Outstanding Students Recognized for Service, Scholarships and Leadership | FIU News

Twenty-three students and one student club were recognized last week for their outstanding leadership, service and scholarship to the University 2023 Outstanding Student Life Award.

Founded in 1989 by former BBC Provost and Vice President for Student Affairs Richard Correnti, the annual ceremony recognizes Panthers who excel academically and in the areas of distinguished service to others, citizenship, innovation, leadership, advancing diversity and promoting the Panther spirit.

Among these outstanding students, two particularly notable Panthers stand out from the crowd for special recognition with the Presidential Award and the Larry W. Lunsford Leadership Award.

THE Presidential Award is awarded to one student each year who has gone above and beyond one award category to make a significant impact on the FIU community. The recipient of this award has demonstrated leadership, dedication, and action to significantly improve campus life and advance the prestige of the university.

Laura Garcia Barcia, a doctoral student at CRF’s Predator Ecology & Conservation Lab, received the presidential award this year. Garcia Barcia’s work to protect endangered sharks and deter the illegal shark fin trade has garnered international attention, leading the Hong Kong Food Safety Center to step up fin monitoring on the market. She also helped launch a unique partnership between the ANGARI Foundation and FIU to engage middle and high school students in marine science research, and she is a dedicated mentor for the next generation of marine scientists studying at FIU.

“I am very grateful for this appointment and also very proud of all the work I have done at CRF over the past few years leading both our undergraduate students in their Marine Bio program and also local students in the K-12 schools,” Garcia Barcia said. , who was unable to attend the ceremony as she is currently at sea conducting her research, said in video testimony.

THE Larry W. Lunsford Leadership Award is awarded to a student who rises above any category of leadership and who has demonstrated dedication to improving the quality of life on campus and improving the quality of student life.

Fernando Melara, a senior biomedical engineering major and senator in the College of Engineering and Computer Science for SGA, received the Larry W. Lunsford Leadership Award this year. In addition to mentoring young candidates on the Olympics academic team in her home country of El Salvador, Melara is a learning assistant for several departments at FIU. In SGA, Melara champions initiatives that promote the success of other international students. Melara’s research has also received national attention at undergraduate research conferences, earning her the opportunity to present her work at the National Institutes of Health; and he is part of a team of students who have developed a new surgical stapler, for which a patent is pending.

“I am very grateful for this nomination. This award represents the amount of impact I have had the opportunity to achieve during my time here at CRF,” Melara said in a video testimonial.

The following students and student club were also selected as recipients from a pool of over 250 nominations and 46 finalists: