K-State First announces 2024 award winners
Thursday, May 8, 2025
K-State First award recipients stand with Debbie Leckron Miller and Bill Miller, who help make the awards possible.
K-State First proudly announces the recipients of its 2024 awards, recognizing outstanding contributions to first-year student success at Kansas State University.
The First-Year Advocate Award honors those faculty and staff who excel in supporting first-year students.
Rachel Levitt received the faculty/staff First-Year Advocate award for their extraordinary dedication to student success. Levitt consistently makes themselves available to students, whether meeting after class to clarify difficult concepts or responding to late-night emails before assignments are due. Their office has become a haven where students feel truly seen and heard, creating an intellectual environment that challenges students to engage with complex ideas while ensuring they feel supported. Levitt sees the whole person behind each student, recognizing their unique strengths and potential.
K-State student Madisyn Robertson received the First-Year Advocate Award for her exceptional leadership and creativity, which have transformed the first-year experience. She approaches each interaction with genuine care and enthusiasm, making herself available as both a resource and a mentor. Robertson has a unique talent for identifying students who may be struggling to find their place and personally connecting them with opportunities where they can thrive, demonstrating her understanding that academic success is inseparable from a sense of belonging.
The K-State First Book Awards celebrate engagement with the common book, "Deaf Utopia" by Nyle DiMarco. Erin Traudt received the faculty award for organizing the Movies on the Grass film series, which featured films that complemented the book's themes.
The Bill Miller and Debbie Leckron Miller Scholarships were awarded to students Rachel Gillam, who led a campus book club fostering discussions on Deaf culture and building community, and Arnaldo Torres Hernandez, vice president of the Sign Language Club, who aims to develop curriculum integrating sign language into organic chemistry courses.
The Sign Language Club received the Student Group Award for their vital contributions to "Deaf Utopia" events, providing translation services and creating welcoming environments for deaf and hard-of-hearing attendees.
K-State First presented the Special Recognition Career Achievement Award to Holly Gerke, associate director in the Office of Recruitment and Admissions, for her exceptional university leadership and unwavering dedication to first-year students throughout her career. Gerke has been instrumental to the success of K-State First, serving as a true champion of the program by ensuring that orientation leaders and new students connect with K-State First courses from day one. Her contributions extend beyond recruitment, as she has been an invaluable partner for the K-State First Book program and convocation, playing a critical role in supporting first-year students in their transition to university life.
The Bosco Family Scholarships, which recognize participation in the high-impact CAT Community program, were awarded to students Alison Amelia Guillen Galindo, Remi Stover, Allee Riddell, Ian Mead and Sara Crosby.
Congratulations to all recipients for their dedication and remarkable impact on K-State students.