The Oklahoma State University Alumni Association honored 23 students with the 2025-26 OSU Outstanding Seniors Award. This award recognizes students who distinguish themselves through academic achievement, campus and community involvement, academic, athletic or extracurricular honors or awards, scholarships and work ethic during their time at OSU. After reviewing the students’ applications, the Alumni Association Student Awards Committee met with 48 of the OSU Seniors of Significance who were announced in November 2025 and selected 23 for this prestigious honor. NOTE: An asterisk (*) denotes students who are Alumni Association members.

Lenna Abouzahr

Stillwater, Oklahoma
Electrical and Computer Engineering

Abouzahr served as president and vice president of the Society of Women Engineers. She was a Tau Beta Pi Scholar, a member of the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology’s engineering honor society and Eta Kappa Nu Honor Society. She was a W.W. Allen Scholar and a volunteer for the CEAT Student Council.

After graduation, she plans to pursue a master’s degree and work in the electrical power and energy industry.

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Erin Barnard

Edmond, Oklahoma
Human Development and Family Science: Child and Family Services

Barnard served as a volunteer for the Ruff Riders and as a program partner for Opportunity Orange. In 2025, she held an internship at Bethany Children’s Health Center. Barnard was a horse leader at Turning Point Ranch and served as vice president of training in the College of Education and Human Sciences ambassadors.

After graduation, she plans to attend school for occupational therapy after taking a gap year.

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Cassie Bauer

Frisco, Texas
Biology (Pre-Medicine)

Bauer served as a facilitator for the Presidential Leadership Council and was a College of Arts and Sciences Student Council member. She was a Freshman Research Scholar and completed and received the OSU Honors College General Honors Award. Bauer was accepted into the OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine 3+1 medical school program.

After graduation, she plans to continue pursuing her passion for health care in the physician assistant program at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah.

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Addison Browning

Blanchard, Oklahoma
Biology (Pre-Medicine)

Browning studied as a liaison between the U.S. and Australian business markets, traveling internationally to support medical clinics and public health outreach. She participated in undergraduate research studying Fragile X syndrome. Browning was recognized as an Ideal Graduate and started her eyewear donation project, Change of Vision.

After graduation, she plans to attend medical school and pursue a career in ophthalmology, medical ethics and preventive health care.

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Ashlyn Caldwell

Tulsa, Oklahoma
Management Information Systems and Data Analytics

Caldwell served as president of the Women in Technology society. She is a recipient of the General Honors Award and was a LeadHERship Spears fellow. She held three internships in software development and product analysis. Caldwell earned her Creative Opportunities for Reasonable Development (C.O.R.D.) to wear at graduation.

She is currently in the 4+1 graduate program. After she graduates with her master’s in business analytics and data science, she plans to work as a data scientist or data analyst.

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Rebekah Cleary

Choctaw, Oklahoma
Elementary Education

Cleary maintained her spot on the President’s Honor Roll and completed her undergraduate certificate in special education. She served as the student director of fundraising for the College of Education and Human Sciences. Cleary was a research presenter at a national conference and served two terms as CEHS Student Council president.

Following graduation, she will be returning to her elementary school alma mater. She will support the introduction of special education to Oklahoma Catholic schools.

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Trevor Friesen

Edmond, Oklahoma
Management, Marketing and International Business

Friesen was involved in many organizations, including the Student Government Association, the OSU Student Foundation and the Honors College. He was an OSU Institutional Nominee for the Truman, Gates and Marshall Scholarships. Friesen participated in internships with JPMorgan Chase and Phillips 66 and in international exchanges with the Honors College.

After graduation, he plans to return to JPMorganChase as an analyst in New York City.

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Emma Garcia

Carrollton, Texas
Elementary Education

Garcia was a co-leader for the OSU Love Does Club and an OSU Baptist Collegiate Ministry Hospitality team leader. She served as a College of Education and Human Sciences ambassador and held a student internship in the OSU Excellence in Collaborative Experimental Learning program. Garicia also participated in the NASA Oklahoma Space Grant Consortium STELLAR program.

After graduation, she plans to return to the Dallas area and pursue a teaching position at the upper elementary level.

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Sophie Hawkins

Arlington, Texas
Mechanical Engineering

Hawkins served as chapter president and mentorship chair for the Society of Women Engineers. She also served on the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Student Council. She was a research assistant at the Center for Integrated Building Systems and volunteered at the GearUp! Fundraiser administered by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

She is a W.W. Allen Scholar and plans to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Cambridge after graduation, before returning stateside to work in sustainability.

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Amanda Hess

McLean, Texas
Accounting

Hess was the December Orange Gown Graduate for the Spears School of Business and was named a Top 5 Senior in the School of Accounting. She was a member of Spears Scholar Leaders, the Economics Society and the Academic Integrity Panel. She served as president of the honor society, Beta Alpha Psi and represented OSU at conferences across the United States.

Since graduating in December, she has begun pursuing her Master of Accounting degree at OSU and will then join Ley, Gifford and Farr.

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Addy Irwin

Wauconda, Illinois
Entrepreneurship

Irwin was accepted into the Entrepreneur Scholars Program and served as president of the Entrepreneurship Club. She served as the youngest on the board of advisors for INCubator, an entrepreneurial startup program for high schoolers. She also started Spark Aero, her aircraft part business, and won the 2024 Pitch and Poster Competition.

Since graduating, she has enjoyed expanding her knowledge in the aerospace industry through her career while also managing social media platforms for golf accounts as a side business.

