BUSTH announces 2026 Student Leadership Awards
On Wednesday, April 29, the BUSTH community gathered for the final Wednesday Community Day of the academic year. During community lunch, Dean G. Sujin Pak, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Rady Roldán-Figueroa, and Associate Dean for Students and Community Life Nicolette Manglos-Weber awarded 11 outstanding students their certificates reflecting their extraordinary contributions to the School and their fellow students.
Award Title |
Description |
Awardee |
| Belonging & Justice | Awarded to an outstanding student who has made significant contributions to fulfilling the School of Theology’s stated commitment to being a place that celebrates cultural diversity, creates an inclusive environment for all members of the STH community, and/or furthers racial justice, gender justice, disability justice, and/or justice for other minoritized communities at the STH | Darby McMonagle |
| Chaplaincy Leadership | Awarded to a graduating student who has exhibited outstanding promise in the work of chaplaincy | Karen Aalto |
| Community Life and Fellowship | Community life awards are given to students across residential master’s programs, the PhD program, and online and hybrid programs at STH. Awardees will be graduating students who model leadership within the social and/or academic life of the STH community | Joseph Iriana, Bright Nogoh, Wesley Bolden |
| Interfaith Leadership | Awarded to an outstanding student who has exercised transformative leadership toward making the School of Theology a place where people across religious traditions are included and their gifts nurtured | Jingyi “Jade” Huang |
| International Student Leadership | Awarded to an international student who has exercised leadership in building community among international students and/or between international and domestic students | Elizabeth Opoku-Baffour |
| Justice, Advocacy, and Community Engagement Beyond BU | Awarded to a student who has provided outstanding service to and leadership in the work of social justice in the communities of Boston, New England, and/or globally | Inyeop Choi |
| Methodist/Wesleyan Spirituality | Awarded to a graduating student from a Wesleyan tradition who has embodied the spirit of Wesleyan spirituality at the School of Theology and/or is a promising leader in the broader Wesleyan fellowship of churches | Jacob Farmer-Rylands |
| Pastoral Leadership | Awarded to a graduating student who has demonstrated extraordinary promise in the work of pastoral care | Maria Gorret Nampiima |
| Doctor of Ministry | Awarded to one graduating DMin student who has exemplified leadership within the social and/or academic life of the DMin program or whose work in an external community models the program’s commitments to transformational leadership | Kealani Nunes Willbanks |
