Radford students take prizes at water resources conference
Students from the Department of Geospatial Science won recognition at the 2025 American Water Resources Association (AWRA) Spring Conference, held April 28-30 in Anchorage, Alaska.
Sophomore Kayla Fields won first prize and Annelise Britton ’25 won runner-up for best student oral presentations at the conference. “With participants from across the U.S., these national recognitions speak volumes about the quality of research and dedication of our students here at Radford University,” said Assistant Professor Naveen Joseph, who traveled to the conference with Britton and Fields.
Joseph said both Fields and Britton delivered confident and compelling oral presentations in the session he chaired at the conference. Joseph mentored Kayla Fields and, along with Professor Stockton Maxwell, also mentored Annelise Britton.
“It was an incredible experience,” Fields said of the conference. “The connections I made and the feedback I received helped expand my understanding of water resources and opened doors to future opportunities. While I was able to learn more about my own discipline, geospatial science, I was also able to get a deeper understanding of the other important aspects of water resources, such as marine biology, hydrology and climatology. Additionally, it was intriguing to hear about the vast differences in climate and communities in Alaska compared to my study area: the Chesapeake Bay.”
Attendance at the conference was made possible through support from the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship, McGlothlin Global Center for Global Education and Engagement, Sponsored Programs and Grants Management, the Artis College of Science and Technology and the Department of Geospatial and Earth Sciences.
Felicia McMillan is this year’s Keep’n It Green Award winner
Radford University’s Staff Senate recently presented its 2025 Keep’n It Green award to Felicia McMillan, the accounts receivable supervisor and payment plan coordinator in the Office of the Bursar.
McMillan was given the award during a brief presentation at the university’s Staff Senate picnic on May 16.
“It is an honor for me to have been chosen for this award because I do my best to stay organized within our office with recycling, shredding, turning lights off and any other things that fall under this category,” McMillan said. “I believe it’s very important to be aware of our surroundings to help the campus, our offices and communities stay beautiful and clean.”
The Keep’n It Green Award annually honors and recognizes an employee like McMillan who exemplifies the university’s sustainability initiatives.
Criteria are based on one or more of the following: energy and water conservation; waste reduction/recycling; behavior change and/or awareness; and economic impact.
“Felicia definitely deserves this award; she will recycle her calculator tape by rewinding and using the opposite side,” wrote a co-worker who nominated McMillan for the award.
The co-worker said McMillan “keeps up with our Shed-a-thon like it's Christmas Day. The driver of the truck always expects her. He always tells her, ‘I knew you would be here!’ Which is a great compliment. You can always count on Felicia to keep Radford University green. I'm sure there are countless other acts that go unnoticed.”
McMillan said she “challenges everyone to take this on and see what a change you can make.”
Art graduate wins top national honors
Jenna Repass ’25, who graduated summa cum laude with a degree in art, has earned national recognition for her Burpee Seeds packaging design, winning a prestigious national ADDY Award from the American Advertising Federation (AAF).
Repass advanced to the national level after taking home both student gold and the student judge’s choice awards at the regional competition in Roanoke, Virginia, this past February.
Her final placement – gold or silver – will be announced during the national awards gala on Friday, June 6, at ADMERICA, the AAF’s national conference at The Westin in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The ADDY Awards are the advertising industry’s largest and most representative competition, celebrating creative excellence across the country.
English professor’s book a finalist in indie awards
Professor of English Rick Van Noy’s “Borne by the River: Canoeing the Delaware from Headwaters to Home” has been named a finalist in the ecology & environment category for the 2024 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards.
Published last May, “Borne by the River” chronicles the author’s 200-mile canoe trip on the Delaware River, along with his dog, Sully, a Catahoula mix, to Van Noy’s childhood home, a little upstream from Trenton, New Jersey.
“Borne by the River’ reckons with the way that rivers braid into one’s own life – thrilling rapids, eddying pauses, and life-changing rifts and falls,” according to the book’s publisher, Cornell University Press. “Van Noy rediscovers and shares how river journeys can scatter anxieties, wash away regrets and recreate the spirit in its free-flowing currents.”
Honoring the best books to emerge from independent publishers, the Foreword awards are chosen from thousands of entries to a group of finalists in 55 categories. Winners in each category will be announced in June.