HAYS – Nominees for three top commencement awards have been announced by the Fort Hays State University Alumni Association.

Nineteen graduating seniors have been nominated for the 2021 Torch Award, the highest student honor, and 35 faculty members were nominated by members of the class of 2021 for the Pilot Award for an outstanding faculty member.

Area Torch nominees include: Allison Muth, Great Bend, a leadership studies major and  graduate of Great Bend High School; Jonathan Bell, Hoisington, a finance major (banking) and graduate of Hoisington High School; Emma Harmon, Hoisington, a communication sciences and disorders major and graduate of Hoisington High School; and Brady Stephenson, Little River, a finance (economics) major and graduate of Little River Senior High School.

Three graduate students who will complete their degrees this spring were nominated for the association’s Lighthouse Award to honor the outstanding student completing graduate studies.

The recipients of each award were announced by Dr. Tisa Mason, FHSU president, at the university’s spring convocation on Friday, May 7.

The Torch and Pilot Awards, created in 1974, and the Lighthouse Award, created in 2018, are presented every year during spring commencement.

Torch Award and Lighthouse Award candidates are nominated by members of the faculty and staff on the basis of classroom excellence, leadership, participation in professional organizations, and involvement in student, civic or research activities.

Pilot Award candidates are nominated by members of the graduating class on the basis of classroom excellence, ongoing research, and service activities.