{"id":77750,"date":"2026-04-22T13:08:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T20:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/?p=77750"},"modified":"2026-04-22T16:42:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T23:42:54","slug":"gold-axe-may-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/gold-axe-may-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"NAU honors President&#8217;s Prize, Gold Axe winners and Distinguished Seniors"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Northern Arizona honored the outstanding members of the Class of 2026 at a ceremony Tuesday night for the President\u2019s Prize and Gold Axe winners and Distinguished Seniors.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">This year\u2019s class is composed\u00a0of\u202f50\u202fGold Axe winners, including\u202fsix\u202fPresident\u2019s Prize winners\u2014the highest honor awarded to undergraduate students. Additionally, 10 students were honored as Distinguished Seniors of their colleges.<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cEach of these students has left a mark on NAU\u2014they\u2019ve led, they\u2019ve served, they\u2019ve spoken up and they\u2019ve lifted others along the way,\u201d President\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Jos\u00e9 Luis Cruz Rivera<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0said. \u201cAnd their impact reaches far beyond campus\u2014into neighborhoods, organizations and communities that are better because of them and reflect the very best of what it means to be a Lumberjack.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The President\u2019s Prize winners are:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Beau Arenas Ortiz<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, a visual communication major\u00a0who\u00a0mentored high school students in the Hispanic\/Latine Media Workshop, interned with NAU Athletics and was president of the Latine Student Union, which he called his greatest accomplishment at NAU because of the opportunities it provided him to connect with others and contribute to a community that became his home.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Jadyn Fisher<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, an elementary education major who served\u00a0in ASNAU, participated in undergraduate research and studied abroad in New Zealand\u00a0and\u00a0said the highlight of her NAU career was serving as a student regent on the Arizona Board of Regents, a position that required her to be confirmed by the Arizona Senate; during her two years as a regent she advocated for student mental health and\u00a0addressed\u00a0basic needs like food and housing.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"3\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Anahi Gonzales<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, a social work major,\u00a0who\u00a0did an internship in elementary-based counseling at a local elementary school, studied abroad in Italy, mentored low-income\u00a0and\u00a0first-generation\u00a0college students in their transition to college and was a Peer Jack; she credits her experiences at NAU with helping her become a mentor and a leader in her community and is starting a master\u2019s program at NAU in the fall.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">B\u00e1\u00e1s\u00e8\u00a0Pike<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, a business economics major and president of the NAU Council of Indigenous Ambassadors,\u00a0who\u00a0interned with the San Carlos Apache Tribe Department of Finance and Revenue and volunteered with many Tribal activities, including preparing meals for the San Carlos Apache Hotshots during wildfire response\u00a0efforts and\u00a0sharing traditional education with Flagstaff High School students. Serving as president of NCIA and leading the club to connect with other Indigenous peoples was a highlight of her career.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"5\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Leonardo Alberto Rojas<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, a mechanical engineering major and transfer student to NAU-Yuma,\u00a0who\u00a0led the drivetrain and gearbox development of Yuma\u2019s Baja SAE off-road vehicle engineering team and volunteered at multiple STEM outreach events in Yuma. He\u00a0participated\u00a0in undergraduate research and engineering internships and said the highlight of his NAU career was\u00a0co-founding\u00a0the NAU Yuma Mechanical Engineering Club, which aimed to bring opportunities to Yuma through partnerships with statewide firms.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"6\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Jordyn Smith<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, a fitness wellness major,\u00a0who\u00a0used her experiences with Usher\u00a0syndrome, a genetic disorder affecting vision and hearing, to help younger children with the same syndrome\u00a0through working at Ava\u2019s Voice Camp and volunteering as an ambassador.\u00a0While\u00a0at NAU she studied abroad in Italy and coordinated a\u00a0screening\u00a0of \u201cBlind AF.\u201d\u00a0Her experience in\u00a0a sorority\u00a0gave her opportunities for leadership that\u00a0she\u2019d\u00a0shied away from in high school, which enabled her to find her place at NAU and with herself.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-77755 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/9441_gold_axe_distinguished_senior_awards_20260421.jpg\" alt=\"All of the Gold Axe winners\" width=\"409\" height=\"273\" srcset=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/9441_gold_axe_distinguished_senior_awards_20260421.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/9441_gold_axe_distinguished_senior_awards_20260421-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/9441_gold_axe_distinguished_senior_awards_20260421-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 409px) 100vw, 409px\" \/>Gold Axe winners are:\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Beau Arenas Ortiz<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">;\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Katianna Blackwell-Scott<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">;\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Devin Brimmer<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">;\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Tim Brown<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">;\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Wren Carr<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">;\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Chloe Coonrod<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">;\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Abraham Denstaedt<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">;\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Kelianne Devlin<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">;\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Cesar Duarte<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">II<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">;\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Lauren Eisenhart<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">;\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Samantha Fagan; Lucas Dario Figueroa; Jadyn Fisher; Katherine Fleury; Kevin Forrestal; Samantha Gallegos; Gavin Georgiou; Karina Gonzalez; Venetia Hill; Aiden\u00a0Jarembo; Lauryn Kelly;\u00a0Kilara\u00a0Kent; Evan Landis; Rachel Lemons; Ellen Liebig; Anaiah Lisk; Sakina Lord; Myleen Maldonado; Margaret Mayhook; Zachary McDaniel; Giselle Mendoza; Lucas Morais; Elsa Musselman; Ronin Nelson; Amaya Pablo; Cydnie Perkins;\u00a0B\u00e1\u00e1s\u00e8\u00a0Pike; Kayla Riggs; Briana Rivera; Kate Roark; Leonardo Alberto Rojas; Brianna Christine Roney; Jordyn Smith; Eesha Tur-Raazia Syeda; Melanie Vega; Cayla Vient; Isis Villagomez; Katelynn Villanueva;\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">and<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0Joshua Wilson.<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-77756\" src=\"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/9432_gold_axe_distinguished_senior_awards_20260421.jpg\" alt=\"10 Distinguished Seniors\" width=\"370\" height=\"247\" srcset=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/9432_gold_axe_distinguished_senior_awards_20260421.