Hastings College announced two Bronco Award recipients during its annual Honors Convocation event on April 28. Maggie Rogers of Hoover, Alabama, and Socorro Topete of South Sioux City, Nebraska, were recognized as 2021 Bronco Award recipients.
Established in 1924, the Bronco Award is the College’s highest non-academic award granted to students. Recipients of the Bronco Award and the accompanying Who’s Who list are determined through a vote of their peers and a student-faculty committee.
Who’s Who honorees are recognized for having made outstanding campus contributions during their college careers. Up to 10 percent of the graduating seniors may be named to the Who’s Who list.
A video of the Honors Convocation ceremony is available at youtu.be/6LtiNonvvz0 and photos are available to download online.
Bios for the Bronco Award recipients and other Who’s Who honorees are listed below.
Francisco Arevalo is a business administration major from Salinas, California. The Dean’s List student is a member of the men’s soccer team, serving as captain since 2019, and is also a co-founder of HOPE120, a mental health awareness and advocacy group based at Hastings College.
Michaela Bailey of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, is majoring in elementary education and special education. During her four years at Hastings College, Bailey has been on the Dean’s List and is a member of Alpha Chi, Alpha Phi Sigma, Student Education Association, Student Alumni Association, FCA and Cru, while also serving on Student Senate. She has been on the programming board as co-chair of the Entertainment Committee, Week of Welcome Committee chair, Academic Showcase co-chair and a member of the Diversity Team. Bailey is the founder of the Bronco Buddies program and a peer mentor.
Samuel Bosle is a Dean’s List student from Hastings, Nebraska, and is majoring in digital design & development. He has been involved with campus broadcasting throughout his four years at Hastings College, holding the positions of Collegian webmaster, student director of the Center for Applied Media Arts and a member of the Society for Collegiate Journalists. Bosle has participated in and served as co-chair of the Hastings College Lecture Series Student Symposium and is also involved with the Hastings Community Foundation.
Kelli Brichacek of Waterloo, Nebraska, is a communication studies major. The Dean’s List student is also involved in theatre, and is president of Alpha Psi Omega, the theatre honorary. Brichacek is also a member of Alpha Chi, holding the position of social chair.
Sam Burke is a communication studies major from Denver, Colorado. She has been actively involved on the Forensics team and was named an All-American this year. She has served as co-chair of the Hastings College Lecture Series Student Symposium, and presented several lectures during the Academic Showcase. Burke was also an Irish Fellow and is a member of PHIVE-O, Pi Kappa Delta, Lambda Pi Eta and Psi Chi and is a Dean’s List student.
Zoe Dahlgren of Axtell, Nebraska, is a secondary education major and has been a member of the Hastings College band and choir, musical theatre ensemble, vocal jazz and the 1-2-5 a capella group. Dahlgren also served as president and vice president of membership for Sigma Alpha Iota, and was a resident assistant.
Joelle Derner of St. Paul, Nebraska, is a Dean’s List student and will graduate with a personalized program major. Derner was a resident assistant and has been a program guide for the Prairie Loft Center in Hastings.
Megan Dlouhy is a business administration, mathematics and pre-actuarial science major from Lincoln, Nebraska. The Dean’s List student is a Scott Scholar and member of Alpha Chi. Dlouhy served as treasurer of the Honors Program and on the Hastings College Lecture Series Student Symposium. She was also a student ambassador and a member of the Student Senate.
Timothy Ellis of Red Cloud, Nebraska, is a music education and voice performance major. The Dean’s List student is active in the Hastings College Choir, the Musical Theatre Ensemble and Bell Choir, and participated in the 1-2-5 a cappella group and multiple theatre productions. Ellis was a Homecoming royalty finalist, served on the Student Senate, was named Outstanding Student Association Senator and a Presser Scholar.
Parker Fleming is a Dean’s List student from Hastings, Nebraska, and majored in biology. A member of Tri-Beta biology honorary and Student Senate, he was named Senator of the Year and also served as president of the Student Health Advisory Council (SHAC).
