Lee University has named Joshua Muthalali, Katherine Amato and Breanna Dillon as the recipients of the 2009 F.J Lee, Charles Paul Conn and Zeno C. Tharp Awards. Every year students are nominated for the awards by their departments and evaluated based on achievements and contributions during their time at Lee. The award winners will be honored during the commencement ceremony on Saturday at 9:30a.m. in Walker Memorial Arena.
Joshua Muthalali is the 2009 recipient of the F.J. Lee Award. Established in 1968 and named in honor of the second president of Lee, the F.J. Lee Award is presented to a senior who has demonstrated high standards of integrity, leadership, service, broad campus involvement and academic excellence.
Mr. Muthalali, a double major in accounting and biblical and theological studies and a minor in biblical languages, was born in Chennai, Tail Nadu, India, and grew up in Dubai, U.A.E. and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Mr. Muthalali is graduating Summa Cum Laude this May with a GPA of 3.9. While at Lee, Mr. Muthalali earned over 200 credit hours and was a Centennial Gold Scholar, the recipient of the Zondervan Hebrew Award and was involved in Kairos Honors Scholars.
Mr. Muthalali was involved in various aspects of the Lee campus, including the Sigma Beta Delta International Business Honor Society, Pi Delta Omicron Religion Honor Society, tutoring, working at the university library, serving as a chapel usher and performing with the Lee University Chamber Strings. He was a member of Alpha Chi National Honor Society and served as both president and vice-president during his membership. Mr. Muthalali was also the president of the Academic Clubs Council and organized the Academic Showcases of 2008 and 2009.
After graduation, Mr. Muthalali plans to pursue a Masters of Divinity. He was accepted into four graduate programs, including Princeton Theological Seminary, Duke Divinity School, Southern Methodist University and Fuller Theological Seminary but has not made his decision yet. He hopes to one day return to India to be a missionary to his own people and possibly establish a Christian liberal arts university there.
"When I first stepped on the Lee campus and saw its beautiful architecture, I knew this was the place I had to attend," said Mr. Muthalali. "I am not surprised that Lee is able to attract persons from various nationalities and backgrounds. They have cultivated a very conducive environment for learning and growth."
Katherine Amato is the recipient of the 2009 Charles Paul Conn Award. The Charles Paul Conn Award, established in 1996 and named after Lee's sixteenth president, is awarded to the senior most likely to succeed in graduate and professional studies after graduation.
Ms. Amato, a biochemistry major with a pre-medicine emphasis, is graduating Magna Cum Laude this May. Amato was accepted into six graduate schools, all of which offered her full tuition with living stipends. While at Lee, Amato was involved in the Alpha Chi Honor Society, Alpha Phi Delta Pre-Med Honors Society and Tri Beta (National Biological Honors Society, in which she served as vice-president and chaplain. She also served as a teacher's assistant for the Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, a peer mentor for the GNST100 Study Skills class and a volunteer at Skyridge Hospital and St. Louis Children's Hospital.
While at Lee, Ms. Amato was accepted into competitive biomedical research internships at both Washington University in St. Louis and the Medical University of South Carolina. She received the Tapley Science Scholarship, Roberson Memorial Leadership Scholarship, and Presidential Scholarship and was also a B.L. Hicks Scholar in Biology/Chemistry.
After graduation, Ms. Amato plans to start work on her Ph.D. in Cancer Biology, focusing on vaccine development, at Vanderbilt University in the fall. "Lee has been a great place to gain foundational skills and start my education," said Ms. Amato. "I have been so blessed to have had incredible mentors in the science department here that have offered immense amounts of guidance and encouragement."
Breanna Dillon is the recipient of the 2009 Zeno C. Tharp Award. Established in 1955, the Zeno C. Tharp Award is named after the sixth president of Lee and given to the senior most likely to make the greatest contribution to the Kingdom.
Ms. Dillon was an intercultural studies major with an emphasis on urban missiology and a minor in Spanish. She is originally from Hinton, West Virginia, and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 4.0 GPA in December of 2008. She was given the honor of carrying the School of Religion banner at the December commissioning and commencement services. Ms. Dillon was the recipient of the Poiema Scholarship, the Roberson Memorial Leadership Scholarship and the Centennial Scholarship and was named on the Lee University Dean's List with Honors. Ms. Dillon was also named on the National Dean's List and nominated as a Collegiate All-American Scholar.
During her time at Lee, Ms. Dillon was a member of the School of Religion Honors Society (Pi Delta Omicron), a Spanish tutor, and in 2008 was the treasurer of the International Student Fellowship. She was Dr. Edley Moodley's student assistant for a Biblical and Theological Foundations of Benevolence class. She was also an active traveler while at Lee; she attended the Summer Spanish Institute in Chile, served in an inner-city ministry at the Los Angeles Dream Center and completed her intercultural studies internship in Cambodia. Ms. Dillon was also involved with working in the School of Religion Offices and the Leonard Center.
Ms. Dillon's future plans include serving in Mission Year, a one year inner-city program focused on personal discipleship, relationships and justice. She also hopes to complete her master's degree in international development with an urban concentration. Through her experience at Lee, Ms. Dillon says she was transformed into a passionate Christian. "I met many people from other cultures and other faiths and belief systems while I was a student at Lee, and I learned many things about cultural communication, tolerance and love," said Ms. Dillon.