For the sixth year, Graduate College students received the prestigious Hancher-Finkbine Medallion for exemplary leadership, learning, and loyalty at The University of Iowa.

Tim Paschkewitz (chemistry) and Eric Kaiser (molecular physiology and biophysics) were presented with the award on April 13 at the 93rd Anniversary Dinner for Representative Student Leaders at The University of Iowa. Kristina Rogers, a fifth-year Ph.D. student in chemistry, was honored with the Distinguished Student Leader award.

Tim Paschkewitz enjoys working in his lab, but, admittedly, not always around the clock. This fifth-year doctoral student from Hartland, WI, served as president of the Graduate Student Senate where he co-chaired the GSS Travel Awards and Jakobsen Conference committees. He served as the 2009-10 budget director of the Executive Council for Graduate and Professional Students. "What's important to me is engagement outside the lab as well as in the lab," Paschkewitz said. "I want to come out of here as a stellar scientist, but I don't want it to be the only thing I can do. It's incredibly important to me to network now, get involved now, and make a difference (at the UI)."

Eric Kaiser, from Oconomowoc, WI, is a third-year medical student in the nationally competitive Medical Scientist Training Program – a combined M.D./Ph.D. program. "I came to The University of Iowa determined to take advantage of every opportunity possible and to leave a positive mark on the university," Kaiser said. "Thus, it has been an incredible honor to be recognized for attempting to simply fulfill those goals."     

Kristina Rogers, from Kewanee, IL, has been an active member of the Graduate Student Senate, most recently serving as its president during the 2009-10 academic year. "Being recognized in some way for our hard work and efforts beyond our graduate studies is a good way to reflect on the years," Rogers said.