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Tatumn Kennedy

Meeker, Colorado
Biosystems Engineering: Environment and Natural Sciences

Kennedy served on the Ferguson College of Agriculture Student Council. She studied abroad in Peru, which opened her eyes to new cultures, perspectives and possibilities. She has participated and helped continue the tradition of America’s Greatest Homecoming. Kennedy was also a McKnight Scholar and served as a mentor for this program in recent years.

After graduation, she plans to continue her education at OSU in pursuit of a master’s degree in biosystems engineering with a focus in water resource management.

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Sydney Martens

Fairview, Oklahoma
Marketing: Communications Management and English

During her time at OSU, Martens worked as a social media intern for the OSU Hockey Team and a digital media intern for OSU Brand Management. She served as president of Alpha Omicron Pi. Martens was also an OSU Unified Special Olympics Partner. She served as a Spears Scholar Leader and had the opportunity to study abroad in Malaysia and Singapore.

After graduation, she plans to work in social media or marketing within the sports and entertainment industry.

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Avery McIntyre

Edmond, Oklahoma
Political Science

McIntyre was a member of the Omega Phi Alpha, a service sorority. She was also a member of the Henry Clay Student Congress and the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature. McIntyre attended the Harvard Kennedy Public Policy and Leadership Conference and was a Truman Scholarship institutional nominee.

After graduation, she will take a gap year to manage state Rep. Trish Ranson’s 2026 re-election campaign through the midterms before preparing for graduate school, where she will pursue a master’s in public policy and a juris doctorate.

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Dustin Meadows

Paradise, Texas
Physiology and Biology (Pre-Medicine)

Meadows was awarded the Outstanding Senior in Physiology Award. He was a McKnight Scholar and a member of the McKnight Leadership Program. He was a part of leadership in the Best Buddies Organization and volunteered as a coach for a Stillwater Area Sports Association little league team. Meadows was also named Mr. OSU as a sophomore in 2024.

After graduation, he will be attending Texas Tech University Medical School in Lubbock.

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Kaylee Morris

Moore, Oklahoma
Landscape Architecture

Morris was the recipient of the Oklahoma American Society of Landscape Architects Student Honor Award for excellence in design and served as the president of their OSU student chapter. She completed a summer internship with EDSA Inc. She served as a resident assistant for OSU and conducted research in trauma-informed design.

After graduation, she plans to begin her career in landscape architecture and actively pursue professional licensure.

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Madisyn Myers

Omega, Oklahoma
Human Nutrition (Pre-Medicine)

Myers was named a Top Ten Freshman Woman. She was a Wentz Research Scholar, a Freshman Research Scholar and the College of Education and Human Sciences Freshman Researcher of the Year. She was a recipient of the Women for OSU Student Scholarship and is the founder and CEO of Beef for the Bank, a nonprofit organization that works to fight food insecurity.

After graduation, she plans to attend medical school with the dream of practicing primary care in her hometown.

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Parker Perry

Keyes, Oklahoma
Political Science

Perry was a Wentz Research Scholar and a Freshman Research Scholar. She was an Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education Academic Scholar and had the opportunity to study abroad in Barcelona, Spain. She volunteered as a mentor at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Oklahoma. Perry was also a founding member of the Wishes for Water Foundation.

After graduation, she plans to take a gap year and ideally pursue the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Spain and attend law school in the fall of 2027.

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Jai Simpson

Tulsa, Oklahoma
Architecture

Simpson attained the Dean’s Honor Roll all four years. He connected Inventure and the Terrance Crutcher Foundation during his internship, working in schematic and design development stages. Simpson traveled to Asia for a study abroad program. He participated in design competitions at the National Organization of Minority Architects and worked for over four years with Tulsa Responds.

After graduation, he hopes to move to a walkable city and focus on architecture that focuses on affordable housing, urban infill and community-based projects.

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Regan Leslie Smithwick

Miles, Texas
Animal Science

Smithwick was a member of the McKnight Scholars Leadership Program. She was named a Top Ten Freshman and participated in the Oklahoma Agricultural Leadership Encounter. Smithwick served as a student ambassador for the Ferguson College of Agriculture and volunteered for the Stillwater Area Sports Association and the Sunnybrook Christian Church Sensory Room.

After graduation, she plans to pursue a professional degree in law with the goal of becoming an oil and gas attorney.

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Abigail Reanne Steelhammer

Oklahoma City
Animal Science (Pre-Veterinary)

Steelhammer attained a minor in applied music and was a member of the first OSU choir to compete internationally. She served as the herd manager for the OSU Polo Team and as a supplemental instruction leader and student tutor. She organized the “Animals and Engineering Fair” in collaboration with the Oklahoma Engineering Foundation and Kirkpatrick Foundation.

She was accepted as an early admission student to the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine, where she plans to attend after graduation to eventually become an equine veterinarian.

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Charley Van Newkirk

Weatherford, Texas
Multimedia Journalism

Van Newkirk served as president of the Student Leadership Council, leading initiatives to support the School of Media and Strategic Communications. She worked as a multimedia intern for OSU Brand Management. Van Newkirk was selected as a member of the 2025 Homecoming Royalty Court and served as an in-game host for Cowboy baseball.

After graduation, she plans to begin her career in broadcast journalism as a multimedia journalist or lifestyle reporter.

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Megan Wilkie

Tulsa, Oklahoma
Human Development and Family Science: Child and Family Services

Wilkie was a member of the Honors College. She participated in the George Kaiser Family Foundation Summer Impact Program as an intern in the summer of 2025. She is a member of the Mortar Board Honor Society and the Order of Omega. Wilkie is also a student victim advocate for 1is2 Many organization and served on the Varsity Revue Executive Team.

She plans on taking a gap year before moving on to start graduate school and hopes to one day open a dance studio for individuals with disabilities.

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Photos by: Ellie Piper

Story by: Libby Ray | STATE Magazine