The School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning celebrates excellence at 34th Annual Awards Ceremony

The School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (SGSUP) at Arizona State University honored the outstanding achievements of students, faculty, and staff during the 34th Annual Awards Celebration held on April 17. The event recognized excellence across the school during the 2024–25 academic year, highlighting the impactful work of the school community.

The celebration underscored SGSUP’s ongoing commitment to excellence in education, research and community engagement. Awards were presented for achievements in teaching, research, service and academic performance, showcasing the vibrant and far-reaching contributions of the school.

The evening also marked the bittersweet retirements of longtime faculty member Professor Billie Turner and Events Manager Barbara Jean Montgomery. The event, emceed by Associate Professor David Hondula, included plenty of heartfelt moments and laughter.

“Each year, we come together to celebrate the accomplishments of our students, staff, and faculty—and every year, I am deeply impressed by the collective achievements across our school,” said David Sailor, Director of SGSUP. “Our collective efforts are making a real difference—and that success is recognized outside the walls of the university. The 2024–25 academic year was truly remarkable.” 

• Outstanding Teaching Professor (The College, Social Sciences): Jason Kelley
• ASU Catalyst Award (Committee on Campus Inclusion): Kelli Larson
• Outstanding Support for Geography Education Award (NCGE): Heather Moll
• GIScience Education Award (The University Consortium for Geographic Information Science): YouthMappers (Patricia Solís)
• Outstanding New Advisor (The College): Ruben Ramirez
• Outstanding New Staff (The Graduate College): Fernanda Quiroz
• Faculty Excellence Award - Instruction or Service (SGSUP): Meagan Ehlenz
• Faculty Excellence Award – Research (SGSUP): Sara Meerow
• Staff Excellence Award - Responsiveness and Service (SGSUP): Suzanne Collett
• Staff Excellence Award - School Support (SGSUP): Susan Baldi and Charlene Becher

• 5 Years: Jonathan Davis, Chia Yu Hsu, Brajesh Karna, Drew Trgovac
• 10 Years: Wen-Ching Chuang, Suzanne Collett, Deborah Salon
• 15 Years: Matei Georgescu
• 40 Years: Robert Balling

• Dean’s Medalists: Mariah Gonzales (Dec. 2024) and Nathaniel Bush (May 2025), awarded for steadfast commitment to academic excellence.
• Outstanding MUEP Student Award: Sadia Amin, recognized for excellence in urban planning.
• Brian and Leah Swanton Urban Planning Scholarship: Umme Laiba Raha and Ryan Ban, awarded for positively impacting distressed communities.
• Gage Davis Associates Urban Planning Travel Scholarship: America Olyvia Mendoza, recognized for academic excellence.
• WTS Bridgette Beato Leadership Legacy Scholarship: Rababe Saadaoui, honored for leadership in transportation.
• Pat Gober Water Prize: Sophiya Gyanwali, recognized for water-related research.
• Anthony J. Brazel Research Award: Alamin Molla, honored for excellence in geography and GIS research.
• Balling Family GIS Fellowship Endowment: Kylee Fleckenstein, awarded for outstanding performance in the MAS-GIS program.
• Marcus Fellowship: Gisel Guzmán, supported for fieldwork endeavors in geography and GIS.

• Ray Henkel Award for Scholarship Excellence: Bianca Arreola, recognized as the top undergraduate geography major.​

• Robert Raskin Student Paper Competition, 2nd Place (AAG Cyberinfrastructure Specialty Group): Xiao Chen
• Student Honors Paper Competition, 3rd Place (AAG Remote Sensing Specialty Group): Hyunho Lee
• Jeanne X. Kasperson Student Paper Competition Winner (AAG Hazards, Risks, and Disasters Specialty Group): Sophiya Gyanwali
• Nystrom Award - Best Geography Dissertation Paper (AAG Cyberinfrastructure Specialty Group): Yining Tan
• Philanthropic Educational Organization Scholar Award (PEO): Shaylynn Trego
• National Science Foundation (NSF) Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant; Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy Grant; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Scholarship: Garima Jain
• Best Student Planning Project (American Planning Association Arizona): Alyssa Siebers, Michael Wright, and Joseph Haggerty
• AzTA Transit Planning Graduate Scholarship (WTS) and the APA Foundation Diversity Scholarship (American Planning Association): Nikita Soni
• APA Outstanding Student Award (American Planning Association): Jacob Heid