2008 BEAUDRY AWARD FINALISTS

Marisa is a psychology major originally from Erie, PA.  Over the course of her four years at John Carroll, she has been actively involved in the following areas:

Leadership
At the end of freshman year, Marisa became involved with Alumni Reunion Weekend and worked as a children’s counselor during summer 2005 and continued to do so for the following two years.  She also was a fall orientation advisor for the incoming class of 2009 and volunteered for the Mentorship Program.  Additionally, after declaring a psychology major at the end of freshman year, she became involved with PSI CHI, the National Honor Society in Psychology and served as the LSO Representative from 2005-2006 and was the President during the 2006-2007 academic year.  During her junior year, Marisa was a Resident Assistant in Murphy Hall and was inducted into Alpha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit Honor Society.  She also became involved in the first annual JCU Relay for Life by serving as the Ceremonies Chair for the campus-wide event where her responsibilities involved planning and coordinating the opening, closing, and luminaria ceremonies.  Marisa is currently the Senior RA of Dolan Hall, is helping teach a leadership class for next year’s RAs, and is involved in the 2008 Relay for Life as a team captain.  

Commitment to Christian Values
Marisa has attempted to remain dedicated to her Roman Catholic faith through attending weekly mass at St. Francis Chapel, where she also serves as a Eucharistic minister.  Marisa also enriched her faith by participating in an immersion experience at the end of her junior year; through this experience, she learned a lot about others of different cultural backgrounds but similar faith backgrounds in Kingston, Jamaica.  She participated in Christian Life Communities during her freshman, sophomore, and junior years and was also a participant on the Manresa 12 retreat this past fall where she gained a more thorough understanding of Ignatian spirituality. 

Academic Achievement
As a recipient of an American Values Scholarship and Presidential Scholarship, Marisa has remained dedicated to her major and has been on the Dean’s List throughout her time at JCU.  Additionally, she was inducted into PSI CHI during her junior year and served as the President of the organization for one year.  Marisa was also inducted into Alpha Sigma Nu which places emphasis on scholarship, loyalty, and service.  Upon completing her project for an advanced research methods course, Marisa presented her project at the Ohio Undergraduate Psychology Research Conference at Hiram College.  Her hard work through the psychology department earned her a 2007 summer grant from the Huntington-Codrington Foundation where she worked with a John Carroll faculty member studying the efficacy of Dialectical Behavior Therapy.  She presented her research from this past summer, as well as an independent project, at the 2008 Celebration of Scholarship.  Furthermore, Marisa will present her senior research project and will be awarded a regional research award from PSI CHI - one of twenty-one awards in the region - at the 2008 Midwestern Psychological Association Conference held in Chicago in May. 

Service to the University and/or Civic Community
Marisa volunteered as an elementary school tutor for Family Transitional Housing, Inc. during her freshman year at John Carroll.  At the beginning of sophomore year, Marisa was asked by a faculty member to volunteer as a tutor for a student through the psychology department.  During her junior year, Marisa was a member of the Residence Life Advisory Board, was part of a focus group evaluating services offered to first year students, and participated on an immersion experience to Kingston, Jamaica centered on “We are God’s Hands”.  She was the student representative for the University Library Committee during her senior year and participated in several service projects and activities through her position as a Senior Resident Assistant and as an RA to a floor of upperclassmen.  Also, as the President of PSI CHI, Marisa organized and volunteered with other members at the Cleveland Food Bank with the hopes of incorporating an element of service into the academic organization. 

Libby is a biology major and business minor from Mars, PA. Since joining the JCU community four years ago she has participated in and accomplished the following:

Leadership
Libby has held a variety of leadership positions.  She was the Student Union Vice President for Student Organizations through which she oversaw 100+ student organizations.  She helped students create new organizations to meet their needs and interests.  Libby participated in the fraternity expansion committee that brought Beta Theta Pi to campus and the selection committee for the Lucrezia Culicchia Teaching Award.  Libby co-chaired the 2007 Footprints for Fatima 5k, which raised $2,000+ for the Fatima Family Center. For three years, Libby was a member of the Residence Hall Association executive board; she served as Treasurer for two years and Vice President for one year.  As Vice President, Libby chaired the annual Trick-or-Treat night on campus.  She was also selected for the National Residence Hall Honorary. Libby was a member of the Student Union Programming Board and helped plan and run events on campus for students every weekend.  She was a member of the SUPB executive board as the Print Media Chair.  Through SUPB, Libby was also a member of the Winter Formal committee for two years.  In addition to her other leadership positions, Libby was the Legion of Student Organizations representative for Biology Club for two years. 

