Honors Convocation
Awards and Recognition
Nikki Panzica
Dean's Medal: Biomedical Sciences
Nikki Panzica will graduate summa cum laude as an Honors Scholar, with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences and a minor in Spanish. As a freshman, she was awarded first place in the Auburn University Public Speaking Competition, Auburn Speaks. She also served as a member of Humans of Auburn, eventually progressing to Vice President and then President of the organization. She has received numerous scholarships and has been on the Dean’s List for multiple semesters. During her four years at Auburn, Panzica has become heavily involved in COSAM as well. She has represented the college as an ambassador for the Office of Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity and as a COSAM Leader. She also spent hundreds of hours working as a Peer Advisor and Recruiter in the COSAM Student Services office, giving tours to prospective students and assisting current students.
She has loved the opportunity to build relationships with many of her fellow classmates, and has grown close to the wonderful faculty and staff of the college. Off campus, she has volunteered at Esperanza House, a program for tutoring the underserved Latino students of Auburn. This July, Panzica will be attending the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, with scholarship. She is especially grateful to her family, for the opportunity to succeed in higher education as a first-generation American, while maintaining close ties with extended family and their culture from across the globe.
Nominated by Meredith Powell
Advisor, Student Services
Nikki is one of the most outgoing, passionate students I have ever met. It has been a true honor and privilege to be her advisor for the past four years! Nikki has served COSAM in many different aspects. She has been a Peer Advisor for the College, where she served COSAM students on a weekly basis and was always willing and ready to answer questions or help a fellow student in need. She gave tours of COSAM to prospective students and their families, giving them insight to the day-to-day life of a COSAM student. She was an OIED Ambassador for the College during her sophomore year, helping to promote equity and diversity amongst her peers. Nikki once shared with me that her favorite part of COSAM is the community—that the relationships she built in the office amongst her peers and the staff has “taught me more about life than any science class ever could; I learned how to be kind and appreciative of others.” The COSAM Family would not have been complete without Nikki’s constant smile, positive attitude, great sense of humor, and her willingness to be herself, no matter the circumstance. I can think of no one more deserving of the Dean’s Medalist Award. I am so proud of Nikki and all that she has accomplished in her time at Auburn and look forward to seeing her successes in the future!