Named for the late Budge Threlkeld, a former USC administrator and professor, the award is presented to a graduating senior who has demonstrated excellence in academics as well as in service to the University and to the community. Five outstanding students were selected as candidates for the Prize and the winner was announced at the Achievement Day luncheon at USC on Sunday.

Mize will graduate with a degree in experimental psychology on Saturday. The Pueblo mother of three young children, ages 9, 6, and 3, Mize prides herself on being a student, soccer mom, choir mom, and a swim mom. At USC she is involved in peer mentoring, functioning as a coordinator for the Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory (CNL), group tutoring for statistics through the Learning Center, and offering individual tutoring for the Psychology Department. Maize recently signed a contract with USC and the CNL to analyze functional magnetic resonance imagining (fMRI) data generated at the University of Colorado Health Science Center.

Four other students were nominated for the award.

Meline Snyder, of Pueblo, will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics/finance. She is planning to acquire a Certificate in Banking by May 2004, through the American Institute of Banking. Snyder is involved in the Children's World Learning Center at the University and participates in the Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society. She serves on a search and screen committee for the position of director of admissions and records at USC.

Kristen Inman, of Rye, will graduate in May, with a degree in speech communication. She is involved in the Speech Club and was elected president for the first two semesters. She also is involved in her community, singing at her church, and performing solos for many functions, donating her skills as a photographer to couples being married in Rye and Pueblo. She also teaches kickboxing aerobics two evenings a week, as well as many other volunteering activities with District 60, District 70, the School for the Arts and Sciences, and the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind. She also was a guest speaker for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences 2002 Literary and Cultural Conference. She currently is participating in a program training her to be a speech language pathologist assistant.

Jodi Tomky, of Rocky Ford, works as an accounting intern with the La Junta, Colorado, firm of Grimsley, White, and Co., CPAs. She will obtain a degree in accounting from USC in May. In November 2003, she plans to take the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam. Tomky coaches a fifth-and-sixth grade volleyball team at Crowley County Middle School. She is also an involved member of the United Methodist Church of Ordway.

Juan Morales, of Colorado Springs, is graduating in May with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a minor in professional writing. He is a member of the USC Honors Program, and he has worked on a variety of publications for the community and USC including, The Hungry Eye and the Southern Colorado Magazine. After graduation, he is will pursue a M.F.A. in Creative Writing and a B.A. degree in Spanish language and literature. One day he hopes to be a published poet. He is involved in Sigma Tau Delta Honors Society, the English club, Hungry Eye Literary Club, and USC's Writing Room.

The University of Southern Colorado is a regional, comprehensive university emphasizing professional, career-oriented, and applied programs. Displaying excellence in teaching, celebrating diversity, and engaging in service and outreach, USC is distinguished by access, opportunity, and the overall quality of services provided to its students.