Gold Axe Awards
Recognizing outstanding contributions to the NAU community
Each semester, Northern Arizona University recognizes seniors who have made outstanding contributions to the university and community. The award honors those who are committed to excelling in life outside of the classroom through leading student organizations, providing service to the community, involvement in their academic college, and more.
The seniors who are selected for their contributions will receive the prestigious Gold Axe Award. We acknowledge the incredible range of involvement and contributions from students to NAU and their community; however, only 1% of graduating seniors obtain this outstanding award. These awards will be presented at the Gold Axe Award Reception, co-sponsored by the Associated Students of NAU (ASNAU), the Office of Leadership and Engagement, and the Office of Alumni Engagement. In addition to the Gold Axe Award, the NAU President will honor the top applicants with the President’s Prize.
The Gold Axe Awards application for Fall 2026 will open on August 12th!
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Congratulations to the Spring 2026 Gold Axe Award Winners and their Educators of Influence
| First Name | Last Name | Academic College | Educator of Influence |
| Beau | Arenas Ortiz | College of Social and Behavioral Sciences | Dr. Rima Brusi-Gil de Lamadrid |
| Katianna | Blackwell-Scott | College of Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences | Bonnie Sumner |
| Devin | Brimmer | The W.A. Franke College of Business | Tommy Newsom II |
| Timothy | Brown | College of Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences | Kirsten Nolker |
| Wren | Carr | College of Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences | Dr. Anita Antoninka |
| Chloe | Coonrod | College of Social and Behavioral Sciences | Brandie Reiner |
| Abraham | Denstaedt | College of Arts and Letters | Di Wu |
| Kelianne | Devlin | College of Education | Robert Macias |
| Cesar | Duarte | Steve Sanghi College of Engineering | Dr. Jesus Mora |
| Lauren | Eisenhart | College of Education | Dr. Stephanie Branson |
| Samantha | Fagan | College of Arts and Letters | Dr. Stephen Meyer |
| Lucas | Figueroa | College of Health and Human Services | Patrick Cody Canning |
| Jadyn | Fisher | College of Education | Dr. Brian Stone |
| Katherine | Fleury | College of Social and Behavioral Sciences | Dr. Eric Cerino |
| Kevin | Forrestal | College of Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences | Marissa Griffin |
| Samantha | Gallegos | College of Arts and Letters | Dr. Kerri Quinn |
| Gavin | Georgiou | Steve Sanghi College of Engineering | Leslie Mitchell |
| Anahi | Gonzales | College of Social and Behavioral Sciences | Jessica Delmar |
| Karina | Gonzalez | College of Arts and Letters | Dr. Ryan Holder |
| Venetia | Hill | College of Social and Behavioral Sciences | Bill Carter |
| Aiden | Jarembo | The W.A. Franke College of Business | McKenzie Esperanza Cassens |
| Lauryn | Kelly | College of Health and Human Services | Staci Dickens |
| Kilara | Kent | College of Arts and Letters | Dr. Emily Hoppe |
| Evan | Landis | College of Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences | Dr. Joseph Mihaljevic |
| Rachel | Lemons | College of Social and Behavioral Sciences | Sun Ohumukini |
| Ellen | Liebig | College of Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences | Dr. Cindy Browder |
| Anaiah | Lisk | College of Social and Behavioral Sciences | Dr. Ibrahim Berrada |
| Sakina | Lord | College of Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences | Dr. Michael James Rulon |
| Myleen | Maldonado | Steve Sanghi College of Engineering | Dr. Catherine Gehring |
| Margaret | Mayhook | College of Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences | Dr. Alicia Rutledge |
| Zachary | McDaniel | The W.A. Franke College of Business | Kathleen King |
| Giselle | Mendoza | College of Social and Behavioral Sciences | Vidal Mendoza |
| Lucas | Morais | College of Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences | Heidi Kloeppel |
| Elsa | Musselman | College of Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences | Dr. David Able |
| Ronin | Nelson | Steve Sanghi College of Engineering | Michael Navarro |
| Amaya | Pablo | College of Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences | Dr. Naomi Lee |
| Cydnie | Perkins | The W.A. Franke College of Business | Travis Bradford |
| Baase | Pike | The W.A. Franke College of Business | Sharon Doctor |
| Kayla | Riggs | College of Social and Behavioral Sciences | Bill Carter |
| Briana | Rivera | College of Social and Behavioral Sciences | Bill Carter |
| Kate | Roark | College of Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences | Dr. Jessie Rack |
| Leonardo | Rojas | Steve Sanghi College of Engineering | Dr. Jesus E Mora Ramirez |
| Brianna | Roney | College of Social and Behavioral Sciences | Dr. Gregory Lynn Busath |
| Jordyn | Smith | College of Health and Human Services | Dr. Scott Drum |
| Eesha | Syeda | College of Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences | Dr. David Joseph Able |
| Melanie | Vega | College of Social and Behavioral Sciences | Sunn Mixon |
| Cayla | Vient | College of Social and Behavioral Sciences | Dr. Salvador Lopez |
