2020 Honors Convocation Award Winners

Michayla Miller and Jenna Stahl were named the Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award winners during Siena Heights University’s annual Honors Convocation, which was conducted May 1 in a virtual format.

Miller, a senior double major in applied mathematics and Spanish, is from Medina, Ohio. She was a captain on SHU’s women’s cross country and track and field teams and was president of the Spanish Club. Stahl, a senior from Monroe, Mich., majored in nursing and was a NAIA All-American in competitive dance for the Saints. She also was a former Miss River Raisin Festival pageant winner.

Assistant Professor of English Dana Schumacher-Schmidt received the Eileen Rice Award for Outstanding Teaching. According to her nominator, “Not only are her teaching methods creative, she also encourages and allows her students to be creative.” One of her students’ favorite assignments is the “Dr. Schu Un-essay Project,” in which students are allowed to express their knowledge about a subject using any means of creative expression they choose other than an essay.

SHU’s “Dr. Schu”

Rice Award Winner Dana Schumacher-Schmidt Brings Creativity and Fun Into the Classroom

She is affectionately known by many of her students as “Dr. Schu.”

From her detail-oriented course prep-
aration to her extraordinary efforts in making the classroom a fun place to be, Dana Schumacher-Schmidt was recog-
nized as the 2019-20 Eileen K. Rice Award Winner for Outstanding Teacher. The associate professor of English who finished her sixth year at Siena Heights University said her goal is to “spark students’ interest.”

Reflections recently interviewed this year’s Rice Award winner:

Rising Stars

“Rising Stars” is a regular feature in Reflections. It profiles Siena Heights alumni who have graduated within the past 10 years and who excel in their careers, occupations or community service accomplishments. To be considered for “Rising Stars” in an upcoming issue of Reflections, fill out the online form at www.sienaheights.edu/risingstars. Those who are selected to be included in an upcoming issue of the magazine will be contacted by the Reflections staff.

Stephannie (Gonzalez) Bultema

Graduation year: 2014.

Current title/position: Specialist, Ad Operations, PGA TOUR.

What Stephannie is doing: She currently works for the PGA TOUR in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. as an Ad Operations Specialist. She is responsible for managing ad campaigns on both PGATOUR.com and GolfDigest.com. She began this role in February 2020 and said she is looking forward to being a part of this great organization for years to come. Her career in advertising started off at MLive Media Group (MLive.com) in Grand Rapids, Mich., where she was a Digital Operations Specialist. Her next job was as an Ad Operations Campaign Coordinator at the National Football League (NFL) in Los Angeles. She was primarily responsible for managing digital ad campaigns for the 32 team websites. She was a key person in Game Pass International campaigns and also helped with NFL 100 initiatives that celebrated the Leagues 100th season. Most notably, she helped clubs promote playoff games and Super Bowl LIV.