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On Tuesday, April 12, Dr. Paul Conn announced the 2016 winners of the F.J. Lee, Zeno C. Tharp, and Charles Paul Conn Awards. Alex Ubiera, recipient of the F.J. Lee Award; Kelsie Wymore, recipient of the Zeno C. Tharp Award, and Brett Buckner, recipient of the Charles Paul Conn Award were recognized for these achievements during a special Honors Chapel.

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Ubiera Wins 2016 F.J. Lee Award

Lee University recently recognized Victor Alex Ubiera as the recipient of the 2016 F.J. Lee Award. This annual award was established in 1968 in honor of the second president of Lee University. It is presented to a senior at Lee who has demonstrated high standards of integrity, leadership, service, broad campus involvement, and academic excellence.

Each department may nominate one student for the award, and from these nominees a winner is selected by a faculty vote.

“Alex’s engagement on campus and in the surrounding communities clearly demonstrates his passion for excellence and his heart of service,” said Dr. Linda Thompson, chairperson of the School of Music’s department of music education. “Alex has lived out his commitment to empower others. He has experienced and contributed to Lee to the fullest extent possible, and in every way, Alex exemplifies the values and character worthy of the F. J. Lee award.”

During his time at Lee, Ubiera has been a Kairos scholar and involved in academic clubs Phi Eta Sigma, Pi Kappa Lambda, and the American Choral Director’s Association. He served in Crossover Ministries, Greek Day of Service, and local public school service projects around the community.

Ubiera was the secretary then president of Tau Kappa Omega while acting as a Big Brother in Omega Alpha Phi. He worked on campus in residential life as a floor leader, resident assistant, resident chaplain, and then discipleship ministries coordinator. He also worked within Lee’s Spanish department as a teacher’s assistant, writing center tutor, and café host.

Within the School of Music, Ubiera sang in Choral Union, Chorale, Lee Singers, and chapel band. He also served on the dean’s advisory council.

In addition, Ubiera served as a Peer Leader within Lee University’s First Year Programs office, a benevolence teacher’s assistant, and a student worker for Campus Ministries.

“Alex is an outstanding, well-rounded student who consistently demonstrates and truly lives out the qualities of the F. J. Lee Award,” said Luann Holden, associate professor of music.

Holden worked with Ubiera in numerous capacities, including in his role as Peer Leader. According to Holden, he is a model for other students, exhibiting exceptional interpersonal skills and building strong relationships in his time at Lee.

“He is the epitome of all that the F. J. Lee award represents,” continued Holden.

“I am so incredibly honored to have been chosen as the recipient of the F.J. Lee Award. To have been chosen among such talented and intelligent peers by the entire Lee faculty is a testament of God’s grace and favor,” said Ubiera. “I hope that I am able to represent the Lee University family well as I continue on in graduate studies and in my future career.”

Ubiera will graduate summa cum laude this month with a bachelor’s degree in music education, and minors in Spanish, church music, and Bible.

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Wymore Receives Zeno C. Tharp Award

Lee University recently recognized Kelsie Wymore as the 2016 recipient of the Zeno C. Tharp Award. Established in 1955, this annual award is given to the Lee senior who shows the greatest promise of making a significant contribution to the church. It 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 of these nominees a winner is selected by a faculty vote. Wymore was nominated by both the Theology and Language & Literature departments for the award.

“Kelsie is one of the most conscientious and spiritually mature students that I have taught,” said Dr. Lisa Stephenson, associate professor of systematic theology. “Her heart for the Lord and others is evident in everything she does, including living in Colombia at a safe house with young girls who have been neglected and abused.”

Wymore graduated summa cum laude in December 2015 with a 3.98 GPA and majors in Biblical/Theological Studies and Spanish. She was a Kairos Honors Scholar as well as a Centennial Gold Scholar and a recipient of the 2013 Who’s Who Among All-American Scholars Award. While at Lee, she was a member of Sigma Delta Pi, the Spanish Honor Society, a Spanish lab instructor, a Greek language tutor, a member and later treasurer of ACTS World Vision, and a resident assistant and floor leader in Nora Chambers Hall.

“Through my time at Lee, I have been given a vision for what life can look like when one focuses on God’s present calling,” said Wymore. “This calling shows what it means to be a child of God and to extend the same love that one has received to each person they encounter.”

In the community, Wymore worked with Big Pal Little Pal as secretary and chaplain, as an English as a Second Language tutor at Cleveland High School, a Kids Alive International summer intern in Peru, and as a summer camp counselor for Camp Vesper Point and Camp Travis. Her cross-cultural trip was to Columbia, where she is currently staying as a chaplain in Provision de Amor, a home for girls who have been rescued from sexually abusive situations.

“Kelsie models a commitment to Christ and a compassion for others that we believe will define her life,” said Dr. Jean Eledge, chair of the department of Language and Literature. “She is already making significant contribution to the Kingdom through her ministry this spring in Colombia, South America, and through her inspirational example of how one uses academic preparation to make a difference in individual lives and communities.”

PHOTO: Kelsie Wymore is pictured here surrounded by children on her recent ministry internship in Peru.

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Buckner Receives 2016 Charles Paul Conn Award

Brett Buckner has been named Lee University’s 2016 recipient of the Charles Paul Conn Award. Buckner was recognized by Lee President Dr. Paul Conn for this achievement during Honors Chapel on Tuesday, April 12.

This award is given to a Lee senior who demonstrates the greatest promise of achievement in graduate or professional studies after graduating from Lee. Established in 1996, it is named after Lee’s 16th president. Each department may nominate one student for the award. From these nominees, a winner is selected by a faculty vote.

“It is quite an honor to receive this award,” said Buckner. “I am simultaneously humbled and excited by this recognition and am immensely thankful to all who have helped me grow into the mathematician and academic I am becoming, especially the faculty in the Natural Sciences and Mathematics Department.”

During his time at Lee, Buckner has excelled academically, achieving a 4.0 in mathematics while being a Kairos Scholar and mentor for the iMass scholars in the Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

Buckner received a Center for Undergraduate Research in Mathematics scholarship and spent a year researching with Dr. Debra Mimbs, an assistant professor of mathematics at Lee. This culminated in research presentations at multiple conferences. He also spent a summer in California researching at a National Science Foundation-funded research experience for undergraduates. He also won a national award from the Mathematical Association of America for his History of Mathematics paper.

On campus, Buckner has participated in Big Pal Little Pal, Alpha Chi National Honor Society, and Mathematics Day for Underprivileged Students. He was also vice president of recruitment for the Kairos Scholars Honors Program and vice president of Kappa Mu Epsilon.

“It is as though he operates at our [faculty] level,” said Dr. David Pigg, assistant professor of physics. “We have no doubt that Brett is one of the most talented students our department has seen in years.”

After being accepted into graduate programs at Marquette University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Tufts University, the University of Iowa, the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Buckner has decided to attend the doctorate program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute this coming fall, where he has been offered full tuition and a stipend.