Courtney Hanson of Brookings, South Dakota, is a communication studies and philosophy and religion major. She is a member of the Forensics team and was named an All-American this year. She’s received the Kevin Heineman Memorial Scholarship, the Mabel Gray Newburn Communications Scholarship and the Lambda Pi Eta Outstanding New Communicator Award. Hanson is a Crimson Cupboard student leader and has been involved with Pi Kappa Delta and Lambda Pi Eta and served on the Student Senate for the history and philosophy departments. She has also been a communication studies work study and an intern in the Office of Marketing and Communications.
Jordan Ismaiel is a member of the Honors Program and a studio art and philosophy and religion major. The Hastings, Nebraska, native is co-founder of the Hastings College Kappa Pi Art Honorary and has served as vice president and president. He also served as chief copy editor and editor-in-chief of the Collegian. Ismaiel is a member of the Society of Collegiate Journalists, the Hastings College Lecture Series Student Symposium, the Student Advisory Committee for Academics, the Diversity Team and the Artists’ Guild, receiving a variety of honors and having a number of articles and artwork featured in publications such as Spectrum and Create! Magazine.
Danielle Lizarraga of Denver, Colorado, is a health systems and sociology major. The Dean’s List student was a student leader of LocalGlobal, a student organization geared toward raising awareness about hunger and homelessness at the local, national and global levels, and made a presentation during Academic Showcase.
Carter Mason is a marketing major from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and was active on the men’s tennis team throughout his collegiate career, including being named GPAC Player of the Year and appointed to the All Conference team. The Dean’s List student was president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and served as a resident assistant.
Ethan Molifua of Lincoln, Nebraska, is an elementary education major. The Dean’s List student was the Western Region Representative for the Nebraska Student Education Association, a resident assistant and Homecoming King.
Emma Redinger is an art and communication studies major from Hastings, Nebraska. She is a Scott Scholar and Honors Program student, and a Dean’s List student. Redinger has also been active with Alpha Omega, Academic Showcase and Model UN, where she served as co-president. She has served as parliamentarian for the Student Association and a photographer for the Center for Applied Media Arts, volunteered with the Hastings Literacy Program and is an Irish Fellow.
Maggie Rogers of Hoover, Alabama, is a personalized program major, Dean’s List student and has served as Student Association president during her senior year. She was named Alpha Chi Outstanding Freshman of the Year and has served as a tour guide and campus ambassador, first-year experience coach, Honors Program president, Religion Task Force student representative, Food Committee student representative, Hastings College Lecture Series Student Symposium co-chair, Student Association vice president and senator for the Bronco Village Apartments. Rogers has also had several pieces featured in the HCToday and Spectrum Literary Arts magazines and serves as the Hastings College Student Engagement Center’s student director of the CORE 100 course and Campus Connect student worker.
Vinny Schmidt is a Dean’s List student and biology major from Hastings, Nebraska. He has been a member of Tri-Beta biology honorary, serving as president during his senior year. He also served on the Welcome Home committee and has been a pitcher for the Bronco baseball team.
Lucy Skoch of Omaha, Nebraska, is graduating with a degree in elementary education and special education. The Dean’s List student is a member of Alpha Chi. Skoch earned a starting position on the volleyball team as both a middle hitter and right side hitter and was team captain during the 2020-21 season. She was a two-time first team all-conference selection and a first team American Volleyball Coaches Association all-region selection.
Socorro Topete, a criminology major from South Sioux City, Nebraska, is president of the sociology and criminology group, a member of the theatre, a peer mentor, engagement coach, Diversity Team student representative, resident assistant council member and a COVID response team member and worker. The Dean’s List student has served as an intern and community outreach advocate for the enCourage Advocacy Center (formerly SASA Crisis Center) and has also been involved with the planning committee for Hastings National Night Out, the Nebraska Coalition Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression group and Give Hastings Day.
Mackenzie Waltemath is a business administration major from Omaha, Nebraska. A peer educator and Dean’s List student, she has been actively involved with choir and has served as treasurer of Sigma Alpha Iota, president of the Student United Way, president of the Student Alumni Association and a student ambassador and member of the Student Association programming board. Waltemath was also selected as an Irish Fellow and interned for the United Way of South Central Nebraska.
Hastings College is a four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Hastings’ student-centered initiatives include providing books, an iPad and a two-week study away experience at no additional cost. A block-style semester schedule allows professors and students to focus on fewer classes at a time and promotes hands-on experiences. Discover more at hastings.edu.
