Mario Gutierrez, of Powell, Wyoming, a senior in chemical engineering and the Honors College, and Kwasi Adu-Berchie, of Asokore Mampong, Ghana, also a senior in chemical engineering and the Honors College, were recently chosen as the 2015 recipients of the Richard Lee Featherstone Endowed Prize.
“I am sincerely honored and humbled to have been selected as a winner of the 2015 Featherstone Endowed Prize,” Gutierrez said. “It is such an amazing feeling to know that the work I have done for the past four years has had a significant impact on the lives of others. Through my involvement in extracurricular activities and student organizations I was able to diversify my college experience and become a well-rounded individual who gained a greater understanding of what it means to be an effective citizen.”
The $3,000 prize seeks to identify the most outstanding graduating senior and to grant an award, without limit or bounds, to be used for future growth and development, travel, graduate study or meditation.
“I am humbled to have been recognized as a recipient of the Richard Lee Featherstone Endowed Prize,” Adu-Berchie said. “I grew up knowing that I have a niche in my society and I have pursued my passions, well aware that it is going to have an impact bigger than myself. I see the award as a celebration of this and a motivation to continue to fulfill my niche within my ecosystem.”
The prize was created in 1986 by a group of MSU College of Education alumni to celebrate Featherstone’s life and contributions to scholarship, research and leadership. The award recipient must be an MSU senior who exhibits an open, curious, creative approach to education and ideas, as well as intellectual ingenuity. Additionally, the award recipient must demonstrate exceptional character and leadership in enriching the lives of others and a commitment to community service and lifelong learning.
The winners of the Richard Lee Featherstone Endowed Prize were announced during a luncheon on April 21 at the University Club of MSU.