UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND GRADUATE STUDENT DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD
This award celebrates graduate students who have made outstanding contributions to the University community in the areas of scholarship, leadership, involvement and service.
RECIPIENT
BLAKE O'NEAL
Teaching and Learning
Blake O’Neal Turner is a doctoral candidate in the Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership Urban Education specialization. She has served as an educator for over ten years in public schools and higher education. She was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin but lived across the United States as a Navy Brat.
FINALISTS
DAMILOLA AJAYI
Public Health Practice and Policy Program
Damilola (Lola) Ajayi was born and raised in Silver Spring, MD, and is currently a graduate student in the Master of Public Health in Public Health Practice and Policy Program. She also has been working at NIH for the last three and a half years and is currently a management analyst at National Cancer Institute. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling all over the world.
KAYLA BILL
Education Policy
Kayla Bill is a doctoral candidate in Education Policy and Leadership at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her research uses mixed methods to examine equity issues in U.S. education systems, focusing on how political dynamics shape the advancement and outcomes of policies intended to redress racial inequities. She earned her M.S. in Sport and Exercise Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and her B.S. in Health and Exercise Science from Syracuse University.
JESSICA PARKER
Special Education
Jessica Parker is pursuing a Masters of Education in Special Education. Jessica teaches a section of UNIV 100 each semester, is an active member of the College Senate, and is the College liaison for Undergraduate Student Groups while serving as a member of the COE Graduate Student Organization (GSO).
AUTUMN PERKEY
Government and Politics
Autumn Perkey is a 3rd year Ph.D. student in Government and Politics focusing on International Relations and American politics from Hebron, Ohio. She received her Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Ohio State University in 2019. Her research focuses on the intersection between political psychology, conflict processes, and public opinion.