The College of Education and Human Development held its annual Spring Celebration awards ceremony on May 1 in the William J. Raggio building, where guests gathered to recognize this year’s award winners in categories such as research, teaching, student leadership, outreach, and community engagement.
The event highlights the importance of acknowledging achievements within the college community. Honoring faculty, staff, students, alumni, and supporters demonstrates a commitment to excellence in education and human development.
Acting Dean Jannet Vreeland said during her opening remarks: “The Spring Celebration is an opportunity to honor the accomplishments of our faculty, staff, students and alumni for the incredible work they do. We are proud to recognize their steadfast commitment to education and leadership in our College and in our community.”
Recruitment and Retention Specialist Brandon Sanders announced each of the 28 awards given to members of both the college and local community. Special recognition was given to Mandi Collins for receiving the F. Donald Tibbetts Distinguished Teacher Award—a $5,000 honor awarded annually—and Rachel Salas for being selected as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar for South Africa for 2026-2027.
Other notable honorees included Robert Trimble (Alumni of the Year), Shaheen Foundation (Outstanding Foundation), Terry Owens (Outstanding Supporter), Meggin McIntosh (Emeriti Faculty Legacy Award), Rita Laden (Emeriti Faculty Legacy Award), Lacey Solferino (Judith S. Bible Teaching Excellence Award), Mandi Collins (Outstanding Outreach Award), Bridget Walsh (Outstanding Graduate Advisor Award), Li-Ting Chen (Outstanding Faculty Research Award), Alexandra Aylward (Outstanding Rising Researcher Award), Literacy Center (Excellence in Innovation in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award), Ryah McKay (Outstanding Administrative Faculty Award) and Linda Starr (Outstanding Support Staff Award).
Student recipients included Pepper Thiede with the Dana Davis Award; Yazmin Andrade with the Edwin S. Dodson Educational Leadership Award; Pricilla Castaneda with Dr. George Hill & Dr. Ginny Knowles Leadership Award; Francisco Lopez Cabrera with John A. Bailey Professional Expectancy in Counseling; Ashley Howren with both Marshall R. Matley Distinguished Scholar in Special Education & Mary Demchak Memorial Doctoral Student Research Awards; Emma Glover with Ross Family Outstanding Social Studies Education; Harold Alba Cervantes & Luis Chavez-Torres with Nevada Retired School Employees Association Awards; Oluwatobi Mogbojuri as Outstanding Doctoral Student; Alexandra Paredes Rivera as Outstanding Master’s Student; Nikki Chindavong as Outstanding Undergraduate Student.
The college extended its gratitude to all attendees, honorees, and partners who contributed to making this celebration successful.