Outstanding student leaders honored with OU’s most prestigious awards

Each year, Oakland University recognizes outstanding student leaders who demonstrate academic excellence while making a positive impact on campus and in the community. 

OU’s Wilson Awards are presented annually to two graduating seniors who have contributed as scholars, leaders and responsible citizens; the Human Relations Award is given annually to a graduating senior who has contributed to intergroup understanding and conflict resolution; and the Don and Jan O’Dowd Graduate Award recognizes a graduate student for exemplary service and leadership on campus and beyond.

A committee reviews nominations from faculty, staff and students and selects recipients of the Wilson and Human Relations Awards. Recommended candidates are ultimately approved as honorees by the vice president for student affairs and chief diversity officer, and the president. OU’s Graduate Council reviews candidates for the Don and Jan O’Dowd Graduate Award and recommends the nominee for final approval to the executive vice president for academic affairs and provost.

The 2024 award recipients – Kyle Spengler, Destiny Williams, Aisha Zanib and Justin Tamplin – were formally recognized at the April 12 Board of Trustees meeting. Read on to find out more about these outstanding student leaders.

Alfred G. Wilson Award: Kyle Spengler

Majoring in Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences in the School of Health Sciences, Kyle Spengler’s accomplishments span multiple academic disciplines. He maintained a 4.0 GPA while co-leading a project in the School's ECLIPSE program to raise awareness of ovarian cancer and conducting research with Biology Professor Tom Raffel on the host-parasite relationship between amphibians and a fungal pathogen. 

The Clarkston native has also expanded his knowledge and experience by volunteering on the in-patient rehabilitation floor at Beaumont Hospital in Troy, shadowing a critical care doctor at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and working as a medical assistant at Pine Knob Urgent Care in Clarkston.

While thriving in his own academic and professional journey, Spengler has helped others succeed by serving as founder and president of the Undergraduate Research Society, a student organization that creates platforms for sharing research opportunities between OU students and faculty, and volunteering as a tutor for underprivileged K-6 children in Pontiac through the Bound Together Initiative.

Outside the classroom, Spengler has been active with the WXOU campus radio station. He established the “You Talk, We Listen” podcast, providing a unique platform for student voices and fostering a sense of community and understanding among the student body.  

Matilda R. Wilson Award: Destiny Williams

Destiny Williams, a Public Relations and Strategic Communication major in the College of Arts and Sciences, has distinguished herself as a passionate leader, advocate and scholar. She maintained a 3.57 GPA and was named to the Dean’s List every semester, while tirelessly working to help others through involvement in numerous campus and community organizations.

Her leadership roles include serving as vice president of Hamlin Hall’s Community Council, a resident assistant and desk attendant for University Housing; an orientation group leader and orientation assistant for OU’s First Year Advising Center; a CORE Ambassador in the Center for Multicultural Initiatives; and the director of advocacy for the Oakland University Student Congress. She has also been active in the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, the Association of Black Students and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.

Williams is a 2022 recipient of OU’s Keeper of the Dream Scholarship Award, which recognizes students who have contributed to interracial understanding and good will. Her devotion to serving others shines through in her volunteer work for the OU Food Pantry, Center for Multicultural Initiatives, Gender and Sexuality Center and the Public Relations Student Society of America OU chapter, for which she served as historian and public relations director.

Born and raised in Lansing, Williams has also volunteered for several social justice and advocacy organizations in the Lansing and Metro Detroit areas.

Human Relations Award: Aisha Zanib 

Aisha Zanib, a Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences major in the School of Health Sciences, has excelled academically, maintaining a 3.93 GPA and earning Dean’s and President’s List recognition for eight semesters. Originally from Wayne County, the Honors College student has achieved all this while working as an Oncology nursing assistant at Corewell Health in Royal Oak and Gynecology medical assistant for Dr. Brigitte Lorenz. She will begin medical school later this year and currently works as a medical scribe at Rochester General Surgery for surgeons Dr. Daniel Sullivan and Dr. Renato Albaran.

Under the mentorship of Dr. Sumi Dinda, Chair and Professor of the Department of Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences, Zanib has worked as a lab manager and research assistant for nearly three years, where she investigates the impacts of potential endocrine-disrupting and anti-oncogenic compounds on breast cancer cells. In support of her research, which has led to the publication of several abstracts and a recent manuscript, she has received the Provost Undergraduate Student Research Award and School of Health Sciences Travel Grant. With an interest in an Oncology-related field in the future, she will present her research on breast cancer at the Endocrinology 2024 conference in Boston this June. 

Working with Dr. Rebecca Malatesta in the Department of Psychology, she helped create a mentorship program for low-income students, designed to address educational and socioeconomic disparities, earning her team a grant in support of the project from OptiMize at the University of Michigan. She also has helped to establish the Undergraduate Research Society, serving as Vice President, assisting peers in creating numerous research opportunities with OU faculty.

She has also demonstrated responsible citizenship by serving as President of APIAVote-MI, a nonprofit organization in Michigan dedicated to supporting Asian American and Pacific Islander American, limited English proficient, and low socioeconomic communities through initiatives like voter registration, resource distribution, civic engagement, coalition building, and leadership development.  

Don and Jan O’Dowd Graduate Award: Justin Tamplin

The Don and Jan O’Dowd Graduate Award recognizes students who exhibit traits of intellectual curiosity, enthusiasm, compassion and dedication to their field of study. Justin Tamplin has exemplified those qualities, achieving a 4.0 GPA en route to earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting, within OU's School of Business Administration, in only four years. The Macomb Township resident demonstrated strong analytical skills, passing all four parts of the CPA exam on the first try, while maintaining a full-time course load. 

In addition, Tamplin gained valuable experience as a graduate research assistant in the Department of Accounting and Finance and honed his leadership skills by serving as president of the Master of Accounting Students organization and as the OU student ambassador for the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants.

His other leadership roles include serving as president of the Oakland Accounting Student Information Society, and as treasurer and president of marketing for the Beta Gamma Sigma international business honor society. He also led Beta Gamma Sigma members to volunteer in the Pontiac community, helping sort clothing donations at the Baldwin Center's clothes closet and cleaning up the gardens at the Micah 6 community. 

Tamplin interned at Plante Moran the past two summers, gaining professional experiences and building on the knowledge he learned at Oakland. His dedication, work ethic and proficiency resulted in a full-time offer to work on the company’s tax staff, a position he will begin this summer.

Learn more about the Wilson and Human Relation Awards and the O’Dowd Graduate Award.