KEARNEY – The University of Nebraska at Kearney is recognizing four spring graduates with the Mary Jane and William R. Nester Student Leadership Award.
Established by former UNK Chancellor William R. Nester and his wife Mary Jane, the award honors outstanding seniors who have excelled academically and demonstrated exemplary service, character and leadership during their UNK undergraduate careers.
This year’s honorees are:
Ella Ferguson of Springfield graduated summa cum laude with bachelor’s degrees in political science and English and a public law minor. She’ll attend law school at the Nebraska College of Law in Lincoln.
Ferguson received the full-ride Omaha World-Herald/Kearney Hub Scholarship, awarded to the top students admitted to the UNK Honors Program. She was active as an Honors Program Envoy and Envoy Leader, Kearney Law Opportunities Program mentor, UNK Student Government election commissioner and student interviewer and Certified Master Tutor in the Loper Success Hub.
Ferguson also served as president and position paper officer for Model United Nations and was part of the Triota and Sigma Tau Delta honor societies. An outstanding senior honoree in both English and political science, she presented research at the Great Plains Political Science Association conference and was recognized during UNK’s Student Research and Creative Activity Day and Student Language and Literature Conference.
Jenna Rauert of Wood River graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in communication disorders. She’ll complete a master’s degree in speech-language pathology at UNK.
The 2025 homecoming queen and 2025-26 Sorority Member of the Year, Rauert served as president of Greeks Advocating for Healthy Lifestyles and was on the Gamma Phi Beta executive board. She also served as a Chancellor’s Ambassador, Honors Program mentor, Panhellenic recruitment leader, Loper Leader and UNK student liaison for the Nebraska Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
Additionally, Rauert was a member of the Kearney Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association and Order of Omega and Mortar Board honor societies. She led a Bible study and coached local elementary students through the Girls on the Run program.
Jonathan Schardt of Grand Island graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in health sciences and a minor in biology. He’ll attend the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry in Lincoln.
A recipient of the prestigious Board of Regents Scholarship, Schardt was involved in the UNK Honors Program, Kearney Health Opportunities Program, Undergraduate Research Fellows, Health Science Club, Residence Hall Association, Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and Mortar Board and Phi Eta Sigma honor societies. He served as a senator in UNK Student Government, event coordinator and secretary for Greeks Advocating for Healthy Lifestyles and coordinator of Chancellor’s Ambassadors.
Schardt received the Living the Ritual Award from UNK Fraternity and Sorority Life.
Sam Schroeder of Seward graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in political science and minors in public law and global peace and security. He’ll study public policy at the University of Kentucky and American University this summer before starting law school at the Nebraska College of Law in Lincoln.
Schroeder served as student body president and student regent for two years, representing UNK students on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. He was also speaker of UNK Student Senate, president of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and executive vice president of the UNK Interfraternity Council. A member of the Honors Program and Order of Omega honor society, Schroeder participated in undergraduate research and completed internships in government and law.
He recently received the UNK Alumni Association’s Outstanding Senior Award.