Commitment to Christian Values
Libby is firmly committed to following Christian values.  She is an active member of the Catholic Church and Campus Ministry.  She participates in church services as a Eucharistic Minister and Lector.  Libby attends weekly mass and enjoys Praise and Worship services.   In her time at John Carroll she participated in several retreats.  As a freshman, Libby attended the First Year Retreat.  The following year, she was a student leader for the First Year Retreat and she has since gone back to help with this retreat yearly.  Libby attended Manresa 8 as well as the 2006 Guidance Retreat.  The Guidance Retreat is for student leaders of Campus Ministry organizations or activities. Libby’s involvement in immersion experiences has strengthened her commitment to faith and justice.  As a result, Libby sought to find ways to implement these ideals into her daily life.  She was a member of a Christian Life Community for two years, and she also participated in various Hunger Week Projects sponsored by JUSTICE.  Thanks to the opportunities given to her at JCU Libby has greatly deepened her commitment to Christian values, which will remain with her throughout her future endeavors.

Academic Achievement
As a Biology major and Business minor, Libby maintained her grade point average and has been a member of the Dean’s List every semester.  Her academic achievement enabled her to be accepted into the Phi Eta Sigma Honors Society and the Alpha Sigma Nu Jesuit Honors Society.  These national honors societies strive to promote scholarship, loyalty, and service. Libby applied her academic knowledge outside of the classroom through a variety of research projects and internships.  Libby performed research for the JCU Biology Department.  She spent another summer at the University of Pittsburgh participating in the Summer Undergraduate Research Program where she aided in research for the Diabetes Institute.  Additionally, Libby was a Teacher’s Assistant in Organic Chemistry. In her final internship before graduating, Libby participated in the Poverty and Solidarity Program where she was an intern for NorthEast Ohio Neighborhood Health Services. This internship gave her a hands-on learning experience of the programs that alleviate the consequences of poverty as well as programs that are working to change the system so less people become impoverished.

Service to the University and/or Civic Community
Each year Libby has participated in Campus Ministry sponsored immersion experiences.  She traveled to Duran, Ecuador; Immokalee, Florida; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Bethlehem Farm, West Virginia.  For the New Orleans immersion trip, Libby was the student leader.  In order to raise money for fellow students participating in immersion experiences, Libby helped coordinate the 2007 Immersion Palooza. Libby has donated a great amount of time to various service organizations.  She was an active member of Circle K for two years, which enabled her to participate in service projects for the Cleveland Clinic, Ronald McDonald House, and the March of Dimes.  She has participated several times with Project HOPE and Through the Eyes of a Child.  Libby has also given her time to Relay for Life, Labre, Catholic Worker, and Habitat for Humanity Projects and she volunteered with the annual Li’l Sibs weekend for three years. Libby has helped to serve the John Carroll community as a Student Mentor and Fall Orientation Advisor.  She also donated her time for 2005 and 2006 Homecoming Festivities.  Her involvement with Biology Club allowed her to help Gesu students with science laboratory projects.  She further helped the local community through planning the Footprints for Fatima 5k.

Pat is a native Clevelander and an Early Childhood Education major.  He has invested himself in many areas across campus as evident by his participation in the following:

Leadership
Pat has been very fortunate to serve in many different leadership positions throughout his time at JCU.  During his sophomore and junior years, he served the freshmen of Murphy Hall as a Resident Assistant.  He is currently the Senior RA of Murphy, mentoring the RA staff and freshmen residents.  He spent two summers welcoming freshmen as a New Student Orientation Leader.  For his third summer, Pat helped to direct the New Student Orientation program as the Assistant Coordinator for Programming.  He was chosen to serve as the Student Coordinator for the 2008 spring break Immokalee, FL immersion experience.  Pat led both the Manresa 9 and Manresa 11 retreats and was chosen as one of the two Senior Co-Leaders for the Manresa 12 retreat this past fall.  He became a Founding Father of Beta Theta Pi – which embodies the principles of leadership and scholarship.  He was elected as the President of the University Concert Choir during his freshmen year.  He served as the Social Chair for the Organization of Resident Assistants, the Public Relations Chair for the Student Education Association, the Volunteers Chair for the Homecoming Committee, and he currently serves as the Activities Chair for the 2008 JCU Relay For Life.

