Stephanie Lakatosh was recently named the recipient of Lee University’s 2026 Zeno C. Tharp Award and was recognized for this honor during a special chapel service. 
 
The Zeno C. Tharp Award is given annually to the Lee senior who shows the greatest promise of making a significant contribution to the church. Established in 1955, the award is named in honor of the sixth president of Lee, who served from 1935-44. Each department may nominate one student for the award, and a winner is selected by faculty vote from the group of nominees. 
 
“Stephanie Lakatosh embodies the very heart of the Zeno C. Tharp Award,” said Dr. Julie Martinez, director and assistant professor of the international studies program at Lee. “She is not only theologically grounded, but she has consistently lived her calling through faithful, cross-cultural service—both locally and globally.”
 
Lakatosh graduated from Lee summa cum laude in December 2025 with a Bachelor of Arts in Global Transformation and TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language). She currently works at Big Fish preschool in Ooltewah, Tennessee, as well as part-time at the Chattanooga Language School. Lakatosh plans to pursue overseas long-term mission work in the near future and eventually enroll in graduate school.
 
“My time at Lee has given me a deeper understanding of what it means to follow Christ in every area and aspect of life,” said Lakatosh. “Each day at Lee was a reminder that my purpose and calling are bigger than just a career. The small, seemingly mundane things we do truly matter and can make a significant impact in the Kingdom of God.”
 
During her time at Lee, Lakatosh was a student worker for Dr. Chris Blake of the Language and Literature Department and earned the TESOL Honors Award. She is a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS) and Phi Sigma Iota, the foreign language honors society. She continues to work with Living Stones Community Church as a Sunday school teacher and member of the worship team, and serves on the East Cleveland Fellowship leadership team, where she is a director of Kids Club.
 
Lakatosh has invested in her field, going abroad to Samos, Greece, where she worked with Hope House Samos, engaging Middle Eastern refugees through both language education and relational, cross-cultural ministry. She also spent 10 weeks in Siem Reap, Cambodia, where she taught English with People for Care and Learning. These experiences integrated Lakatosh’s Global Transformation and TESOL majors together, as she utilized language as a tool for presence, relationship, and gospel witness across cultures. At Lee, she worked as the student director of CELL (Center for English Language Learning) for two semesters and as a teacher in the program for four.
 
“What sets Stephanie apart is not just what she has done, but how she has done it—with humility, consistency, and a deep commitment to the life of the Church,” said Martinez. “She represents the kind of leader the Church needs—steady, incarnational, and deeply faithful.”