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/9432_gold_axe_distinguished_senior_awards_20260421-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/9432_gold_axe_distinguished_senior_awards_20260421-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 370px) 100vw, 370px\" \/>Distinguished Seniors are:\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Sonora Rain Orchard<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, College of Arts and Letters;\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Cheyenne Pettigrew<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, College of Education;\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Ellen Liebig<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences and a member of the Honors College;\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Marlee Hewlett<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, College of Health and Human Services and a member of the Honors College;\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Joya Byrnes<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, College of Nursing;\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Tayler Bulman<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences;\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Vicky Oldham<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, NAU Online;\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Tyler Harvick<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, NAU Yuma;\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Janelle Sanchez<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, Steve Sanghi College of Engineering; and\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Alessandra Jimenez<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, The W. A. Franke College of Business.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Gold Axe winners came from a pool of applicants selected by a campus committee. The program\u202fis\u202fled by the Office of Leadership &amp; Engagement and co-sponsored by NAU Alumni and ASNAU. Distinguished Seniors are selected by their colleges.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0Gold Axe winners<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-77761 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.25.13\u202fPM.png\" alt=\"Collage of Gold Axe winner headshots\" width=\"1572\" height=\"1270\" srcset=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.25.13\u202fPM.png 1572w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.25.13\u202fPM-300x242.png 300w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.25.13\u202fPM-1024x827.png 1024w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.25.13\u202fPM-768x620.png 768w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.25.13\u202fPM-1536x1241.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1572px) 100vw, 1572px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-77762 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.25.35\u202fPM.png\" alt=\"Collage of Gold Axe winner headshots\" width=\"1584\" height=\"1282\" srcset=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.25.35\u202fPM.png 1584w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.25.35\u202fPM-300x243.png 300w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.25.35\u202fPM-1024x829.png 1024w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.25.35\u202fPM-768x622.png 768w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.25.35\u202fPM-1536x1243.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1584px) 100vw, 1584px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-77763 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.25.50\u202fPM.png\" alt=\"Collage of Gold Axe winner headshots\" width=\"1564\" height=\"1242\" srcset=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.25.50\u202fPM.png 1564w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.25.50\u202fPM-300x238.png 300w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.25.50\u202fPM-1024x813.png 1024w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.25.50\u202fPM-768x610.png 768w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.25.50\u202fPM-1536x1220.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1564px) 100vw, 1564px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-77764 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.26.12\u202fPM.png\" alt=\"Collage of Gold Axe winner headshots\" width=\"1576\" height=\"1284\" srcset=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.26.12\u202fPM.png 1576w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.26.12\u202fPM-300x244.png 300w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.26.12\u202fPM-1024x834.png 1024w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.26.12\u202fPM-768x626.png 768w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.26.12\u202fPM-1536x1251.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1576px) 100vw, 1576px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-77765 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.26.29\u202fPM.png\" alt=\"Collage of Gold Axe winner headshots\" width=\"1562\" height=\"1274\" srcset=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.26.29\u202fPM.png 1562w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.26.29\u202fPM-300x245.png 300w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.26.29\u202fPM-1024x835.png 1024w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.26.29\u202fPM-768x626.png 768w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.26.29\u202fPM-1536x1253.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1562px) 100vw, 1562px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-77766 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.26.44\u202fPM.png\" alt=\"Collage of Gold Axe winner headshots\" width=\"1570\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.26.44\u202fPM.png 1570w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.26.44\u202fPM-300x245.png 300w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.26.44\u202fPM-1024x835.png 1024w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.26.44\u202fPM-768x626.png 768w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.26.44\u202fPM-1536x1252.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1570px) 100vw, 1570px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-77767 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.26.57\u202fPM.png\" alt=\"Collage of Gold Axe winner headshots\" width=\"1662\" height=\"594\" srcset=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.26.57\u202fPM.png 1662w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.26.57\u202fPM-300x107.png 300w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.26.57\u202fPM-1024x366.png 1024w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.26.57\u202fPM-768x274.png 768w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.26.57\u202fPM-1536x549.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1662px) 100vw, 1662px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Distinguished Seniors<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-77768\" src=\"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.37.40\u202fPM.png\" alt=\"Collage of Distinguished Senior headshots\" width=\"1580\" height=\"1258\" srcset=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.37.40\u202fPM.png 1580w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.37.40\u202fPM-300x239.png 300w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.37.40\u202fPM-1024x815.png 1024w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.37.40\u202fPM-768x611.png 768w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-4.37.40\u202fPM-1536x1223.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1580px) 100vw, 1580px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Not pictured:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tyler Harvick, NAU Yuma, Biological and Natural Resource Sciences<\/li>\n<li>Alessandra Jimenez, The W. A. Franke College of Business, Management<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"search-results-excerpt-link\" href=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/gold-axe-may-2026\/\">Northern Arizona honored the outstanding members of the Class of 2026 at a ceremony Tuesday night for the President\u2019s Prize and Gold Axe winners and Distinguished Seniors.\u00a0 This year\u2019s class is composed\u00a0of\u202f50\u202fGold Axe winners, including\u202fsix\u202fPresident\u2019s Prize winners\u2014the highest honor awarded to undergraduate students. Additionally, 10 students were honored as Distinguished Seniors of their colleges.\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u00a0 \u201cEach&hellip;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":77754,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}