Commitment to Christian Values
Pat’s Christian upbringing has been a driving force behind his active involvement at John Carroll.  He was a member of the Liturgical Choir and Schola Cantorum, enhancing the liturgical ministry through music.  In 2006, he was a member of the Campus Crusade for Christ organization.  He continued his involvement by becoming a lector and Eucharistic minister.  His involvement with the Manresa retreats allowed him to see the importance of Ignatian spirituality and how it can enrich the lives of John Carroll students.  Pat has participated in the Guidance Retreat, which develops leaders in the campus ministry community.  He is an active member of a Christian Life Community on campus. Pat has made immersing himself in impoverished communities an important component of his John Carroll life and has participated in three immersion experiences – Chicago, IL (2006) and Immokalee, FL (2007 and 2008). Pat is very excited to have been selected to serve in the Urban Catholic Teacher Corps for the next two years.  This will allow him to share his Christian values with the underprivileged children of Boston, MA.

Academic Achievement
Graduating as an Early Childhood Education major, Pat recognizes that academics are an integral component of his John Carroll experience.  He was honored to be inducted into Phi Eta Sigma, the Freshmen Honor Society, after having been on the JCU Dean’s List his freshman year.  Within the Education Department, Pat has taken many different roles.  He has involved himself with the Student Education Association, which has brought guest speakers to our campus and provided other future teachers with educational seminars and conferences.  Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, Pat conducted research on culturally responsive teaching and applies this research in the third grade classroom where he student teaches. Pat researched and wrote an Integrated Unit on “The Importance of Culture and Its Relationship To Art” and presented it at the JCU Curriculum Fair.  At the 2007 NEOHO Conference, Pat presented a student case study and was awarded first place.  He was also asked to author an inspirational article about student leadership on the college campus, and his work was published in the October 2007 On Duty publication.

Service to the University and/or Civic Community
The Jesuits’ emphasis on service has inspired Pat to make helping others a priority in his life.  Through the Office of Community Service, Pat was able to serve as a tutor at different Cleveland area schools, including Gesu Catholic School and Agnon Hebrew School.  Pat was a mentor to a young boy through the Seeds of Hope/ Big Brother, Big Sister Program.  This past Christmas, Pat was able to perform for many children at Through the Eyes of a Child.  He assisted in feeding the homeless of Cleveland through the St. Benedict Joseph Labre Project.  Pat is a member of the 1-in-4 Male Sexual Assault Awareness Group on campus, educating men on what they can do to help survivors of sexual assault.  Pat has served the John Carroll community by being a student representative on various committees, including the Food Service Committee, the Student Affairs Assessment Team, and different hiring committees within the Student Affairs department.

Alison is a psychology and sociology double major from Canton, OH.  Throughout her four years at John Carroll, she has participated in a number of activities that have strongly emphasized the four characteristics of leadership, academic achievement, service, and commitment to Christian values.

Leadership
Alison has had the wonderful opportunity to lead several different organizations and events on campus.  For two years, she was president of Circle K, a service organization, and during those two years, she planned two campus-wide service events: Through the Eyes of a Child and Project HOPE.  Over the last three years, she has been the leader of a Christian Life Community, as well as was a Student Coordinator on the January 2008 Nicaragua Immersion Trip.  In the Spring of 2007, she was a team member for the Manresa 11 retreat, and had the great opportunity to be a Senior Co-leader in the Fall of 2007 for the Manresa 12 retreat.  She also has done various other leadership activities when needed, such as being a part of the Christmas Carroll Eve Committee in 2006, as well as other committees around campus.  Alison also worked on the Summer Conference Crew staff as a summer RA this past summer, 2007.

Commitment to Christian Values
Alison has been very involved in liturgical ministry throughout her four years by being a lector and Eucharistic minister.  She attended the First Year Retreat in the Fall of 2004, as well as the Manresa 7, 11, and 12 retreats, leading the last two.  In November of 2006 and 2007, Alison attended the School of Americas Protest in Georgia, and has been a member of JUSTICE for most of her time here.  She has been a member of a Christian Life Community for all four years, and has enjoyed getting to share her faith with her peers.  Alison has attended several Teach-Ins with the Ignatian Family and the InterReligous Task Force of Central America both at the SOA Protest and here in Cleveland.  With her immersion experiences, she has been lucky enough to go on retreats to educate herself more about the upcoming experience, and was fortunate to go on the 8-Day Silent Retreat in January of 2007. 

