Angelo State University

Twenty-four athletes on the Angelo State University Rams and Rambelles track and field teams have earned 28 All-Lone Star Conference honors for their performances at the 2026 LSC Outdoor Championships. The ASU accolades are highlighted by senior Rami Balti of Tunis, Tunisia, earning the Cap Shelton Award as Outstanding Men's Track Athlete after winning the LSC title in the 400 meters and being part of the Rams' title-winning 4x400-meter relay team. In all, 15 Rams and nine Rambelles athletes earned All-LSC honors, including 13 first-team selections and three athletes making the LSC All-Academic Teams. The Rams finished second by just one point at the LSC Outdoor Championships while the Rambelles finished third. Sixteen athletes representing both teams are competing this weekend at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships in Emporia, Kansas. See more details at angelosports.com and on the LSC website.

Angelo State University's chapter of the Phi Kappa Phi (PKP) national honor society recently inducted its spring 2026 class of 30 new student members during a special initiation ceremony in the Houston Harte University Center. PKP is the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for students in all academic disciplines. Invitations to join PKP are extended to juniors in the top 7.5% of their class, and to seniors and graduate students in the top 10% of their class. PKP is considered one of the nation's most prestigious academic honorary societies, along with Phi Beta Kappa, which recognizes majors in the arts and sciences, and Sigma Xi, which honors majors in the sciences. See the entire list of ASU inductees at angelo.edu/news.

Angelo State University honored its 2026 Outstanding Graduate Students, as well as the recipients of three superlative awards, during the recent Graduate Research Symposium and Awards Ceremony in the Houston Harte University Center. The honorees were nominated by faculty in their respective academic departments, and each received a certificate of recognition. The complete list of honorees, listed by their hometowns and fields of study, is available at angelo.edu/news.

Angelo State University's Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and Norris-Vincent College of Business (NVCOB) have announced the winners of the 2026 BizPitch student entrepreneurship competition. The BizPitch competition began in January when individual ASU students or teams of up to four students were invited to submit video pitches of their ideas for new business startups. A panel of ASU business faculty and SBDC specialists selected five finalists to make live pitch presentations to a panel of judges made up of local business professionals. The live finals event was held in the Houston Harte University Center. See the full winners list at angelo.edu/news.

Five Angelo State University economics majors were selected to present their undergraduate research projects at the recent 50th annual meeting of the Association of Private Enterprise Education (APEE) in Las Vegas, Nevada. Only 42 undergraduate students nationwide were chosen through a competitive application process to make research presentations in the APEE conference's Undergraduate Research Competition. The ASU students who presented their research were: Samuel Helm of San Angelo - "When Property Rights Fail: The Rise of Religious Hostility" Kaleb Morkovsky of El Paso - "Does Ideological Homogeneity Influence Economic Outcomes?" Caden Olliges of McKinney - "Innovation Shocks and Public Debt: The Fiscal Potential of AI" Isaac Ortegon of Eden - "Does Childhood Welfare Exposure Shape Family Structure?" Matthew Zwicke of San Angelo - "Rent Control under Immigration Pressure: Evidence from California" All five ASU students were also awarded grants from the Texas Tech University Free Market Institute to cover their airfare and lodging for the APEE conference. See the full story on the ASU website.

Jon Dirk Ross of San Angelo, a senior music/voice major at Angelo State University, has earned a 2025-26 Presser Undergraduate Scholar Award from the Presser Foundation in Philadelphia that includes a $3,000 scholarship and the title of Presser Scholar. The award annually celebrates students, selected by their music faculty during their final year of study, "who have achieved a high level of music and academic excellence, demonstrated leadership and contributed to an inclusive community." ASU's music program was invited to join the Presser Foundation scholarship program in 2023, and Ross is the third ASU student to be named a Presser Scholar. It is the most prestigious undergraduate honor in music at Angelo State. Ross will graduate from ASU in May with a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance. He has performed with ASU's University Chorale and Chamber Singers, and he was one of the first students to join the ASU Opera Theater program when it was revived in 2023. He was a winner of the 2025 ASU Concerto and Aria Competition, and he has performed with the San Angelo Symphony and the Permian Basin Opera Company. Following his ASU graduation, Ross plans to pursue a professional opera career, and he has already been offered a Resident Artist position with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. See more details at angelo.edu/news.

Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas, has announced the students achieving the Dean's List designation for the 2025 fall semester. To be eligible for the ASU Dean's List, full-time undergraduate students must maintain a 3.25 or better grade point average on a 4.0 scale. See the complete fall 2025 Dean's List at angelo.edu/commencement.

A team of seven Angelo State University history students recently created a new exhibit for San Angelo's Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 1815 that honors local veterans and their military service. The "VFW Warrior Gallery" showcases more than 300 artifacts and memorabilia items related to veterans' service in various military conflicts, including World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Gulf War. It is now a permanent feature at the local VFW Post located at 125 S. Browning St. The ASU students began the project in March 2025 by familiarizing themselves with the VFW Post and its collections of memorabilia. They then worked evenings and weekends as they inventoried and researched all the items and verified their historical relevance, sourced new items from local veterans, cleaned existing display cases and added new cases, and set up all the exhibits. The students also interviewed local VFW members about their military service, and those recorded interviews will be featured in a future video display to complement the exhibits. VFW Post 1815 hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new exhibits on July 1, followed by a community open house to introduce the exhibits to the public on July 10. The project has received both local and national media coverage. See more details at angelo.edu/news.

Angelo State University conferred 652 undergraduate and graduate degrees on 644 graduates during the 2025 fall commencement exercises on December 12, 2025, at the ASU Junell Center/Stephens Arena in San Angelo, Texas. See the full list of fall 2025 graduates at angelo.edu/commencement.

YooJin Choi, a senior physics major at Angelo State University, was selected to represent ASU and present her research project at the recent 2025 Texas Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol event in Austin. Choi presented her research poster on her project titled "Capturing Cellular Dynamics: A Force Center Model Inspired by the Game of Life," which she completed under the mentorship of Dr. Michael C. Holcomb, assistant professor of physics. A native of Seoul, South Korea, Choi has also received two ASU Faculty Mentored Research Grants for various projects, has worked as a tutor in the Math Lab and served as a physics tutor in ASU's Supplemental Instruction peer-tutoring program. She has also held leadership positions in the Society of Physics Students, Women in Physics and STEM Nexus student organizations, and she has been inducted into the Alpha Chi and Sigma Pi Sigma national honor societies. Additionally, she has been active as a percussionist in the ASU Ram Band, Drumline and Symphonic Band. Choi is scheduled to graduate with her Bachelor of Science degree in May. She has been offered a Distinguished Graduate Student Assistantship at Texas Tech University and will head to Texas Tech this fall to pursue her doctoral degree in physics. See more details at angelo.edu/news.

Eighteen Angelo State University students have been elected to represent the ASU student body in the Student Government Association (SGA) for the 2025-26 academic year. Kianna Ortiz of Amarillo has been elected SGA president for 2025-26, and Kaleb Lankford of San Angelo has been elected vice president. The other 16 electees will serve as representatives of the specific academic departments that include their major. Those electees by hometown and department are: Wyatt Popham of Leakey - Agriculture Andrew Cherucheril of Rowlett - Commercial Aviation Bray Bowers of San Angelo - Communication and Mass Media Emerson Carter of Boerne - Teacher Education Calvin Blackert of Abilene - Engineering Justine Koester of Scott AFB, ILL. - English and Modern Languages Priscilla De Los Santos of Eagle Pass - History Phelo Rodgers of Boyd - Kinesiology Hunter Fontenot of Midland - Management and Marketing Arianna Cantu of San Angelo - Management and Marketing Kaitlyn Guevara of Copperas Cove - Political Science and Philosophy David Owl of Houston - Psychology Joshua Partin of San Angelo - Psychology William Pierce of Holland - Security Studies and Criminal Justice Lorenzo Robles of Chilton - Security Studies and Criminal Justice Guenevere Davenport of Saint Hedwig - Visual and Performing Arts The 18 SGA officers were chosen via campus-wide electronic voting and were verified on April 11.

