The School of Professional Studies congratulates the winners of the 2024–2025 SPS Excellence Awards. The celebration, hosted in April by the Office of the Dean and the Office of Student Life, honored individuals from across the SPS community.
“I am proud to work alongside such an extraordinary group of faculty and administrators. I am inspired by our talented, enthusiastic and kind students,” said Dean Troy Eggers in his opening remarks. “And I am in awe of the accomplishments of our alumni.” Before introducing the Dean’s Excellence Award winners in Student, Alumni, Faculty, Administrator and Team Impact categories, Eggers thanked colleagues and members of the SPS community for their accomplishments and commitment to the School.
Excellence Awards were also presented to the winners in eight categories from across 160 nominations by Senior Associate Dean of Student Affairs Zelon Crawford and Executive Director of Student Life Rollie Carencia.
Wrapping up the awards segment of the event, Emily Taylor, who won the prestigious Columbia University Campbell Award, returned to the stage in her capacity as the 2024–2025 SPS Student Government (SPSSG) president to offer the SPSSG President’s Award to Nonprofit Management student Diana Urias and the Friend of SPSSG Award to SPS senior advisor Andy Huemmer.
In addition to the awards, Crawford recognized the efforts of the latest cohort of HBCU Fellows, and Associate Dean of Students Josh Alexander presented this year’s SPS Graduation student marshals and student speakers.
“From organizing impactful events to leading meaningful initiatives, our student leaders and organizations have truly made a difference in the lives of their peers and the broader SPS community,” said Carencia. “Congratulations to all of this year’s winners!”
Team Impact Award winners (l to r): Johanna Levey, assistant director of student engagement; Angela Simmons, assistant director of student support; Andrew Huemmer, senior advisor, M.S. in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution; Brooke Stockwell, assistant director of student wellness; Tanya Trueheart, assistant director of advising; and Rachel Nieves, senior advisor with Troy Eggers, dean of Columbia SPS, and Rollie Carencia, assistant director of student wellness at Columbia SPS.
The list of all of the winners presented at the SPS Excellence Awards:
Dean’s Excellence Award, Faculty: William D. Squires, Lecturer, Sports Management
Dean’s Excellence Award, Administrator: Marialejandra Taddeo, Assistant Director, Admissions Operations (’25SPS, Human Capital Management)
Dean’s Excellence Award, Student: Azida Ahmad Azmi, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution (’25SPS, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution)
Dean’s Excellence Award, Alumni: Steven Bandrowczak, CEO, Xerox Corporation (’19SPS, Technology Management)
Dean’s Excellence Award, Team Impact: SPS International Student Working Group
Campbell Award: Emily Taylor (’25SPS, Nonprofit Management)
Heart of a Lion Award: William Zhu (’25SPS, Enterprise Risk Management)
Civic Engagement Award: Nafisa Hussein (’25SPS, Narrative Medicine)
Scholar-Practitioner Award: Yvonne Wang (’25SPS, Applied Analytics)
Academic Leadership Award: Jo Jose (candidate for an M.S. degree in Technology Management)
Student Leader Award: Emily Taylor (’25SPS, Nonprofit Management)
Student Impact Award: Kenthia Roberts (’25SPS, Applied Analytics)
Program Innovation Award: Human Capital Management Club for its event HCM Talks
Student Organization of the Year Award: Columbia University Biodiversity Club
SPSSG President’s Award: Diana Urias, Secretary, SPS Student Government (’25SPS, Nonprofit Management)
Friend of SPSSG Award: Andy Huemmer, SPS Senior Advisor
