Outstanding Junior and Senior Named at Florida Tech

– At Florida Tech’s annual Honors Convocation, Jennifer Kissinger of Reading, Pa. was named Outstanding Junior and Diane Marie Thompson of Brooklyn Park,
Minn. was named Outstanding Senior. These award winners are chosen by a faculty committee from among the Outstanding Junior and Senior awardees within each
academic area.

At Florida Institute of Technology, Provost T. Dwayne McCay (L) and President Anthony J. Catanese (R) flank 2006 Outstanding Junior Jennifer Kissinger and
2006 Outstanding Senior Diane Thompson.

Kissinger, a space sciences major, has been president of Students for the Exploration Development of Space, president of the Florida Tech Astronomical
Society, a member of the Society for Physics Students and a member of the Dean of Science’s Student Advisory Committee. She has also been an activist in
the Relay for Life campaign for the American Cancer Society. Scholarships Kissinger has received include the Society of Physics Students (SPS) Leadership
Scholarship, Florida Tech Trustee Scholarship, Portuguese Heritage Scholarship and Mount Penn Rotary Scholarship.

She has experienced summer astronomy internships at Indiana University and Florida Tech, and this summer will work at Kennedy Space Center under former
astronaut Sam Durrance and Florida Tech assistant professor Niescja Turner.

Thompson, who will graduate on May 6 with a bachelor’s degree in marine biology, has earned a cumulative grade point average of 4.0 and is a Distinguished
Student Scholar. She is past president of the Beta Beta Beta Biological Sciences Honors Society and a member of the Phi Eta Sigma national Honors Society
and was a National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association (NFCA) All-American Scholar Athlete for two years at Florida Tech. As an undergraduate researcher,
Thompson has worked on coral populations in Abaco, Bahamas, provided training about the dynamics of marine populations through the National Marine
Fisheries Service and, last summer, explored the diverse ecosystems of Australia. This summer she will participate in the National Marine Fisheries
Service/Virginia Tech Population Dynamics Summer Program.

This fall, Thompson will begin a master’s program in marine biology at Florida Tech.