Angelo State University

Angelo State University track and field student-athletes brought home two national titles and 12 All-America honors from the 2026 NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships in Virginia Beach, Va. The ASU performances were highlighted by William Opare winning the men's 400 meters national title and the Rams 4x400-meter relay team of Opare, Rami Balti, Taylor Briggs and Bautista Diamante winning the national title. Opare also finished second in the 200 meters, and Balti finished fourth in the 400 meters. Each of the four was also named a first-team All-American as the Rams placed fourth in the overall standings with 33 points. For the Rambelles, the 4x400-meter relay team of Keagan Galmor, Lainey Jernigan, Shackelia Green and Kylie Frush placed 12th, with each member earning second-team All-America honors. Kamryn Williams placed 15th in the weight throw to all be named a second-team All-American. See more details at angelosports.com.

A team of four Angelo State University undergraduate business students placed in the top eight out of more than 50 teams from universities across the U.S. in the Presentation Pro contest at the recent 2026 National Collegiate Innovation Championship in Nashville, Tenn. The Presentation Pro contest consisted of teams of up to five students that were tasked with making 10-minute, live pitch presentations for fictitious start-up companies in two categories: Own Company and Hypothetical Company. In the Own Company category, the ASU team pitched a venture idea for a company that places refrigerated lockers in high-density residential high-rise buildings as the final link in the growing grocery and food delivery industry. Competing against teams from primarily Division I universities, the ASU team included four senior management majors: Jeff Isenhart of San Dimas, Calif. Han Ly of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Abel Prince of Kingsland Anali Rivera of Del Rio This marked the first time an ASU team has competed in the National Collegiate Innovation Championship, which is a component of Baylor University's National Collegiate Business Championships program. See more details at angelo.edu/news.

The Angelo State University Handball Club won three individual national titles and placed fourth in the Combined Open standings at the recent 73rd U.S. Handball Association (USHA) National Collegiate Championships at the U.S. National Handball Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Individually for ASU, Kimberly Hostetter won the Gold Medal in Women's B Singles, and Andrew Nunez won the Gold Medal in Men's C2 Singles. The ASU doubles team of Jacob Mitchell and Dylan Whitley entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed and won the Gold Medal in Men's A Doubles over the top-seeded team from Texas A&M University. Additionally, ASU's Israel Lopez Jr. was awarded a USHA Mardak Scholarship at the national tournament awards banquet. About 15 scholarships were awarded to full-time collegiate athletes who are teaching handball to other kids or students. Lopez was recognized for assisting with ASU beginner handball practices, instructing Physical Activity courses in handball as a graduate assistant, and participating in other club activities. "We are incredibly proud of our team and all of their individual achievements," said Head Coach Diarmuid Mulkerrins. "Nationals is the highlight of each year, and the players truly gave it their all and performed outstandingly across the board." 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.

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.

Angelo State University's chapter of the Phi Kappa Phi (PKP) national honor society recently inducted its fall 2025 class of 81 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. The complete list of inductees, listed by hometown and major, is available at angelo.edu/news.

Angelo State University honored its 2025 Outstanding Graduate Students, as well as the recipients of four 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.

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.

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.

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.

The Angelo State University Trumpet Ensemble has been selected to compete in the Ryan Anthony Memorial Trumpet Competition at the 48th Annual International Trumpet Guild (ITG) Conference May 28 - June 1 in Anaheim, Calif. Students from top music schools and conservatories across the U.S. and around the world applied to take part in the competition by submitting recordings in Solo, Jazz, Ensemble and Youth categories. The ASU Trumpet Ensemble was selected to compete in the Ensemble category based on its submitted recording of "Seven for Five" by Erik Morales, under the direction of Dr. John Irish, professor of music. Also selected to compete are students from throughout the U.S. and from national academies in Canada, China, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. 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.