The Missouri University of Science and Technology Alumna and Woman Student of the Year Committee announced its 2012 award winners during a ceremony held on campus Oct. 11. The awards are given to alumna and women students who are dedicated to enhancing the lives of women and committed to diversity.

Dr. Karlynn Sievers, assistant clinical professor at University of Wyoming-Casper Family Medicine, received the 2012 Missouri S&T Alumna of the Year Gold Award. Sievers earned a bachelor of science degree in life sciences and a bachelor of arts degree in English from Missouri S&T in 1996. She earned an M.D. from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2001. Her professional achievements include University of Wyoming Faculty of the Year in 2012, Resident Teacher Award in 2004, ACE Award for Patient Care in 2007 and 2008, and Physician of Choice Award in 2009.

Rachel Morris, assistant to the vice provost for undergraduate studies at Missouri S&T, received the 2012 Missouri S&T Alumna of the Year Silver Award. Morris earned a bachelor of science in applied mathematics from Missouri S&T in 1996 and is working toward a master of science degree in engineering management from S&T. Morris is involved in data monitoring for Confluence Academy, a Missouri S&T-sponsored charter school. She is an advisor for freshman engineering students with academic challenges, a resource for the S&T University Committee for Assistance, Response and Evaluation (UCARE), and a member of the Missouri S&T Access to Success Program.

Amber Julien, a junior in psychological science from Waynesville, Mo., received the 2012 Woman Student of the Year Gold Award. Julien received the Maxwell C. Weiner Scholarship, the Access Missouri Scholarship and the Missouri Miner Scholarship, and took first place in the 2012 Undergraduate Research Conference social sciences poster competition. She is an intern with Pathways Community Mental Health Services, a research assistant for the Army Research Lab and a research assistant for the S&T department of psychological science.

Brittney Abel, a junior in psychological science from Republic, Mo., received the 2012 Woman Student of the Year Silver Award. Abel won the S&T Psychological Science Student Award for Outstanding Service in 2011 and has received the Resident Assistant of the Year Award twice. She is vice president of the Missouri S&T chapter of Psi Chi, an international psychology honor society, and is president of PsyCo, a campus organization for students interested in psychology. She volunteers for GRACE (Greater Rolla Charitable Enterprises), is an Opening Week mentor and helps with the Miner Challenge Alternative Spring Break Program.

The Alumna and Woman Student of the Year Award endowment was created by three named female professors at Missouri S&T: Dr. Mariesa Crow, F. Finley Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering; Dr. Dee Haemmerlie Montgomery, Curator’s Teaching Professor of psychology; and the late Dr. Ann Miller, former Cynthia Tang Missouri Distinguished Professor of Computer Science.