On May 14, Elmhurst University gathered to honor five students whose leadership and service have woven themselves into the fabric of campus life and beyond. The Student Leadership Awards, an annual celebration of the university's caring community, elevated these five to its highest honors—recognizing the kind of work that doesn't always make headlines but quietly transforms lives.
The awards matter because they reflect something deeper than typical academic achievement. At a time when institutions often measure success in test scores and graduation rates, Elmhurst's top honors deliberately look elsewhere: to the students who organize, who connect, who give. The Founders Awards and Senior of the Year and Bluejay of the Year selections are among the university's most prestigious, rooted in decades of institutional values. They celebrate self-initiated service that brings about change and embodies humane values—a deliberate counterweight to a world that doesn't always reward that kind of work.
Neto Kalu, a sport management major from Lagos, Nigeria, received the Founders Award for Service to the University Community. As public relations chair for the International Students' Association, she made it her mission to ensure that students from all backgrounds felt genuinely at home on campus and that global perspectives reached the broader student body. She volunteered at athletics events, organized community service initiatives, and worked as a social media marketing intern for the Office of Student Involvement. Her work embodied a simple but powerful idea: that belonging is something you build.
Mateo Gomez Bedoya, a world language education major from Addison, Illinois, won the Rev. H. Scott Matheney Award for Service to the Greater Society. Guided by deep personal faith, Bedoya channeled that conviction into tangible action. As president of two honor societies, Kappa Delta Pi and Alpha Mu Gamma, he led blanket drives for children's hospitals, book donations for elementary schools, and toy deliveries for students in low-income communities. Beyond campus, his research developed interactive language-teaching resources to increase access and equity for English as a second language learners—work that directly addresses educational inequality.
Naomi Rondolo, a nursing major from Carol Stream, Illinois, received the Cureton Award for Service to the Global Community. Her commitment transcended borders. In 2024, she traveled to the Philippines to speak at an international leadership conference and to minister to young people. Back home, she mobilized her church community to collect clothing, food, and financial support for families devastated by typhoons in the Philippines. She continues to support a partner ministry there—evidence that for Rondolo, service truly knows no borders.
John Witcher, a marketing and management major from Hudson, Wisconsin, earned Senior of the Year, the highly sought-after award honoring seniors who excel academically and in campus involvement while embodying the Elmhurst tradition. A student-athlete on the men's basketball team, he served on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, co-led the Business Club, and interned for the School of Business.
Davionne Jakes '27, a digital media major from Tinley Park, Illinois, received the Dr. Phil Riordan Bluejay of the Year Award, given to students who demonstrate what it means to be an Elmhurst Bluejay. Through his leadership in Student Government Association and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., Jakes has been described as welcoming and enthusiastic—the kind of presence that makes a campus feel alive.