Metro East Sun

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville students are among the recipients of the 2022 SIU System Distinguished Student Service Awards. Awardees were honored during the SIU System Board of Trustees meeting held Thursday, April 28.

During the meeting, Dianah McGreehan, chair of the award selection committee, announced the recipients and shared brief highlights of their outstanding acts of service. Each will receive $100 and an honorary plaque.

Winners included:

• Hailee O’Dell (SIUE undergraduate student) 
• Emily Love (SIUE graduate student) 
• Alison Long (SIU School of Dental Medicine) 
• Aneesh Asokan (School of Pharmacy) 
• Tristan Workman (SIUC undergraduate student) 
• Anna Wilcoxen (SIUC graduate student) 
• Barra Madden (School of Medicine) 
• Morgan Wiggins (School of Law) 

O’Dell is a junior studying elementary education and psychology in the School of Education, Health and Human Behavior (SEHHB). She is the immediate past president of SIUE Student Government and was elected to serve as the SIUE Student Trustee for the 2022-23 academic year. As Student Government president, she helped to change the dress code policy at the SIUE Student Fitness Center to be more inclusive. She was also instrumental in changing policies on summer employment for students to access on-campus work opportunities, even when not enrolled in summer courses. 

Love is a graduate student in the Department of Sociology. She is a graduate research assistant for the TIME (Toward an Inclusive Model of Excellence) team where she assists with workshops, speaker events and policy changes regarding equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) issues for faculty. Love’s commitment to EDI extends into cross-institutional collaborative work, such as the building of the Advocates and Allies program at SIUE. She has launched a series of interactive theater workshops to demonstrate the faculty experience in a creative way.

Long is a fourth-year student at the SIU School of Dental Medicine (SDM). She is the wellness chair for the SIU SDM American Student Dental Association. As chair, she organized a Virtual Dental Dash 5k, raising over $1,500 for student membership dues. Long belongs to other campus organizations which serve to enhance the education and community commitments of the campus, such as Give Kids a Smile and Veteran Care Days. Additionally, she served on the Breast Cancer Fundraiser Committee for the SIU SDM American Association for Women Dentists which raised more than $2,000 for Siteman Cancer Research.

Asokan, a fourth-year student at the School of Pharmacy (SOP) serves as the Class of 2022 president. In addition, he has served as president of the SOP Student Representative Council and fundraising chair for the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists and Illinois Pharmacists Association. Asokan helped found the professional organization, Industry Pharmacist Organization (IPhO), for students to learn about the pharmacy industry and opportunities within. He also served as a member of the SIU System Student Advisory Committee from 2020-21.

Noting the strong applicant pool featuring exemplary students from all SIU System campuses, McGreehan also acknowledged several students who received honorable mention, including, but not limited to SIUE graduate student Olivia Middendorf, who is studying nutrition, and Isabella Pruitt, who studies public health, both in the SEHHB Department of Applied Health.

Photo: 2021 SIU System Distinguished Student Service Award winners (L-R) Hailee O’Dell, Emily Love, Alison Long and Aneesh Asokan.