Hailey Lowden of San Angelo, a senior computer science major at Angelo State University, has been selected to participate in the National Security Agency's (NSA) 2025 Future Computing Summer Internship Program at the NSA Laboratory for Physical Sciences in Catonsville, Maryland. The 10-week internship program was established in 2022 with the goal to expose participating students to High Performance Computing (HPC), a field critical to national security, discovery and technological innovation. Lowden is the first ASU student to earn a place in the prestigious program. Under the mentorship of NSA professionals, she will gain valuable hands-on experience and enhance her technical skills while working on a research project aimed at advancing HPC capabilities. As a NSA intern, Lowden will also receive an $850 weekly stipend, as well as funded transportation, lodging and meals. At the conclusion of her internship in August, she will present the results of her research to NSA senior leaders, technical personnel, and research and academic partners. A student worker in ASU's award-winning Regional Security Operations Center, Lowden is also an active member of the Guardians of the Grid cybersecurity student organization and a regular on the ASU Dean's List. She has previously competed in the Hivestorm collegiate cyber defense competition through the Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS), and placed in the top 100 in the nation. She was also captain of the ASU team that competed in the CIAS Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition. See more details at angelo.edu/news.

Benjamin Martin of Fort Worth, a senior music major at Angelo State University, has earned a 2024-25 Presser Undergraduate Scholar Award from the Presser Foundation in Philadelphia that includes a $3,000 scholarship and the title of Presser Scholar. The Presser Undergraduate Scholar Award annually celebrates students, selected by their music faculty during their final year of study, "who have achieved a high level of music and academic excellence, demonstrated leadership and contributed to an inclusive community." It is the most prestigious undergraduate honor in music at Angelo State. A graduate of Aledo High School, Martin will graduate from ASU in May with his Bachelor of Music degree with all-level teacher certification. His primary instrument is trumpet, and he was the winner of ASU's 2022 Concerto Competition. He has performed as a member of the ASU Ram Horns, ASU Trumpet Ensemble, ASU Symphony Orchestra, ASU Brass Ensemble, ASU V/V (Five for Five) Brass Quintet and ASU Symphonic Band. He has also conducted performances by the Symphonic Band and accompanied the ASU Chorale in concert. Additionally, Martin has made the ASU Dean's List every semester. Besides the Presser Undergraduate Scholar Award, he has received the ASU Friends of Art and Music Education (FAME) Scholarship, ASU Music Scholarship and Sean W. Vick Memorial Scholarship. Following his graduation from ASU in May, Martin plans to work as a public school band director in Texas. See more details at angelo.edu/news.

Angelo State University honored the 2024 Outstanding Graduate Students from each if its five academic colleges during the recent Graduate Research Symposium and Awards Ceremony in the Houston Harte University Center. The 19 honorees were nominated by faculty in their respective academic departments, and each received a certificate of recognition. Three additional superlative awards were also conferred. The complete list of honorees is available at angelo.edu/news.

The Angelo State University Handball Club won the inaugural Doug Randolph Cup at the recent Spring 2024 Aggieland Classic at Texas A&M University in College Station. The Doug Randolph Cup competition featured a round-robin format with the ASU team facing off in head-to-head matchups against teams from the University of Texas, Texas A&M and Missouri State University. In its three matches, the ASU Handball Club outscored UT, 150-43, outscored Texas A&M, 111-97, and outscored MSU, 139-78, for a total of 400 points to finish at the top of the standings. Individually for ASU: Aoife Holden went 3-0 in women's singles (90 points) Taigan Rivers & Kinzi Jo Leon went 2-1 in women's doubles (83 points) Austin Colwell & Israel Lopez Jr. went 2-1 in men's doubles (76 points) Jonathan White & Dylan Whitley went 1-2 in men's doubles (62 points) Diarmuid Mulkerrins went 3-0 in men's singles (89 points) The new tournament is named in honor Doug Randolph, an avid handball player and founder of the Lubbock-based Randolph Foundation for Higher Education Inc. See more details at angelo.edu/news.

More than 150 Angelo State University student-athletes have made the Lone Star Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll for the 2023 spring semester. To be eligible, student-athletes must have at least a 3.30 grade point average (GPA) for the semester and be on the current roster. ASU's 156 honorees include 58 student-athletes with a perfect 4.0 GPA. See more details at angelosports.com and on the LSC website.

Angelo State University honored its 2022 Outstanding Graduate Students during the annual Graduate Research Symposium and Awards Ceremony on April 29. Students representing 22 different graduate degree programs and all five of ASU's academic colleges were recognized during the ceremony. The complete list of honorees, listed by their hometowns, colleges and degree programs, is available at angelo.edu/news.