March 1, 2004

Boise State University Selects Leadership Quest Award Winners

Chris Mathias, Judy Torres and Mari Cruz Martinez have been selected as recipients of the 2004 Leadership Quest Awards at Boise State. Awards were announced at a Feb. 26 ceremony in the Student Union. The President’s Award, presented to Mathias by Boise State President Bob Kustra, is given each year to a student who has contributed to the general welfare of Boise State University through outstanding leadership and service without regard for recognition, but only for the worthiness of the causes or events at hand. Judy Torres received The Director’s Award from Leah Barrett, director of the Student Union. This award is presented annually to a student who has demonstrated outstanding leadership, commitment and service towards the betterment of student organizations, student activities and student programs at Boise State. The Larry Selland Scholarship Award, given to an emerging student leader, is presented to Mari Cruz Martinez by Pam Selland Brown, daughter of the late Larry Selland. Mathias, a native of Lyndon Center, Vt., is a criminal justice major at Boise State with an emphasis in courts and law. In his time as a student he has served as both senator and president in the student government. He is a former telecommunications specialist in the U. S. Coast Guard, as well as a member of the Gamma Beta Phi Honors and Service Society. Mathias is also the recipient of multiple scholarships, including the Hewlett-Packard Scholarship for Distinguished Leadership in Human Rights.      Torres, an international student from Saipan, is a political science major at Boise State. She is former chairperson for the student Martin Luther King celebratory essay contest and a volunteer for  Boise Samaritan Village and Saint Alphonsus Children’s Walk. Torres is currently the diversity affairs director for the student government and plans to return home to Saipon and improve the lives of her people.      Martinez is a first-year student at Boise State and is actively involved in the Organizacion de Estudiates Latino-Americanos (OELA). She was a part of the spring semester Ethnic Student Retreat hosted at Idaho State University, and is widely regarded as having a bright future of leadership at Boise State.                                                                                                                        Contact Rob Meyer Student Union & Activities 208 426-1335 Media Contact Kathleen Craven communications and marketing 208 426-3275