The Nebraska Alumni Association (NAA) is celebrating the current class of Alumni Masters, as well as the alumni and student award winners, with a series of virtual events that began in March.
Alumnus Dr. Charles Wilson and undergraduate students Emily Conard and Kate Vermilyea were recognized by the NAA.
This year’s class of Alumni Masters participated in a virtual roundtable event with students from the Nebraska Student Alumni Association (NSAA) on March 25 and various virtual events with their respective colleges. The alumni award winners were recognized during a virtual ceremony on March 26, and student award winners will be recognized at the 2021 Cornhusker Experience Gala hosted by the NSAA on April 15.
Alumni Master Dr. Charles Wilson
The 2020-21 Alumni Master for the College of Arts and Sciences is Dr. Charles Wilson, ‘60, a pioneering leader in health care in Nebraska during a 40-year career. He is one of the founders of the Nebraska Heart Institute and the Lincoln Cardiac Transplant Program.
Passionate about higher education, he was elected to three terms on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents and served as chair of the Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education. He helped found the Humanities in Medicine program at UNL and UNMC with an endowment for student scholarships and speakers focused on the intersection of medicine and the humanities. He also served as chair of the Lincoln Community Health Endowment.
After earning his undergraduate degree from UNL in 1960, Wilson earned his medical degree from Northwestern, completed specialty training in cardiology at the Mayo Clinic and served as a medical officer in an army field hospital during the Vietnam War. He and his wife Linda live in Lincoln.
Emily Conard
Emily Conard earned the Roy and Catherine Yaley Student Leadership Award. Conrad is currently a junior double major in Advertising/Public Relations and Communication Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She has been a member of the Student Alumni Association Board of Directors for the past year. She has enjoyed working with the marketing committee and being a part of the Nebraska Women's Leadership Network. Emily is originally from Green Bay, Wis. and enjoys spending time with friends and family skiing/snowboarding, hiking and biking. After graduation, she hopes to work in the strategic and creative world of advertising.
The award is named in memory of a former alumni association president and his wife, recognizing a student who has made a significant contribution of his or her time, talent, and leadership to the Nebraska Alumni Association through one of the association's student programs or volunteer work at the association.
Kate Vermilyea
Kate Vermilyea earned the Jack and Sharon Miller Award. Vermilyea is from Sergeant Bluff, Iowa. She is currently double majoring in English and Psychology with a minor in Ethnic Studies. Kate finds being involved on campus to be very rewarding and she is currently the Vice President of Internal Relations for the Student Alumni Association and a student ambassador for the College of Arts and Sciences.
The award honors a former executive vice president of the Nebraska Alumni Association, whose leadership and professionalism instituted many innovations, including the establishment of the Student Alumni Association. The scholarship is awarded annually to a member of the Student Alumni Association who has demonstrated leadership in and commitment to the organization.
