Lynley Fox is the recipient of this year’s prestigious Raymond D. Thomas Award

Monday, April 7, 2014

Lynley Fox, a senior accounting major at Oklahoma State University, is the recipient of the prestigious 2014 Raymond D. Thomas Award, given annually to the top senior in the Spears School of Business. Each year, a faculty committee in the business school votes who will receive the award and the $750 lifetime membership to the OSU Alumni Association.

“I am so honored to receive this award,” Fox said. “I’ve had the privilege of knowing or working with most of the students recognized as outstanding seniors, and they are all truly deserving. I’ve always felt like I had the most stellar peers on campus. I’m so grateful for an amazing group of faculty, staff, and students that have made a difference in the Spears School and in my own life.”

A Tulsa native, Fox grew up coming to Stillwater with her parents Scott and Britton Fox for games and to visit family. Her grandfather is Lee Manzer, long-time OSU marketing professor. “I always felt like Stillwater was a second home,” she said.

But when she was a senior in high school, she planned to go to a smaller school, not OSU. “There were many reasons I chose to switch my path. The campus was extremely friendly and welcoming. I felt like I could really be happy here, and I am. I am so glad I ended up choosing OSU,” said Fox.

The 22-year-old is a member of the OSU Phi Kappa Phi honor society, Business Student Council, Spears School Ambassadors, Beta Gama Sigma, Beta Alpha Psi, Latter Day Saints Student Association and the Mortar Board Honor Society.

Last summer, Fox was selected by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to receive one of 43 $10,000 scholarships awarded nationwide. She plans to use the scholarship to pay for the majority of her graduate school tuition.

Fox will carry a flag as a part of the opening ceremony to graduation and be the first business student to receive her diploma.

“The Spears School has changed my life. I can’t imagine what I would’ve been like had I not chosen the Spears School. I have had the most amazing professors who really teach and care about students. All of the opportunities that the business school offers like career services, advising, and student organizations have provided ways for me to get involved, get internships, and get prepared to be a full-fledged adult. I feel my experience here has prepared me academically, professionally, and emotionally to take on the world,” said Fox.

Fox will earn her accounting undergraduate degree in May. She plans to complete her master’s degree in accounting in the spring of 2015 at OSU.