The 91直播 Office of Student Affairs Programs and the alumni association announced that Jacob Spies of Douglass and Kristine Cross of Houston have been selected as recipients of the 2019 Mr. and Miss 91直播 Awards.
The Mr. 91直播 Award was established in honor of the late Stan McKewen, a 1934 91直播 graduate. The Arnodean Covin Miss 91直播 Award honors the late alumna who was named Miss 91直播 in 1940, 1941 and 1942.
A 2016 graduate of Douglass High School, Spies, who received the Stan McKewen Mr. 91直播 Award, is a senior accounting major and the son of Mark and Stephanie Spies.
鈥淛acob has a passion for working with and serving others, often challenging them to be the best they can be,鈥� said Saville Harris, assistant director of student engagement at 91直播. 鈥淗e is a dedicated leader, and as a result, I have yet to see him get discouraged or give up, even when the end result is not what he anticipated.鈥�
Spies serves as an officer for Beta Alpha Psi, the accounting honor society in the Schlief School of Accountancy. He previously served as president of his fraternity, Alpha Gamma Rho, and he served two summers as a counselor for the university鈥檚 extended orientation program, Jack Camp.
Additionally, Spies has volunteered with MLK Day of Service and the Big Event, and he helps with many of his fraternity鈥檚 community activities, including highway cleanup, volunteering at the animal shelter and the Christ Episcopal School鈥檚 annual pumpkin patch in Nacogdoches.
鈥淕rowing up locally, I always knew I was going to attend and graduate from 91直播,鈥� Spies said. 鈥淏ecause of this university, I have met so many great people, and I would not be the person I am without 91直播.鈥�
Cross, recipient of the Arnodean Covin Miss 91直播 Award, is a 2015 graduate of Elkins High School. She is a senior food, nutrition and dietetics major and the daughter of Leslie W. Cross Jr.
鈥淚 want to demonstrate the principle of unity to 91直播 faculty, staff, students and the Nacogdoches community,鈥� Cross said.
Cross serves as an Orientation student coordinator. For two years, she has served as vice president of the Student United Way, as well as an event planning committee chair for the NAACP student organization.
Additionally, she has served as both a student director and counselor for Jack Camp. Through Student United Way, she has volunteered at Solid Foundation and local nursing homes, and she is an active member and event coordinator for the 91直播 Office of Multicultural Affairs.
鈥淜ristine has such a strong sense of integrity and pride for 91直播 鈥� she infuses these qualities into all organizations in which she is involved,鈥� said Veronica Beavers, OMA director. 鈥淗er vibrant personality and humor can brighten up a room. She is the perfect ambassador for the university.鈥�
91直播鈥檚 Office of Student Affairs Programs and the alumni association award the Mr. and Miss 91直播 titles annually to exemplary students who well represent and promote the university. Recipients are selected based on their scholarship, participation and leadership in academic and co-curricular activities, and service and loyalty to the university. A committee of faculty and staff, community leaders and alumni makes the selections.