Academics
The awards were directed by the Student Government Association and the nomination process was open to all students.
Included in the celebration were the recipients of the long running Dr. Robert K. Ratzlaff Outstanding Faculty Award, and recognition of years of service for Pittsburg State University employees reaching milestones.
Recipients also were recognized at a dinner with the provost and received commemorative medallions.
Brenda Hawkins was described by students as the heart of Pittsburg’s international student community, going above and beyond as an Immigration and Advising Coordinator and ISA advisor.
“She expertly navigates complex immigration policies, supports students through OPT, and dedicates countless hours to organizing major cultural events like GlobalFest,” they said.
Her passion extends beyond her job — she teaches transition classes, fosters community connections, and ensures every student feels welcomed and supported.
“She helps us navigate challenging immigration situations to ensure we are always in compliance,” another student wrote.
She is the primary advisor for the International Student Association, working to help the organization host major events every semester with hundreds of attendees.
“Brenda is the driving force that helps keep the international student community at Pittsburg so tight knit and successful,” a student wrote.
"She has inspired me to also be a kind and compassionate leader who can make decisions that will benefit the most people possible,” another wrote. “She has let me take the lead in organizing events with dozens of people in attendance, so I have developed great organizational skills, became a more outgoing person, and learned how to delegate efficiently. I went from being a new and lonely, introverted international student in a foreign place, to an aspiring leader with many successes with her support.”
Jamie Rink (BS ‘01, MS ‘05) has a willingness and passion to help every student succeed and feel like they belong at Pitt State that sets her apart, student nominators said.
As the Director of Student Financial Assistance, she takes time to talk to students and parents who come in the office or call to help them feel welcome and supported.
“Whenever there is a problem with a student's financial aid account, she ensures it gets addressed and fixed immediately, and that no penalty will fall on the student,” a student wrote. “She personally reaches out to students and parents after hours to help with FAFSA issues.”
In one instance, a student's Spanish-speaking parents were struggling to complete their section of the FAFSA; Rink texted the student detailed instructions, allowing them to translate and guide their parents through the process. She continued to follow up to ensure the student received their financial aid on time.
She played a major role in the development and implementation of the new Great Gorilla scholarship program, and has been a role model.
"She has provided me with work related opportunities that have greatly helped me improve my leadership skills and allowed me to work more closely with the student body at PSU,” one nominator wrote. “This has made me more confident as an employee and a student because I know she believes in and trusts me, which has helped me see my own value. I can help truly make a difference in a student's life because of the opportunities she has given me, and there are few things that are as rewarding as that.”
Carol Young is in charge of the hiring, training, and maintenance of the campus police. She hires both student workers for dispatch and officers to protect the peace of campus.
Student nominators said she has kindness, but also firmness which ultimately ensures safety on a campus of several thousand individuals on any given day — including students, employees, and visitors.
“Young works every day to further the outreach of police and this institution,” one student wrote. “She is the primary dispatcher for every home football game on Saturdays throughout the fall semester, and works over every break to make sure students are safe.”
“Like the rest of the police department, she also works any time school is out, including snow days and normal campus closures,” another student noted.
“Carol gave me a campus job and taught me how to stay calm under the pressure of emergencies,” one student wrote. “While a lot of the tasks done by campus police are not high risk, some of them are. Carol has always been a guiding presence in teaching me how to act, work, and calmly perform my duties on the job. She has told me multiple times that her main goal is to prepare me for the harsh realities of the real world.”