Academic Achievement
Alison has been very fortunate.  She has been on the Dean’s List for six out of the seven semesters thus far at Carroll, and maintains a very strong grade point average.  Alison is a member of Psi Chi, the psychology honor society, Alpha Kappa Delta, the sociology honor society, Phi Eta Sigma, the freshmen honor society, and Alpha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit honor society.  For the past two years, she has been asked to present at the Celebration of Scholarship that is offered at John Carroll every spring, with two different classes.  In the Spring of 2007, she presented a project on how the AIDS pandemic affects poverty with another student from her Poverty and Welfare class, and this past March, she presented a paper with research done for Dr. Sheri Young in the psychology department on giftedness in minority children and their under-representation in gifted programs.  She also currently has an internship at the AIDS Task Force of Greater Cleveland researching and working in public policy.

Service to the University and/or Civic Community
Alison has had the wonderful opportunity to go on three immersion experiences: Duran, Ecuador; Immokalee, FL; and Nicaragua, most recently.  As previously stated, she has been a member of Circle K International for four years, and has had the wonderful opportunity to coordinate many service projects.  Through several classes, she has done work at the Early Childhood Enrichment Center and Shaker Family Center.  Also as mentioned previously, she was on the 2006 Christmas Carroll Eve Committee, as well as on the 2007 Beaudry Award Committee and is a member of the current Committee to choose the next Director for the Center of Service and Social Action.  With the Nicaragua Immersion group, Alison organized a service project with the Migrant Farmers of Painesville, OH, and helped further knowledge about consumerism and trade on campus through displays and education.

Amanda Maggiotto is a senior psychology major from Buffalo, New York.  After graduation, Amanda plans to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical or counseling psychology.  The following highlights her involvement at John Carroll University.

Leadership
Amanda began her service with the Student Union as president of the class of 2008.  During her student government tenure, she served as both Vice Chair and Chair of the Academic Committee. Amanda revived a great JCU tradition in chairing the first Homecoming parade in decades.   For two years, she served as Chi Omega’s Social Chair. Amanda was instrumental in bringing the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life to our campus, serving as entertainment manager.  For the last three years, she has also served on the Spring Concert Committee as Chair of Production and Security.

Amanda was the sole student member of both the Core Curriculum Committee and the Women’s Advisory Committee.  She was also co-director of JCU’s Alumni Kids Camp.  John Carroll has sponsored Amanda’s attendance at three leadership conferences, including the National Jesuit Student Leadership Conference and two conferences sponsored by the American Association of University Women. Amanda was a founding member and the first president of Every Two Minutes, a sexual assault peer education group at JCU.   The Student Union named Amanda a “Student Leader of the Year” for 2007.

Commitment to Christian Values
Amanda’s commitment to Christian values is exemplified by the many ways in which she has enthusiastically given back to her college community.  This is especially apparent in her dedication to women’s issues on campus.  From her service to the Women’s Advisory Committee and her outspokenness on the issue of date auctions to her research on sexual assault and harassment and her attendance at several women’s conferences, Amanda has shown her deep interest and dedication to the welfare and education of women.  In recognition of her efforts on behalf of women at JCU, The American Association of University Women (Buffalo, NY Chapter) honored Amanda with their 2007 Catalyst for Change Scholarship Award.
               
Off campus, Amanda has continued her focus on women by working for the American Cancer Society for several years as assistant coordinator for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. Amanda would be so honored to be the fifteenth woman to win this award in 58 years.

Academic Achievement
Amanda has earned a place on the Dean’s list for seven consecutive semesters and is expected to graduate magna cum laude.  She is a member of Alpha Sigma Nu (the Jesuit honor society), Phi Eta Sigma (the freshmen honor society), and Psi Chi (the psychology honor society).  As part of her psychology studies, Amanda’s joint project on “the effect of attractiveness and gender on perceptions of sexual harassment” won “best undergraduate research project” at the Ohio Psychological Association Conference in 2007.  Amanda has also presented research at JCU’s Celebration of Scholarship, and will present her research on “Effects of Gender Roles and Self-affirmation on Rape Myth Acceptance” at the Midwestern Psychological Association Conference in May 2008.  The student-run journal of the Ohio Psychological Association is currently reviewing her pieces for publication.  

