Ida Curry Newberg Outstanding Senior and Outstanding Recent Graduate Banquet on April 12.

Ryan Diehl of Iola is this year’s Dwight and Ida Curry Newberg Outstanding Senior. Sarah Dent of Overland Park is the Newberg Distinguished Senior.

Award-winners must be nominated by an ESU faculty or staff member. Nominees are asked to submit information about their accomplishments during their time at ESU, as well as letters of recommendation. A committee made up of students, staff, and faculty then selects the Newberg Outstanding Senior and Newberg Distinguished Senior.

The Newberg Outstanding Senior receives a plaque and a $500 award and will serve as the 2004 spring commencement speaker. The Newberg Distinguished Senior receives a plaque along with a $250 award.

The Outstanding and Distinguished Senior awards are named in honor of Dwight and Ida Curry Newberg, who provided endowed funds for the awards. The fund was of particular interest to Dwight, as he received the Outstanding Senior award in 1933. The award later was discontinued, but was reestablished in 1988 through the generosity of the Newbergs. Dwight Newberg died in 1996. Ida Curry Newberg died in 2001.

Ryan Diehl

Diehl is pursuing bachelor of arts degrees in English and history. He is a 2000 graduate of Iola High School.

Diehl has maintained a 3.94 cumulative grade point average during his time at ESU. An energetic student genuinely interested in scholarly pursuits, he is known for going above and beyond the requirements of his assignments in order to completely immerse himself in the topic at hand. As a result, he is a member of five academic honors societies, including Phi Alpha Theta (history honor society) and Sigma Tau Delta (English honor society). He is also an intern for the Center for Great Plains Studies and has served as the editor of Quivira, ESU’s literary publication and one of the oldest such magazines west of the Mississippi. Diehl is an active participant in the University Honors Program.

Diehl lends his leadership skills to many campus and community organizations. He serves as chair of the Ambassadors, the official hosts of Emporia State University. He has served in various capacities for the Associated Student Government, including vice president and president pro-tempore. He gives his time to the Emporia Friends of the Zoo and is a Zoo Docent. Diehl is a member and officer of Xi Phi, a selective university leadership honor society.

A natural storyteller, Diehl created and performed the now-annual “Ghost Walk,” a special tour of campus ghost lore. Now a homecoming tradition, “Ghost Walk” draws more than 500 attendees each year. In addition, he has published short stories in Quivira and in the nationally distributed Insight.

Diehl has received a diverse collection of honors and awards, including the All American Scholar Award and the National Collegiate Social Sciences Award, and has been named the Outstanding Undergraduate in History and the Ultimate Fan of the Game. He was the 2002 Homecoming King and has received thirteen scholarships in addition to the prestigious honor of being named a Shepherd Scholar.

Sarah Dent

Sarah Dent is an education degree student with majors in psychology and the social sciences. As a high school student, Dent was selected to attend the Hubbard Future Teacher Academy at ESU. She was named a Joan Dale Hubbard Future Teacher Scholar and an Elberta Harris Scholar – two honors that both include four-year scholarships.

Dent is a member of three honor societies, including Psi Chi (psychology), Pi Gamma Mu (social sciences) and Phi Alpha Theta (history). She has served as an officer for both Psi Chi and Phi Gamma Mu.

A skilled softball player, Dent was a second-string catcher and utility player on the ESU varsity team. She was named the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Scholar-Athlete for 2000-2001. She has been a volunteed for Special Olympics, The Future Teacher Academy, Christmas in April, the Adopt-A-Highway cleanup program, and is a student secretary at The National Teachers Hall of Fame.

Dent is also a Shepherd Scholar, an award given to an outstanding ESU student during his or her junior year.

Last Updated July 2, 2007>