Evy Leibfarth ’25 had what she hopes is just a first taste of the Olympics. While she didn’t come home with a medal, she advanced to the semi-finals in both of her competitions this week. She placed 12th in the kayak slalom K1 category. She also made history as the first American to compete in the new women’s canoe slalom C1 race, placing 18th. At just 17, Leibfarth was the youngest in both paddling categories at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (postponed from last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic). She plans to take a gap fall semester before heading to Davidson in January. More.

Hannah Aspden ‘22 is heading to the Tokyo Paralympic Games after earning a spot on the U.S Paralympic Swimming team over the weekend. Aspden, a 21-year-old rising senior at Queens, took first place in three of the four events she competed in at the U.S. team trials in Minnesota to punch her ticket to the upcoming 2020 games. This will be the second consecutive Paralympics she has participated in, as Aspden was the youngest U.S swimmer to medal at either the Olympics or Paralympics in Rio in 2016, taking home a pair of bronzes. More.

Maighdlin (Maggie) Patterson has been awarded the 2021 Barlow Trophy, Alma College’s most prestigious award for a graduating senior. Patterson has led students on campus, literally, through her involvement with Student Congress, while leading by example, through her studies and extracurricular involvement. She is a double major in German and integrative physiology and health science (IPHS). Patterson is further involved with the Catholic Student Organization, Chemistry Club, Student Alumni Association, Alpha Phi Omega and the Ultimate Frisbee Club, among other affiliations. She has worked as a tutor for various courses, a peer writing consultant, a First-Year Guide and filled other jobs on-campus. More.

“I knew I had to work with kids. That is who I am," says Jenah Cooper.

“I never realized how much work goes into the curriculum and how hard the teachers work until I started working with them,” Jenah remembers. Those teachers are her role models, but she also holds her professors at King University in high esteem. “My professors are angels, I love them,” she says. “I am the type of person that needs more one-on-one instruction, and I can get that at King. More.

Jason Konz had family ties to Buena Vista University (BVU) before he visited campus as a high school student. Now, as a sophomore, Jason spends hours each week with 2020 Wythe Award winner Dr. Shawn Stone, Professor of Physics and Computer Science. Stone serves as advisor for BVU’s first Robotics Club, which made history on campus in November as it hosted its first sumo-bot competition. More.