Service to the University and/or Civic Community
In addition to her leadership activities previously detailed, Amanda has participated in several JCU service projects including Through the Eyes of a Child, Project Hope, and Cultivating Community. Amanda has volunteered as a tutor at Gearity Elementary School.  Last semester, she worked at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital visiting sick children in their rooms and managing the playroom on the pulmonary and surgical floor.  Amanda is currently volunteering in the Roxboro Elementary Champs Program.  Recently, Amanda participated in an immersion trip to Immokalee, Florida where she and other volunteers experienced life-changing work with migrant farm workers and their families from Mexico, Guatemala, and Haiti. 

Brayn Mauk is from Cleveland, OH and is a sociology major. He has been an active member in both the JCU community and in the larger Cleveland community. During his time here at JCU he has accomplished the following:

Leadership
As a first-year student, Bryan was a co-founder of the St. Benedict Joseph Labre Project at John Carroll University. Labre is an outreach ministry delivering food to the homeless where they live: under bridges, in alleyways, or in hidden camps. Through Bryan’s leadership, Labre has become the largest outreach ministry in Cleveland. It has also been popular among the JCU community, as evidenced by the fact that nearly 700 people among our community of 4,000 students, faculty and staff have participated in Labre. Bryan has also been a leader in the homeless community by advocating and meeting with city officials on homeless issues and helping to organize and run a pilot program for Cleveland’s first overnight drop-in center for the homeless. Bryan has received state and national honors for his leadership and commitment to justice for the homeless. Despite balancing the large time commitment of Labre and a full academic load, he has also been a Manresa retreat leader in 2005 and a student leader on the Cleveland immersion trip in 2007, and been a leader in many other small endeavors.

Commitment to Christian Values
Bryan’s commitments to service, living the life of a “man for others,” and working for the greater glory of God are rooted in his Catholic faith and enthusiasm for Jesuit philosophy and Ignatian Spirituality. He has been active in his faith in so many ways. In addition to service, which is directly connected to his spiritual life he has attended World Youth Day 2006, an international gathering of Catholic youth in Germany and hosted a film produced by the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops on Catholic youth activism and Catholic voting. His vibrant spiritual life has been essential to his development as a person. As part of this development, he has gone on Manresa, once as a participant and once as a leader, and has reflected on the 8-day silent retreat once during his sophomore year and once during his senior year. During these times of reflection, he has found strength, motivation, and guidance from the depths of this spiritual life. Bryan is driven by the power of relationships that, for him, bring commitments. His relationship with God not only brings reflection and guidance but motivation and commitment to Christian values and a living a life of action.

Academic Achievement
Bryan’s academic life has always resonated well with his extra-curricular activities and service endeavors. The complimenting of his academic life with his experiences from working with poverty has lead to Bryan truly enjoying his studies here at John Carroll. Every semester he has built his class schedule by taking classes that interested him and fueled his devotion to social justice. As a result, he is graduating as a sociology major with a nearly enough credits to be a religious studies major as well. These two disciplines have come together in a capstone project for him in his senior year. Doing an independent study, for fun, he has collected and researched church homilies in an investigation of social justice content of a homily at a parish in comparison to the income of the parish. This is just one of many examples of how education has been an enriching experience for Bryan. He strives to merge his theoretical knowledge with his practical experience, by bringing his experiences of poverty to the classroom and his knowledge from the classroom to his work with the impoverished.

Service to the University/Civic Community
Bryan has done much work with the homeless, which has included co-founding Labre, assisting homeless individuals find housing, meeting with local officials, helping to co-ordinate a network of outreach organizations, and opening a drop-in center. He has used this work to contribute positively to the JCU community by helping to plan numerous on campus events involving homelessness and poverty. However, he has also worked to live as a “man for others” by devoting himself to a variety of other service endeavors. Early in his collegiate career, he gave volunteer emergency medial care to people on campus as First Responder in JCU EMS and to injured skiers as a member of the National Ski patrol. He has worked as a summer camp counselor with high risk inner city teens for five years and also helps to coordinate and staff an after school homework tutoring program for students in Cleveland public schools. He has also attended the “0.7 Now! Conference to End Global Poverty,” gone on a service immersion trip to Immokalee, Florida, and lead an immersion trip in Cleveland. While focusing on homelessness he has strived to promote many causes and issues in an effort to be a balanced human being.