MARQUETTE, Mich.—The Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees recently presented its 2011 awards to outstanding students and spring graduates. The recipients and their respective awards are: Carolyn Corser of Ontonagon, outstanding female graduating senior; Hunter Harig of Grandville, outstanding male graduating senior; Megan Persons of Grand Rapids, outstanding student; and Andrew Foster of Ishpeming, outstanding nontraditional student.

Corser graduated with a degree in public relations. She was heavily involved in extracurricular activities, including Fall Fest, Make a Difference Day, Homecoming and the leadership recognition banquet. She was also a member and treasurer of the Public Relations Student Society of America and helped organize activities such as Jam for Love and Project Compassion. She also volunteered for the Marquette Blues Festival, the Teal Lake Triathlon, the sled dog races and the local Humane Society.

Harig was a biology/physiology major, in the first group of McNair Scholars at NMU, a freshman fellow and member of the Honors Program. He did extensive research across disciplines while a student. This included exploring Lake Superior policies, vegetarianism and the working memory of rats. He also quantified radioactive materials in river sediments and established a pilot program for diabetes screening of local senior citizens. He was the president and campus coordinator of Greenpeace, National Power Shift campus coordinator and a member of the planning committee for the NMU Uniting Neighbors in the Experience of Diversity (UNITED) Conference.

Persons is a secondary education-history major. She has completed more than 1,000 hours in the NMU Superior Edge program, enough to earn all four edges. Persons has been an active member of Women for Women, the Student Finance Committee and Students for Sustainable Living. She was involved in planning Self-Acceptance Week on campus, the “Do you have eight inches?” hair donation drive, Walking to End Domestic Violence, the Striking Out Cancer Softball Tournament and Operation Save Second Base. Megan was an orientation staff assistant for two summers and past winner of the resident adviser of the year award.

Foster graduated with a degree in accounting/corporate finance. He first enrolled at NMU in 2001, but left after a short time to enlist in the U.S. Army. He served for three years, half of that time in Baghdad, and received numerous awards for leadership in combat. After returning to NMU in 2006, he became a peer leader in Lutheran Campus Ministry, a founding member of Earth Keepers and an active member of the Swing Dance Club. Foster was president of the Student Managed Investment Fund and a member of the Student Finance Committee, Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society and Beta Alpha Psi. He served on the Board of Trustees Strategic Planning Committee, the College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council and on the boards of The North Wind and Radio X.