| Isis | Villagomez | College of Social and Behavioral Sciences | Danielle O’Connor |
| Katelynn | Villanueva | The W.A. Franke College of Business | T Paul Thomas |
| Joshua | Wilson | Steve Sanghi College of Engineering | Carson Pete |
FLG Mountain Campus – Gold Axe Committee
| First Name | Last Name | Department |
| Emerald | Arnold | Indigenous Student Success |
| Mary | Barnett | Athletics |
| Michelle | Gardner | Leadership & Engagement |
| Jana | Harper | Alumni Board |
| Destinee | King | Office of Inclusion |
| Erin | Konefal | Campus Recreation |
| Salvador | Lopez | Leadership & Engagement |
| Nancy | Navarro | Inclusive Excellence |
| Kirsten | Nolker | Admissions |
| Sun | Ohumukini | Peer Jacks Mentoring |
| Mira | Petersen | Center for International Education |
| Brandon | Piestewa | Veteran and Military Affairs |
| Azah | Quach | Office of Inclusion |
| Gregg | Schneider | Academic Success Centers |
| Ramsay | Shannon | Center for Service & Volunteerism |
| Jake | Shaw | Campus Living |
| Tricia | Sherrard | Career Development |
| Jodi | Stooksbury | First Generation Program |
| Kimberly | Walker | Leadership & Engagement |
Statewide & Online – Gold Axe Committee
| First Name | Last Name | Department |
| Patty | Diaz | Educational Partnerships |
| Bernadette | Gomez | Enrollment & Student Services |
| Marcelina | Hurtado | Enrollment & Student Services – Yuma |
| Salvador | Lopez | Leadership & Engagement |
| Sarah | Skillen | Peer Jacks Mentoring |
Selection Process
Upon submitting a Gold Axe Award application and an active faculty/staff recommendation form, we compile both documents and confirm the applicant’s NAU status, credit hours, and institutional conduct record.
Next, the applications are divided amongst the selection committee, which is comprised of approximately 23 staff across the university. Due to the unique experiences of our STW/ONL students, we have identified staff who work at these campuses to evaluate these applications. They review the applications and recommendation forms fully. Each applicant is reviewed by 3 members of the committee, who score each applicant utilizing a rubric. The scores take into account the quantity and depth of experiences in the application. Scores are submitted, along with a top 5-10 ranking of who the committee member recommends to receive the award.
Finally, the selection committee meets to discuss all applicants and make final selections based on application, recommendation materials, and scores.
[Note: Given the committee members’ strong connection to students, we strive to minimize bias and conflict of interest.]
Graduating seniors obtaining their first bachelor’s degree at NAU are eligible to apply. Applicants are eligible if they submit a graduation application through LOUIE and are expecting to complete their academic program of study for the semester they apply to the Gold Axe Award. While there is no GPA requirement for this award, it may be a factor in the committee’s final decision. If a student is away from campus in their final semester (e.g., internships, student teaching, etc.), they have the option of applying EITHER during their final semester or the previous term (final semester on campus), but not both. The application AND recommendation forms for Spring 2026 were opened on Friday, January 2nd! Both forms closed on Friday, February 13th, at 5:00 p.m. (AZ Time). Late applications and recommendation forms WILL NOT be accepted or reviewed. If a candidate’s application is missing a recommendation form, the application WILL NOT be considered/evaluated. The selection committee will review all completed applications and recommendation forms, and all applicants will be notified of whether they are or are not chosen to receive the award by mid-March, 2026. All decisions are final! The Gold Axe celebrates seniors who have contributed significantly to life outside of the classroom. Your application reflects all of your accomplishments, contributions, and commitments. Please be detailed in representing your Lumberjack story. The Gold Axe application is available online and meant to be completed in a single session. You will need to have the following prepared before submitting your application: NOTE: AI usage is not permitted for the completion of the Gold Axe application. Any hints of AI usage will disqualify the student/application. Also, NAU Marketing will use any information included in a candidate’s application for advertisement and script creation purposes if selected for this award. In addition to your application, a Recommendation Form MUST be filled out by an active faculty/staff member of NAU. This was also due on Friday, February 13th, at 5:00 p.m. (AZ Time). It is the applicant’s responsibility to send/notify the active faculty/staff member of their choice about this form and inform them of the deadline. Please note that your recommender doesn’t need to be your appointed educator of influence. Late applications and recommendation forms WILL NOT be accepted or reviewed. If a candidate’s application is missing a recommendation form, the application WILL NOT be considered/evaluated. Once the application and recommendation form are submitted, no edits are allowed to be made by either the applicant or recommender.Eligibility Accordion Closed
Deadline Accordion Closed
Apply Accordion Closed
Please contact GoldAxe@nau.edu with any questions.