Prizewinning potential

Avondale honours its top students

Brenton Stacey
Public relations officer
Avondale College of Higher Education
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia

Jared Benard, Kristen Hankins and 24 of their classmates are Avondale College of Higher Education’s top students after receiving academic prizes during Forum this past Wednesday (October 26).

Jared, president of the Avondale Students’ Association, and Kristen each received $1500 for winning Avondale’s most prestigious prize, the Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing Prize for Excellence.

Jared is the third consecutive management major to win the prize—after Hannah Rowe this past year and Charles Muirhead in 2009. He also won a second prize—sharing the Bachelor of Business Excellence Prize with Faye Saville ($500 each). His advice for those in earlier stages of their study: seek leadership roles because they help you discover what you enjoy doing. Jared will coordinate a new business course and teach physical education at Noosa Christian College next year.

Kristen, a Bachelor of Education (Primary) student, did not know the Prize for Excellence existed until receiving it. The recognition for personal initiative, leadership qualities and academic, social and spiritual balance is an “honour,” she says. Kristen thanks her lecturers for “helping me reach my goals”—they helped her complete a four-year course in three. Her advice: what appears irrelevant in class is relevant in the workplace—Kristen will teach Year 1 at Northpine Christian College next year.

Communication and international development studies major Sonja Larsen joined Jared as a multiple prizewinner. She received the Adventist Media Network Journalism Prize ($1000) and the W A Townend Christian Journalism Prize ($500), recognising in part her work as an editorial assistant for Connections.

A piano solo at the beginning of Forum confirmed Ben Milis as a worthy recipient of the Alan and Yvonne Thrift Perpetual Shield for Musical Excellence Prize ($1000). The performance of “We Shall Behold Him” impressed not only staff members and students but also one of the presenters, who concurred with president Dr Ray Roennfeldt in thanking Ben.

Bachelor of Ministry and Theology (Honours) student Abel Iorgulescu added the Clifford Anderson Prize ($1000), which he shared with James London, to the Arthur Ferch Prize for Hebrew Studies he received this past year. The prize recognises ministerial potential.

The Edna Ferris Heise Prize for female theology students recognises excellence in communication. The winner: the new faith columnist for Connections, Bethany Turner.

Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Teaching (Honours) student Rebekah Bamford won the first Australian Indigenous Student Teaching Prize ($1000).

Avondale will announce other prize recipients, including the third recipient of the Prize for Excellence, during the consecration service on the Sydney campus.

Academic Prizes

Faculty of Arts and Theology
School of Humanities and Creative Arts

Adventist Media Network Digital Media Prize
Adventist Media Network
Josh Bolst ($1000)

Adventist Media Network Journalism Prize
Adventist Media Network
Sonja Larsen ($1000)

Alan and Yvonne Thrift Perpetual Shield for Musical Excellence Prize
School of Humanities and Creative Arts, Avondale College of Higher Education
Ben Milis ($1000)

Bachelor of Arts Excellence Prize
Willobee Floor Service
Rhianon Bougaardt ($1000)

Huguenot History Prize
Dr Allen and Andrea Steele
Hayley Blagden ($1000)

W A Townend Christian Journalism Prize
Townend family
Sonja Larsen ($500)

School of Ministry and Theology

Arthur Ferch Prize for Hebrew Studies
Ferch-Johnson family
Martin Thomson ($1000)

Clifford Anderson Prize
Clifford Anderson bequest
Abel Iorgulescu and James London ($1000 each)

Edna Ferris Heise Prize for Excellence in Communication
Heise family
Bethany Turner ($1000)

Elwin Currow Prize for New Testament Apocalyptic
Dr Elwin Currow
Brendan Hayes ($100)

Graham Miller Memorial Prize for Excellence in Youth Ministry
Graham Miller Memorial Fund
Alina Coccetti ($1000)

Faculty of Business

Bachelor of Business Excellence Prize
Williams Premium Wholesale
Jared Benard and Faye Saville ($500 each)

Bachelor of Business (Accounting) Excellence Prize
Williamson and Chaseling
Carl Thompson ($500)

Faculty of Education and Science
School of Education

Australian Indigenous Student Teaching Prize
AusCoaching
Rebekah Bamford ($1000)

Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) Prize for Excellence
Adventist Education Department, Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific
Theresa Yeates ($1000)

Bachelor of Education (Primary) Prize for Excellence
Seventh-day Adventist Church in New Zealand and the Pacific islands
Kate Mahony ($1000)

Bachelor of Education (Secondary) Prize for Excellence
Seventh-day Adventist Church in Australia
Amy-Lyn Marks ($1000)

Diploma of Outdoor Recreation Leadership Prize
Adventure 195
Luke Metz ($500 Adventure 195 gift voucher)

Health and Physical Education Prize
Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation
Alese Bottrill (Certificate plus 12-month membership to Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation)

Primary Teacher’s Literacy Prize
School of Education, Avondale College of Higher Education
Michelle Pratt (Certificate plus 12-month membership to e:lit)

School of Science and Mathematics

Bachelor of Science Excellence Prize
School of Science and Mathematics, Avondale College of Higher Education
Keaton Humphries ($600)

Faculty of Nursing and Health

Academic Excellence Award*
Sydney Adventist Hospital
Ingrid Kruger ($250 plus gold medallion)

Clinical Excellence Award*
Sydney Adventist Hospital
Erin McDonald ($250 plus gold medallion)

Medical Nursing Award*
Sydney Adventist Hospital
Hartono Sutanto ($100)

Mental Health Nursing Excellence Award*
Sydney Adventist Hospital
Lucy Galeano ($100)

Prize for Consistent Effort and Accomplishment*
Faculty of Nursing and Health
David Wrennall ($100)

Surgical Nursing Award*
Sydney Adventist Hospital
Emily Walsh ($100)

Other

Avondale Alumni Association Community Service Prize
Avondale Alumni Association
Ketannah Hope (Lake Macquarie campus) and Shirley Fatnowna (Sydney campus*) ($500 each)

Overseas Volunteer Service Prize*
Anonymous
Matt Barbosa ($500)

Prize for Excellence

Prize for Excellence, Lake Macquarie campus
Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing
Jared Benard ($1500)

Prize for Excellence, Lake Macquarie campus
Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing
Kristen Hankins ($1500)

Prize for Excellence, Sydney campus*
Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing
Lisa Mason ($1500)

* Awarded during the consecration service on the Sydney campus over the graduation weekend